A directory with one rule: a business is listed only on a credential that can be checked against a public record, and every card links to the record. No sign-ups, no review scores, no paid placement deciding who qualifies. 9,699 verified installers across 6 states so far, and the table below says what “licensed” means in every other one.
A trade-specific license or registration with its own lookup. Verified against the registry, number shown, record linked.
Verifiable, but the page says what the credential is — “registered home improvement contractor” — never “licensed flooring contractor”.
A business can be entirely legitimate with nothing to look up. Here the gate is a national certification — NWFA, CFI, CTEF — or a city license where one exists.
6,354 licensed installers
C-15 Flooring and Floor Covering, from the CSLB register.
318 licensed installers
C-16 Finishing Floors, from the State Contractors Board listing.
156 licensed installers
FLR — Flooring and Floor Covering Contracting designation, from DPOR’s regulant list.
1,716 licensed installers
Floor Covering and Counter Tops specialty registration, from L&I’s contractor register.
368 registered contractors
Home Improvement Contractor registration, from DCP’s registration data.
787 registered contractors
Home Improvement Contractor registration, from the Division of Consumer Affairs’ verification system.
Researched from each state’s licensing board. Where a state has no credential for flooring, that is stated plainly rather than dressed up. The verify link goes to the state’s own lookup.
| State | Tier | Credential that covers flooring | Verify at | Directory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Tier B | Residential Home Builder license Residential work over $10,000 |
Home Builders Licensure Board | Not yet listed |
| Alaska | Tier B | Specialty Contractor registration (up to 3 declared trades) All contracting |
Dept. of Commerce, Community & Economic Development — Corporations, Business & Professional Licensing | Not yet listed |
| Arizona | Tier A | CR-8 Floor Covering (dual) — also C-8 commercial / R-8 residential All contracting over $1,000 or requiring a permit (handyman exemption) |
Registrar of Contractors (ROC) | Not yet listed |
| Arkansas | Tier A | Home Improvement license (flooring is a named specialty); Residential Remodeler above structural scope Single-family work over $2,000 |
Contractors Licensing Board, Dept. of Labor & Licensing | Not yet listed |
| California | Tier A | C-15 Flooring and Floor Covering Contractor All contracting over $1,000 (labor + materials) |
Contractors State License Board (CSLB) | 6,354 listed → |
| Colorado | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Connecticut | Tier B | Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration Residential work over $200 |
Dept. of Consumer Protection (eLicense) | 368 listed → |
| Delaware | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| District of Columbia | Tier B | Home Improvement Contractor license ($25,000 bond, licensed salesperson) All residential home-improvement work |
Dept. of Licensing & Consumer Protection (DLCP) | Not yet listed |
| Florida | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Georgia | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Hawaii | Tier A | C-21 Flooring Contractor All contracting over $1,500 (handyman exemption) |
DCCA Contractors License Board (MyPVL) | Not yet listed |
| Idaho | Tier B | Contractor registration Work of $2,000 or more |
Division of Occupational & Professional Licenses — Contractors Board | Not yet listed |
| Illinois | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Indiana | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Iowa | Tier B | Construction Contractor registration Anyone earning $2,000+ a year from construction |
Iowa Division of Labor | Not yet listed |
| Kansas | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Kentucky | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Louisiana | Tier B | Home Improvement Contractor registration ($10,000 bond); Residential license above $75,000 Residential work over $7,500 up to $75,000 |
State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC) | Not yet listed |
| Maine | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Maryland | Tier B | MHIC Home Improvement Contractor license All hard-surface flooring on 1–3 unit homes; carpet installation is exempt |
Maryland Home Improvement Commission, Dept. of Labor | Not yet listed |
| Massachusetts | Tier C | — | Office of Consumer Affairs (HIC program) | Not yet listed |
| Michigan | Tier B | Residential Builder or Maintenance & Alteration Contractor license (M&A trades: Carpentry, Tile & Marble) Residential work over $600 |
LARA Bureau of Construction Codes | Not yet listed |
| Minnesota | Tier C | — | Dept. of Labor & Industry | Not yet listed |
| Mississippi | Tier B | Residential Remodeler / Residential Builder license Residential remodeling over $10,000 |
State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) | Not yet listed |
