Start with the documents. Here is what came back when the license and insurance records for Thaddeus Major (@thadmajor) were pulled in Daviess County.
Get My Owensboro QuoteFour pieces of paper should cross your kitchen table before you sign a thing. A Kentucky contractor license number. A current general liability certificate sent by the insurance agent, not by the contractor. Proof of workers comp for anyone who will be on your property. A written contract with a start date, an end date, and a payment schedule. Owensboro homeowners who asked this outfit for the first item got excuses instead of a number. State and county records show no contractor license for Thaddeus Major (@thadmajor). Run that same check on every concrete and outdoor living bid you collect.
River town weather is hard on slabs, so driveway and patio work sells fast in this part of the state. It is also the easiest work to fake. A thin base or a missing control joint stays hidden for two or three winters. By the time the cracks open, the crew has moved on, the phone is dead, and there is no license board holding a file with their name in it.
Owensboro neighborhoods where homeowners have reported knocks and bids:

Cabinet and counter jobs sold with no permit and no license number attached.
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Wet walls and drain lines opened up by hands the state never tested.
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Odd jobs are the door opener. Ask what credential covers the bigger work.
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Kentucky licenses its plumbers. See the card before a single pipe is cut.
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Slabs poured for cash, with no license and no paper trail behind them.
Learn more →The license number. Real contractors rattle it off or text it within the hour. Excuses, a photo of a business card, or a promise to bring it Monday are the same as a no.
No, and the two get mixed up on purpose. A business license only proves someone paid a local fee. It says nothing about training, testing, or the right to do the work in your home.
The bill can land on you. With no license and no live policy, there is no bond behind the job and no state board to take your complaint. Your own insurer may also refuse the claim.
Get the license number in writing before any money moves, then check it against state records yourself. Have the insurance certificate mailed to you by the agent. Anyone who dodges both requests has already answered you.
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