What we check — and what we don’t
Every page on this site says we only pass your details to licensed, insured contractors who work in your town. This page is what that actually means, in full, including its limits. If you only read one thing here, read the limits.
Before a contractor gets a single lead
No exceptions, and no “we’ll sort the paperwork later”:
- Active Delaware business license. We ask for the number and confirm it is current.
- Current general liability insurance. We ask for a certificate of insurance with a live expiry date — not a photo of a card.
- Confirmed service area. They tell us the towns and zip codes they genuinely work, and we only send them projects inside it.
- The three-bidder cap. They accept that any project we send them goes to no more than two other contractors.
What we do not do
This is the part most sites leave out, and it is the part that protects you — because knowing the limits of someone else’s check is what tells you which checks you still have to run yourself.
- We do not inspect their previous work or visit job sites.
- We do not verify workmanship, and we do not warranty it. We cannot — we don’t do the work.
- We do not run criminal background checks on individual crew members.
- We do not set, review, or negotiate their pricing. Three quotes is your protection there, not us.
- We are not a party to your contract and cannot resolve a dispute over the work.
Check us, and check them
Do not take our word for a contractor’s licensing — or anyone’s. Verify it yourself. It takes five minutes and it is the single highest-value thing a homeowner can do:
- Look up their Delaware business license independently.
- Ask for the certificate of insurance to be sent by the insurer, not by the contractor.
- Get the full scope in writing before any money changes hands.
- Never pay in full up front. A deposit is normal; the whole job is not.
- Walk away from anyone pressuring you to sign today.
Report a contractor. If someone we introduced you to behaved badly, tell us at [email protected]. Complaints are how a contractor stops receiving leads from us, and we would rather lose a contractor than a homeowner’s trust.
The honest limits of vetting
Does “licensed and insured” mean the work will be good?
No, and anyone implying otherwise is overselling. A Delaware business license means a contractor is permitted to operate. Liability insurance means that if they damage your house, there is a policy behind it. Neither is a statement about craftsmanship. That is why we tell every homeowner to get three quotes, check reviews independently, and ask for local references — the checks we run are a floor, not a verdict.
Do you inspect the contractor’s past work?
No. We are not a home inspector and we do not visit job sites. We check paperwork and service area. Judging workmanship is your job, and the guidance below is how to do it.
What happens if a contractor you sent me does bad work?
Tell us — that is genuinely how a contractor stops receiving leads from us. But be clear about what we can and cannot do: your contract is with the contractor, not with us, so we cannot compel a repair, force a refund, or arbitrate the dispute. We are not a party to it. What we can do is stop sending them homeowners.
Is Blue Hen Pros itself licensed?
We hold a Delaware business license to operate as a business. We do not hold — and do not need — a home improvement contractor’s license, because we do not perform construction work of any kind. We are a referral service. If a site like this one claims to be a licensed contractor, that is a serious red flag.
Ready to compare quotes?
Tell us about your project once. We’ll match you with up to three licensed contractors serving your town — free, and with no obligation to hire anyone.