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Indiana licenses plumbers at the state level but leaves general contractor, electrical, and HVAC licensing largely to cities and counties — Indianapolis and other cities require local registration or licensing. The state lookup covers plumbers; for other trades, check with your local building department.

Start with the official lookup linked above from the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. Confirm the license or registration is active, that the classification matches your project, and check for disciplinary history or complaints. Then verify general liability insurance — and workers' compensation if the company has employees — directly with the insurance carrier, not from a photocopied certificate.

If something goes wrong, your state consumer protection office and the licensing board are the places to file complaints. Keep the written contract, invoices, photos, and all communication.

Permits are local. Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Evansville each run their own permit systems with different requirements and online portals.

For permitted work, the contractor should pull the permit in their own name and schedule the required inspections. An inspection is your independent verification that the work meets code — be cautious of anyone who suggests skipping a required permit or asks you to pull an owner permit for work they are performing.

Cold winters, humid summers, and severe storms shape Indiana projects. Freeze protection, sump pump reliability, and storm-resistant roofing are recurring themes.

Housing is dominated by single-family homes, with significant pre-war stock in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. Older homes frequently have lead paint, aging furnaces, and clay sewer laterals.

Get at least two or three written, itemized quotes. The contract should name the scope, price, payment schedule tied to milestones, start and completion dates, change-order process, and warranty terms. Tie payments to completed work, keep the final payment meaningful until the punch list is done, and never pay the full amount up front.

Federal consumer guidance from the FTC applies everywhere: be wary of door-to-door solicitation after storms, pressure to sign immediately, demands for large cash payments up front, and contractors who cannot provide a verifiable license, insurance, and local references.