A property manager checks a contractor the same way a careful owner would, just with a system behind it: look up the license number in the Texas database for that trade, get a certificate of insurance sent from the contractor's insurer rather than a photo from the contractor's phone, keep a W-9 on file, and set a date to check again before the policy expires.
That is the whole process. What separates a manager who protects you from one who does not is whether these steps actually happen before the first job, and whether anyone repeats them a year later when the roofer's policy has quietly lapsed.
Which trades Texas licenses, and which it does not
Texas requires a state license for electricians, air conditioning and heating contractors, and plumbers, among other trades. Each has a public lookup where a license number can be checked for status, expiration and disciplinary history. A manager should check the number, not just accept a logo on a truck.
Many other trades that work on rentals, including general handymen, painters, roofers and fence builders, are not licensed at the state level in Texas. For those, the manager cannot verify a license that does not exist, so insurance, references and a track record of documented work carry the weight instead.
Cities sometimes add their own registration or permit requirements. Fort Worth, Keller and North Richland Hills each handle permits for larger jobs, and a manager who pulls work in those cities should know which jobs require one. Confirm specifics with the city, since requirements change.
What a real insurance check looks like
The document is a certificate of insurance, usually a one-page form from the contractor's insurance agent. A proper check involves:
- Requesting the certificate from the agent or insurer, so it cannot be edited by the contractor.
- Confirming general liability coverage is active, with limits appropriate for residential work, and noting the expiration date.
- Asking whether the contractor carries workers' compensation. Texas does not require most private employers to carry it, so many small contractors do not. A manager should know which vendors are covered and which are not, because an injured uninsured worker can become the owner's problem.
- Checking commercial auto coverage for vendors who drive to your house as part of the job.
- Filing the certificate with the expiration date on a calendar, so the vendor is re-verified before the policy lapses.
A manager who can show you a current certificate for the plumber who worked on your house last month is doing this. One who says "all our vendors are insured" without being able to produce it is hoping.
Why this protects you and not just the manager
The risk sits with the property. If an uninsured electrician starts a fire, an unlicensed HVAC installer voids an equipment warranty, or an uninsured helper falls off your roof, the people looking for someone to pay will look at the owner, the manager and the contractor in that order of ease. Your landlord policy may respond, but claims and premiums follow you.
Licensing also affects your tenant. Under Texas law a landlord must make a diligent effort to repair conditions that materially affect health or safety. Work done by someone who was not qualified to do it can leave the condition unrepaired in the eyes of the law even after the invoice is paid.
This is general information, not legal advice. For how a vendor's negligence and the manager's own coverage interact, what insurance a property manager should carry covers the other half of the picture, and a Texas attorney can advise on your specific situation.
The rest of vetting: references, trial jobs and removal
A license and a certificate prove a contractor is allowed to do the work and is covered if it goes wrong. They say nothing about whether the work is good. The second half of vetting is the part most owners never see:
- A W-9 on file so the vendor is paid properly and the paperwork is clean at year end.
- A trial period of small jobs before the vendor is trusted with large ones.
- Photos and tenant feedback on every job, reviewed by someone who knows what the finished work should look like; repair invoices and photos for owners shows what that record should contain.
- A clear path off the list for vendors who miss appointments, pad invoices or leave work incomplete.
How a good property manager handles vendors and estimates explains how a vendor list is built and pruned over time, which is where the quality comes from.
An example of what a lapse looks like
Illustrative scenario: a management company adds a roofing crew after a hailstorm, checks the certificate once and uses the crew on several houses over the next two years. The crew's policy was not renewed after the first year. Nobody noticed because nobody set a reminder.
A worker is hurt on a Fort Worth roof in year two. The crew has no coverage, the worker's medical bills are real, and the owner's landlord policy is now the subject of a claim the owner knew nothing about until the letter arrived.
Compare the same company with a re-verification calendar. The certificate expires, the system flags the vendor, the vendor is paused until a new certificate arrives, and the owner never hears about it because nothing went wrong. That silence is what good vetting sounds like.
What to ask a manager before you sign
Three questions settle this in a first conversation. Can you show me a current certificate of insurance for a vendor you used last month? How do you track expiration dates? What happens to a vendor who does poor work? The answers should be specific, and the first should be answered with a document, not a description.
Also ask whether you may name your own contractors, and what they would need to provide. The same license and insurance standard should apply to them, which is a reasonable sign that the standard is real. Our full-service management overview describes where vendor vetting fits in the rest of what we do, and you can ask us to walk through our vendor file in person.
How Perpetual handles this
Perpetual Property Management is broker-owned and local to Keller, North Richland Hills and Fort Worth, which means the vendors on our list are companies we see on job sites, not names in a national database. Before a contractor works on a home we manage, we check the state license for licensed trades, collect a certificate of insurance showing active general liability coverage, and keep a W-9 on file. Certificates are tracked by expiration date and re-verified before they lapse.
Every job is photographed and documented in your owner portal, so you can see who did the work, what it cost and what it looked like when finished, and your monthly statement matches the invoices behind it. Vendors who miss appointments or deliver poor work come off the list. The maintenance service page explains how a work order moves from the tenant's report to a vetted contractor and back to you.
The takeaway: Contractor vetting is a license lookup, a certificate of insurance from the insurer, a W-9 and a renewal date on a calendar, and a manager should be able to show you all four for a vendor who worked on your house last month.
Questions owners ask
Can I look up a Texas contractor's license myself?
Yes. The state agencies that license electricians, HVAC contractors and plumbers each run a public online search where you can enter a name or license number and see whether the license is active, when it expires and whether any disciplinary action is recorded. It takes a few minutes and is a reasonable thing to do for any licensed trade working on your house, whether a manager is involved or not.
Does a handyman need to be licensed in Texas?
Not for general handyman work, since Texas has no state handyman license. The limit is scope: a handyman cannot legally perform work that requires an electrical, HVAC or plumbing license, even on a small job. A good manager uses handymen for the right tasks and licensed trades for the rest, and makes sure the handyman carries liability insurance regardless.
What happens if an uninsured contractor damages my rental?
You would look to the contractor personally, then to your own landlord policy, and the outcome depends on the facts and the management agreement. This is exactly the situation vetting exists to prevent. Ask your manager for the vendor's certificate of insurance before the dispute starts, and if there is none, ask why the vendor was sent. This is general information, not legal advice.
Should the contractor's insurance name me as an additional insured?
For large projects such as a roof replacement or a major remodel, it is common and worth requesting. For routine repairs it is rarely practical. What matters more day to day is that the general liability policy is active and the limits are reasonable. Your own insurance agent can tell you when additional insured status is worth asking for on a specific job.
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