Roofing scams in Texas: how to vet a roofer when nobody licenses them

The Texas licensing gap, and why it matters

Start with the fact that explains everything else on this page: Texas does not license roofing contractors at the state level. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation does not administer roofing licensure. There is no exam, no state registry and no license number to check. Anyone in Texas can legally call themselves a roofer tomorrow morning.

That is not a scandal in itself — plenty of states are the same, and most Texas roofers are ordinary businesses doing ordinary work. But it has two consequences worth internalizing.

First, “we're licensed and insured” is close to meaningless as stated. Insured is checkable. Licensed, in a roofing context in Texas, usually refers to a general business registration, or to nothing at all. Ask what license, issued by whom, and for what — and notice how the answer lands.

Second, the barrier to entry after a storm is a truck and a ladder. That is why crews follow hail across the state, and why the same neighborhoods get knocked on for weeks afterwards.

What fills the gap is verification you do yourself. The checklist further down is the practical version.

The red flags, in order of seriousness

Roughly ordered from “stop now” to “proceed carefully”:

1. An offer to waive, cover or absorb your deductible. Illegal in Texas. This is the clearest single signal available and it has its own section below.
2. A demand for full payment up front. TDI advises never prepaying in full. A deposit against materials is normal; the whole amount is not.
3. A contract with blank spaces in it. Also specifically warned about by TDI. Anything blank can be filled in later, by someone who is not you.
4. A guarantee that your claim will be approved. Nobody can promise this. Your insurer decides your claim.
5. An offer to “handle the whole claim” or negotiate with your insurer. Negotiating a claim on your behalf is public adjusting, a licensed activity in Texas. A roofing contractor doing it is either unlicensed or misdescribing what they do.
6. Pressure to sign today. Discounts that expire this afternoon, a crew that is “already in the neighborhood”, a price only available on the spot. A roof that survived the storm will survive a second opinion.
7. No verifiable local presence. No permanent Texas address, no landline, magnetic signs on the truck, an out-of-state plate and a phone number that goes to voicemail.
8. They found damage you cannot see and will not photograph. If they cannot show you, you cannot evaluate it.
9. They want to inspect the roof unaccompanied and immediately. Damage occasionally gets created during an “inspection” that nobody is watching. This is rare, and it is a documented failure mode.
10. Everything is verbal. No written scope, no itemized estimate, no contract you can read before signing.

The deductible offer is the clearest signal there is

If you take one thing from this page, take this. The Texas Department of Insurance states directly that contractors cannot legally waive your deductible under Texas law. House Bill 2102, effective September 1, 2019, reinforced that requirement in the Texas Insurance Code.

The offer arrives in several costumes, and they are all the same thing:

• “We'll waive your deductible.”
• “We'll cover it for you.”
• “We'll write the estimate so you don't have to pay it.”
• “We'll give you a discount that happens to equal your deductible.”
• “Sign here and your roof is free.”

Why it matters beyond the illegality: a contractor doing this is either inflating the insurance estimate to recover the difference — which is insurance fraud, and you are named on the claim — or absorbing a real loss they will make back by cutting the job. Neither is a favor to you.

What to actually verify before you sign

Because there is no state license to check, this is the substitute — and it is genuinely effective if you actually do it.

• General liability insurance. Ask for a certificate of insurance, and ask for it to come from the insurer or agent rather than as a forwarded PDF. A certificate is easy to fabricate and easy to verify.
• Workers' compensation coverage. Texas does not require most private employers to carry it, which is why asking matters. If a crew member is injured on your roof and there is no coverage, you may be exposed.
• A durable Texas business presence. A permanent address, a business history that predates this storm, a vehicle with permanent branding.
• Voluntary certification. RCAT certification, or a manufacturer certification from GAF, Owens Corning or CertainTeed. These are real, verifiable, and in a state with no licensure they carry more weight than usual. Verify with the issuer, not with the contractor.
• References and the Better Business Bureau. Both specifically recommended by TDI. Ask for references from this city, from this year.
• At least two bids. Also TDI's recommendation. Itemized, so they can be compared line by line rather than by total.
• Who is pulling the permit. It should be the contractor, from your city. A contractor asking you to pull the permit is shifting liability onto you.
• Who is doing the work. Employees or subcontracted crews, and whether the person selling you the job will still be involved afterwards.
• The warranty, in writing. The manufacturer's material warranty and the contractor's workmanship warranty are two separate things with two separate durations. A workmanship warranty is only worth the company's expected lifespan.

Is a free roof inspection a scam?

It is a legitimate service that scammers also use as a door-opener, which is why this question gets searched so often.

A free inspection is how roofing companies find work. That is the honest commercial reason it exists, ours included. What separates a real one from a pretext is what happens when there is no damage.

A real free inspection: someone gets on the roof, photographs every slope, gives you a written report you keep, tells you plainly if there is nothing wrong, and leaves without a signature.

A pretext: always finds damage, will not give you photographs or a report, brings out a contract before leaving, mentions the deductible, and needs a decision today.

One more distinction worth making, because it decides most of it: did you choose them, or did they choose you? A company you contacted after checking them is a different proposition from one that knocked on your door after a storm. Not automatically dishonest — but the burden of proof sits differently.

Reading the contract

Read it before you sign it, on your own time, without anyone waiting. Specifically check:

• No blank spaces anywhere. TDI warns about this specifically.
• The total price is written and fixed, or the variable elements are explicitly defined — a decking allowance with a stated per-sheet rate, for example.
• The scope is itemized. Squares, materials, underlayment, flashing, ventilation, permit, disposal.
• The payment schedule is reasonable and does not require payment in full before work.
• Any contingency on insurance is clear. Some contracts bind you as soon as the insurer approves anything. Understand what you are agreeing to and when.
• Cancellation rights. Know what they are before you need them.
• Nothing assigns your claim benefits away unless you fully understand and intend it.

If a contractor objects to you taking the contract away to read it, that objection is the answer.

If it has already happened to you

Being taken in by a professional does not make you careless. It happens to careful people, usually at the worst possible moment. What to do:

1. Gather everything. Contract, receipts, canceled checks, text messages, emails, business cards, photographs of the work and of the vehicle.
2. Tell your insurer, if a claim is involved. If the contractor inflated an estimate or proposed a deductible arrangement, your insurer needs to know — and you are better off raising it than being found alongside it.
3. Contact TDI if the problem concerns how your claim was handled. The Texas Department of Insurance takes consumer complaints and runs a consumer helpline on 800-252-3439. That is a state resource, not a number that reaches us.
4. Contact the Texas Attorney General's consumer protection division for the contractor's conduct itself, and local law enforcement where money was taken for work never done.
5. File with the Better Business Bureau, so the next homeowner searching the name finds it.
6. Get the work assessed by someone independent before spending anything else on it.

Frequently asked questions