| Missouri | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Montana | Tier B | Construction Contractor registration (becoming a DLI license under HB 239, 2026) Any construction business with employees |
Dept. of Labor & Industry | Not yet listed |
| Nebraska | Tier B | Contractor registration All contracting on others' property |
Dept. of Labor | Not yet listed |
| Nevada | Tier A | C-16 Finishing Floors (C-16a covering floors, C-16d carpet laying, C-16e urethane coatings) All contracting over $1,000 (handyman exemption) |
Nevada State Contractors Board | 318 listed → |
| New Hampshire | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| New Jersey | Tier B | Home Improvement Contractor registration (13VH number) All residential home improvement; the statute names carpeting and attached floor coverings |
Division of Consumer Affairs | 787 listed → |
| New Mexico | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| New York | Tier C | Local HIC licenses only: NYC DCWP (over $200), Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam | State lookup | Not yet listed |
| North Carolina | Tier C | — General contractor license only at $40,000+ per project |
Licensing Board for General Contractors | Not yet listed |
| North Dakota | Tier B | Contractor license, Class A–D by job value Any job over $4,000 |
Secretary of State | Not yet listed |
| Ohio | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Oklahoma | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Oregon | Tier A | CCB license — Residential Specialty Contractor with Flooring & Tile as a declared trade All paid construction work |
Construction Contractors Board (CCB) | Not yet listed |
| Pennsylvania | Tier B | Home Improvement Contractor registration (HICPA, PA number) Contractors doing $5,000+ of home improvements a year |
Office of Attorney General | Not yet listed |
| Rhode Island | Tier B | Contractor registration All residential and commercial contracting |
Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board (CRLB) | Not yet listed |
| South Carolina | Tier A | Residential Specialty Contractor registration — Floor Covering Residential work over $500 |
Residential Builders Commission, LLR | Not yet listed |
| South Dakota | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Tennessee | Tier B | Contractor license at $25,000+; Home Improvement license for $3,000–$25,000 in Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby counties $25,000 statewide; $3,000 in the nine HI counties |
Board for Licensing Contractors | Not yet listed |
| Texas | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
| Utah | Tier A | S220 Carpentry & Flooring Contractor All contracting over $3,000 (handyman exemption) |
Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) | Not yet listed |
| Vermont | Tier B | Residential Contractor registration (since April 2023) Residential jobs of $10,000 or more |
Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation | Not yet listed |
| Virginia | Tier A | Contractor license (Class A/B/C) with FLR Flooring & Floor Covering specialty All contracting over $1,000 |
DPOR Board for Contractors | 156 listed → |
| Washington | Tier A | Specialty Contractor registration — floor covering All contracting |
Dept. of Labor & Industries | 1,716 listed → |
| West Virginia | Tier B | Contractor license (Residential or Specialty classification) Work of $2,500 or more |
Contractor Licensing Board, Division of Labor | Not yet listed |
| Wisconsin | Tier C | — | Dept. of Safety & Professional Services | Not yet listed |
| Wyoming | Tier C | — | No state registry | Not yet listed |
It depends entirely on the state. Ten states license or register flooring as its own trade. Nineteen more cover it under a general or home-improvement credential above a dollar threshold. The rest have no state credential for flooring at all, and a business there can be entirely legitimate with nothing to look up. The table above says which applies where you live.
By being on the state’s register. Each state’s list is the board’s own extract of active flooring licenses, re-pulled with every build. There is no sign-up form and no fee; a business that wants to appear gets licensed, and one that wants a correction corrects its record with the board.
Because they license flooring as a trade and publish the register. California’s is the strongest record in the country — status, bond, workers’ comp, all in one file. Nevada’s board publishes an active listing with each license’s monetary limit. Virginia publishes its regulant lists with the flooring designation on each one. Washington puts its whole contractor register — bond and insurance included — on the state open-data portal. Other Tier A states follow as their registers are wired in; states with no flooring credential will list on a national certification instead — NWFA, CFI, CTEF — the same rule applied to the record that exists.
Quality, price, or availability. A license is the legal minimum, and the state boards say the same on their own pages. Three bids, references from jobs over a year old, and a written contract are still on you. The hiring guide covers what to ask.