Showing licenses, insurance and certifications on your site

If your trade is licensed or your customers care about insurance, put the facts on your website in plain words: your license type and number, which state or city issued it, and the kinds of insurance you carry. Show them where customers decide, such as the footer, the about page and near the estimate button, and make them easy to check. Many customers, especially for work inside the home, look for exactly this before they call. Here is how to show it well and what to leave off.

Why it matters to customers

For trades like electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, general contracting, pest control and home inspection, customers have often heard stories of unlicensed or uninsured workers: a job that failed inspection, an injury on site that landed on the homeowner's insurance, a contractor who disappeared with a deposit. Seeing your license and insurance on the site answers that worry before they have to ask.

For some trades, showing your license number in advertising is not just a good idea. Many states require contractors to include their license number on ads, vehicles, quotes and sometimes websites. The rules differ by state and trade; check with your state licensing board or attorney so you know what applies to you.

What to show, trade by trade

Show what is true and current, in words a customer understands:

Licensed trades: the license type and number, and who issued it. "Licensed Master Electrician, Texas TECL #12345." "Plumbing contractor license, State of Connecticut, P-1 #000000."
General contractors and remodelers: your contractor registration or license number, plus any home-improvement registration your state requires.
Insurance: the kinds you carry, in plain terms. "Fully insured: general liability and workers' compensation." If you have no employees and do not need workers' comp, say "General liability insurance" rather than claiming "fully insured".
Bonding, if you are bonded: "Licensed, bonded and insured" is a common phrase, but only use "bonded" if you really hold a bond.
Certifications: manufacturer certifications for installers (a roofing manufacturer's certified installer program, a heat pump brand's dealer program), EPA lead-safe certification for painters and renovators working on older homes, EPA refrigerant certification for HVAC technicians, trade association credentials.
Health and professional services: board certifications, state license numbers for therapists, accountants and others whose licenses customers may look up.

Where to put it on the site

You want it seen without it crowding the page:

The footer of every page: a single line with your main license number and "Insured". This is where many customers look, and where some states expect the number to be.
The about page: a short section, "Licenses and insurance", with the full list and a sentence on what each means for the customer.
Near the estimate or call button on the home page: a small line like "Licensed and insured in Georgia, license #RLCO000000."
Service pages that need a specific license or certification: for example, the lead-safe certification on the page about painting older homes.
Quotes and estimates, which you send outside the website, should carry the same numbers.

If you are showing your team, individual licenses can also go next to each person on the team page.

Make it checkable

The point is trust, and trust grows when customers can check. Most state licensing boards have a public lookup on their own website, where anyone can type in a license number and see whether it is active.

Name the board next to your number: "Look up our license with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors."
Link to the board's license lookup page, if you can find its address on the board's official site. Check that the link works.
Keep the number as text, not inside a logo or a picture, so customers can copy it into the lookup.

For insurance, offer to send a certificate of insurance on request: "Certificate of insurance available on request." Commercial customers, property managers and many homeowners will take you up on it. Your insurance agent can issue one naming the customer as certificate holder.

What not to put on the page

Policy numbers and insurance documents. Customers do not need your policy number online, and a scanned certificate can be copied and misused. Offer the certificate on request instead.
Expired licenses or certifications. Remove them on the day they lapse, and add the renewal when it comes.
Licenses you do not hold for the work you advertise. If a part of the job, like electrical work in a remodel, is done by a licensed subcontractor, say so plainly instead of implying you hold the license.
Badges without substance. A shield graphic saying "Licensed & Insured" with no number is easy for anyone to put up. The number and the issuing board are what make it believable.
Personal details that come with some license records, like a home address, if your public business address is different.

Keep it current

Licenses and insurance renew, often yearly. Make the website part of the renewal:

Put renewal dates in your calendar with a note to check the website.
When you change insurers, check that the website's wording still fits your new policy.
When a certification lapses or a certified team member leaves, update the page that week.

Out-of-date trust details do more harm than none. If you show trust badges or memberships as well, awards, associations and badges worth showing covers which are worth the space.

What to do this week

Write down every license, registration, insurance type and certification you currently hold.
Look up each license on your state board's site and confirm the details.
Check your state's rules on showing license numbers in advertising.
Add a footer line with your license number and insurance, and a fuller section on the about page.
Add "Certificate of insurance available on request" near your estimate button.

If your current site hides your license in a picture or leaves it off entirely, you can see your site rebuilt first with your licenses and insurance laid out plainly, and update them yourself at each renewal.