Verification
How restoration companies will be checked
No restoration company is signed up with HyreRestore, so none has been checked. Before any introduction, we plan to confirm the business registration, the state license where one applies, and the service area. IICRC certification, insurance and reviews are not part of the process yet. A check is not an endorsement.
A promise this site is held to. HyreRestore will not call any restoration company trusted, vetted, approved, certified or recommended unless we have established it. If you find one of those words used about a company here, it is a mistake. Tell us and we will fix it.
Which checks are planned, and which are not built?
We publish no ratings or rankings, because we cannot stand behind any. This is the process we are building instead. It starts in state records, not in a company’s description of itself.
| Check | Status |
|---|---|
| The operating business, from state business registration records | Before any introduction |
| Contractor or mold license with the issuing state board, where the state licenses the work | Before any introduction |
| Service area and the kinds of damage the company takes on (water, sewage, mold, fire, rebuild) | Before any introduction |
| IICRC certification of the named technicians, with the certifying body | Not built yet |
| Liability, workers’ compensation and pollution insurance, with the carrier | Not built yet |
| Homeowner reviews collected under a published policy | Not built yet |
“Before any introduction” means the check will run before we put a homeowner in touch with that company. No company has passed it, because none is signed up.
Why is a restoration company harder to check than it sounds?
There is no national restoration license. A single water loss can touch four different credentials, each issued by a different body:
- Certification, from the IICRC. A private body that trains and certifies technicians and publishes the S500 (water), S520 (mold) and S700 (fire and smoke) standards. Certification is held by people.
- A mold license, from some states. Florida (Fla. Stat. §468.8419) and Texas (Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1958, administered by TDLR) license mold assessors and remediators and keep the two apart on a project.
- A contractor license, for the rebuild. Putting back drywall, floors and cabinets can need a state or local contractor license, separate from anything about drying.
- Trade licenses, for wiring and plumbing. Replacing wet electrical or a failed supply line can need a licensed electrician or plumber, whoever runs the job.
So “licensed and certified” is only a useful answer once you know which credential, from which body, for which part of the job. Choosing a restoration company shows where to look each one up.
What does each check mean?
Business registration
That the name on the van matches a business registered with the state. This catches a company you could never find again to complain to. It catches nothing else.
State license, with the issuing board
We will go to the board that issued the credential, not to the number on a truck or a website. Where the state issues nothing for the work, we will say so, and we will not use “verified” as decoration.
Service area and type of damage
Which areas and which losses the company takes on. A firm set up for a clean-water dry-out may not be set up for sewage, mold containment or the rebuild.
IICRC certification: not yet
Checked with the IICRC, for the technicians who would work on your house. Until we check it, ask the company which people hold which certification, and look them up yourself.
Insurance with the carrier: not yet
General liability, workers’ compensation and, for sewage or mold, pollution liability, confirmed by the insurer and not by a PDF from the company. Until then, ask for certificates and call the carrier named on them.
Reviews: not yet
Reviews are evidence only when you know how they were gathered. We have no published policy for collecting them, so we carry no reviews and no ratings.
Is verification the same as endorsement?
No. The two blur easily. A checked license becomes a “vetted pro”. A vetted pro becomes a recommendation. A recommendation becomes an implied promise about the drying. Each step is small, and the last one is false.
A check tells you a company is real and allowed to do the work. It does not tell you whether a drying goal will be set or a moisture log kept. A written scope does that. See structural drying for what a measured dry-out looks like.
Why do checks go out of date?
A license can lapse, be suspended or be reinstated. Insurance can be canceled mid-term. Technicians leave and take their certification with them. A check is true on the day it is made, so we will date every check, and we ask you to confirm what matters on the day you sign.
What will HyreRestore never do?
- Publish a ranking. Not paid, not editorial, not a “top ten”. A ranking implies a comparison we have not made.
- Invent anything. No made-up company, review, award or credential, not even as an example.
- Say a company is licensed or insured. We tell you how to confirm it with the board and the carrier instead.
- Let money change a judgment. When introductions start paying us, that is disclosed, and it stays out of the guides.
What should you check yourself before you sign?
- The right license, with the board. A mold license where your state issues one, and a contractor license for the rebuild.
- Certification, by name. Which technicians on your job hold IICRC water or mold certification.
- Insurance, with the insurer. Liability and workers’ compensation certificates, plus pollution cover for sewage or mold, confirmed with the carrier.
- A written scope and drying goal. What is removed, what is dried, the target readings, and a daily moisture log you receive.
- What you are asked to sign. A work authorization for mitigation is one thing; an assignment of benefits hands over control of the claim. Read it slowly.
- Who assesses and who removes. For mold, an independent assessor can set the clearance test. See the assessor-or-remediator tool.
The long version is choosing a restoration company, and avoiding restoration scams shows the pattern when it goes wrong. How HyreRestore works explains what happens to your details, and the lead quality standard sets the rules for them.