A roofer's website says "fully licensed and insured" in the header, and nowhere on the site is there a license number, a state, or a word about what the insurance is for. The homeowner reading it has just come from the state board's lookup page, where she typed the company name and found nothing, because the license is in the owner's name. She closes the tab. Not because he is unlicensed, but because he made her do the work and then made it fail.
Licensing and insurance belong on the website, specifically and in the right places. In several states the license number is not a nice touch, it is a legal requirement for the website itself.
States that make the website carry the number
California's Contractors State License Board puts it plainly in its advertising guidelines: licensed contractors must include their license number in all forms of advertising, and the list of what counts as advertising ends with "any website or post that solicits business on the Internet." The guide gives the civil penalty for a first offense as $100 to $1,000. A 2020 CSLB bulletin repeats that the rule covers "online sales postings and websites" and cites Business and Professions Code sections 7027, 7029.5 and 7030.5. The same guidelines carry a rule that surprises people: California contractors are not allowed to advertise that they are bonded. "Licensed, bonded and insured" is a phrase to delete from a California site.
Florida's statute is just as broad. Section 489.119(5)(b) requires the registration or certification number to appear in "each offer of services, business proposal, bid, contract, or advertisement, regardless of medium." A website is a medium.
Oregon's Construction Contractors Board tells licensees in its contractor newsletter that the CCB number goes on advertising "including websites", written as "CCB #123456", and the rule behind it, OAR 812-003-0120, says all advertising by internet media, "including but not limited to, website advertising," must show the license number.
Your state may have the same rule; check your board's advertising page before you publish. If it does not, the number is still the first thing a careful customer looks for.
Where the number goes
- The footer, on every page. License type and number, state, and the name it is held under if that differs from the trading name. "CA Lic. #1234567, C-36 Plumbing" or "FL CCC1234567". One line.
- The contact page and the quote form. The two places where somebody is about to trust you with their address.
- A link to the lookup. Every state board has a license search. Link the number to your own entry. A customer who can verify you in one click rarely bothers.
If the license is in a person's name and the website is in a company name, say so: "Licensed under John Alvarez, Lic. #...". That single line fixes the failed-lookup problem in the opening paragraph.
Showing insurance without publishing the policy
Insurance is the harder one, because the honest instinct is to prove it and proof is a document. Do not put the certificate of insurance on the website. It carries your policy number, carrier, limits and agent's contact details, and a PDF on the open web can be lifted, edited and handed to a homeowner by someone who has never bought a policy in his life.
Instead, state it in plain words and offer the document on request:
- What you carry. "General liability and workers' compensation" is the sentence homeowners are looking for. If you carry commercial auto or a bond, say so (outside California, on the bond).
- How to verify it. "A current certificate of insurance is available on request, sent directly from our agent." Sent by the agent rather than forwarded by you is the version a careful customer trusts.
Put it where it is read
The number lives in the footer, repeated on every page rather than on an About page nobody visits. The footer is global in Webkio, so the line is written once and appears everywhere, including next to the quote form. The rest of the trust layout, reviews, photos, guarantees, is in how to make a trade business website.
FAQ
Do I have to put my contractor license number on my website?
In some states, yes, by law. California, Florida and Oregon are three where the agency's own guidance covers websites, and the penalties are real. Elsewhere it is simply the first thing a careful homeowner checks. Either way, put it in the footer of every page.
Should I post my certificate of insurance online?
No. State the coverage you carry in words and offer a current certificate on request, sent from your agent. A certificate on the open web exposes your policy details and can be copied by people who are not insured at all.
Can I say "licensed, bonded and insured"?
Check your state. California's licensing board specifically prohibits contractors from advertising that they are bonded, on the grounds that it overstates the protection. In other states the phrase is common; make sure every word of it is true.