Need work done on your home in Kentucky?
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Kentucky licenses electricians, plumbers, and HVAC contractors statewide through the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, but does not license general contractors at the state level — Louisville, Lexington, and other cities run their own contractor licensing. Verify the trade license with the state and the business license locally.

Start with the official lookup linked above from the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction. 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. Louisville Metro and Lexington-Fayette run consolidated permit systems; other areas permit through city or county offices.

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.

Humid summers, cold winters, and severe storm and tornado risk shape Kentucky projects. Crawlspace moisture and basement flooding are recurring issues in the Ohio River valley.

Housing ranges from historic Louisville and Lexington homes to rural construction. Older urban homes frequently have aging systems, and crawlspaces are common outside the cities.

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.