You can check any New Jersey home improvement contractor in about two minutes. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free estimate.
You can check any New Jersey home improvement contractor in about two minutes. Their registration number starts with 13VH, and state law says it has to appear on the contract, on their ads and on their truck. Look it up on the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs license verification search and confirm the business name matches your quote and the status is active. Then read the contract: the Contractors' Registration Act requires a written contract on any home improvement over $500, and it gives you three business days to cancel. New Jersey does not cap deposits — which is exactly why you should know what a reasonable one looks like.
How do I check if a contractor is registered in NJ?
Every New Jersey home improvement contractor has to register with the Division of Consumer Affairs. The number is 13VH plus seven digits, and by law it belongs on the contract, on ads and on commercial vehicles. Ours prints on every quote. If someone can't produce one, or says they "work under" somebody else's, the conversation is over.
The Division of Consumer Affairs runs an online license verification system covering its boards and registrations. Search by business name or number, then check three things: the legal name matches your quote, the status is active and not expired or suspended, and the address is a real place.
Home improvement registration is not a plumbing, electrical or HVAC license. Those are three separate state boards — master plumbers, electrical contractors and HVACR — verified through the same state system. Ask who holds the license for the plumbing and the electric on your job, and look that person up by name.
New Jersey requires registered home improvement contractors to carry commercial general liability insurance of at least $500,000 per occurrence, and to give you the certificate with the contract. Call the agent printed on it and confirm the policy is live. Ask for workers' compensation too — an uninsured worker hurt in your house can land on your homeowners policy.
Registration under one name, a truck lettered with a second, a quote on a third company's letterhead — that's a shell game. All three should say the same thing.
Is it a license or a registration in New Jersey?
Today it's a registration. New Jersey has never licensed general home improvement contractors the way it licenses plumbers and electricians — it registers them under the Contractors' Registration Act and enforces the rules through the Division of Consumer Affairs.
That's changing. New Jersey passed a law creating a State Board of Home Improvement and Home Elevation Contractors, moving the trade from registration to real licensure, with education requirements phasing in and licensing starting after the board adopts its rules. The rollout has been slow — check the Division of Consumer Affairs for current status. What hasn't changed: a contractor working on your house has to be registered right now, and the trades need their own licenses.
What has to be in a NJ home improvement contract?
Add the payment schedule and the change-order rule: every change in writing, signed by both of you. A contractor who won't put the job on paper is breaking a state rule before the first nail goes in.
- In writing for any home improvement over $500, signed by you and the contractor.
- The contractor's legal business name, business address and registration number.
- A description of the work and the principal products and materials — brand and model, not "quality fixtures."
- The total price including any finance charges, and the terms of any financing.
- The start and completion dates, or time frames for each.
- Any warranty or guarantee on the work and materials, in writing.
- A copy of the liability insurance certificate.
- Notice of your right to cancel, and the Division of Consumer Affairs toll-free number.
The 3-business-day right to cancel
New Jersey gives you until midnight of the third business day after you receive the contract to cancel, for any reason at all. Put it in writing, send it certified mail or deliver it in person so you have proof of the date, and the contractor has 30 days to return your money.
That window is your defense against the high-pressure pitch: the salesman at your kitchen table for three hours, the "tonight only" discount, the contract you signed to make him leave. Sign it, sleep on it, cancel in writing if it doesn't feel right. Anyone who tries to talk you out of that right has told you who they are.
It's also why we don't sell that way. No commissioned salesmen, no "today only" price. Our written price is good for 90 days, no cancellation fee before work starts.
Does New Jersey cap contractor deposits?
No. This is the question we get most, and the honest answer is that New Jersey has no statute setting a maximum dollar amount or percentage for a home improvement deposit. Some states do — California limits it to $1,000 or 10% of the contract, whichever is less, and Maryland caps it at a third. New Jersey does not.
What the law does say: the price, the payment terms and the dates go in the written contract, the contractor has to be registered and insured, and taking your money and failing to perform is grounds for a Consumer Fraud Act claim. State consumer guidance warns against paying large sums up front — but that's advice, not a cap. Don't let anyone tell you "the law allows 50% up front." The law doesn't address it.
The practical rule: a deposit should be tied to something real — cabinets ordered, windows built to your sizes, a generator on a truck. It should never fund the contractor's last job. "He took the deposit and stopped answering" is the most common contractor complaint in this state.
We take no deposit on most jobs. You pay as the work gets done, tied to milestones you can see, and you hold the final payment until you and the foreman walk the job item by item. That's the Sign-Off Guarantee, printed in your contract.
Red flag or green flag?
| What you hear | Read it as |
|---|---|
| "I use my brother-in-law's registration" | Red — walk away |
| Cash discount, no contract, no paperwork | Red — illegal over $500 |
| "This price is only good if you sign tonight" | Red — you have 3 days by law anyway |
| Most of the money up front, nothing special-ordered | Red — the classic disappearing deposit |
| "You don't need a permit for this" | Red — in New Jersey you usually do |
| A quote that's one number with nothing under it | Red — nothing to hold them to |
| Door-knocking after a storm, out-of-state plates | Red — storm chaser |
| 13VH number printed on the quote | Green |
| Insurance certificate handed over before you sign | Green |
| Itemized price, start and finish dates, change-order rule | Green |
| "We pull the permits and meet the inspectors" | Green |
Where these numbers come from
The rules here come from the New Jersey Contractors' Registration Act and Division of Consumer Affairs compliance requirements — the $500 written-contract threshold, the $500,000 liability minimum, the three-business-day cancellation right. The licensing transition comes from the law creating the State Board of Home Improvement and Home Elevation Contractors. The deposit answer comes from a state-by-state review of deposit statutes: New Jersey has none. Rules change — verify anything time-sensitive with the Division before you sign.
Questions people ask next
How do I look up a NJ home improvement contractor's license?
Use the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs online license verification search and enter the business name or the 13VH number. Confirm the legal name matches your quote and the status is active. Look up the plumber and electrician separately by their own licenses.
What is a 13VH number?
It's the registration number the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs issues to home improvement contractors — 13VH plus seven digits. State rules require it on contracts, business documents, ads and commercial vehicles. No number means the contractor isn't registered to work in New Jersey.
Is there a legal limit on how much deposit a NJ contractor can take?
No. New Jersey sets no dollar or percentage cap on home improvement deposits. It does require a written contract over $500 with the price and payment terms spelled out, and taking money without performing can be a Consumer Fraud Act violation. Tie any deposit to material actually being ordered — and know that we don't take one.
Can I cancel a contract I already signed?
Yes, if you act fast. New Jersey lets you cancel a home improvement contract until midnight of the third business day after you receive it, for any reason. Send written notice by certified mail or deliver it in person, and keep proof of the date. Your money comes back within 30 days.
Does a NJ contractor have to carry insurance?
Yes. Registered home improvement contractors must carry commercial general liability coverage of at least $500,000 per occurrence and give you the certificate with your contract. Workers' compensation is separate — ask for it, because an uninsured worker hurt on your property becomes your problem.
Need a licensed contractor near you?
If you searched “licensed contractor near me” anywhere in New Jersey, that's us. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus and sends its own licensed crew to all 21 counties — written price before work starts, no deposit, a real person on the phone 24/7.
Check us first. We'd rather you did.
Registered NJ Home Improvement Contractor, fully insured, with the certificate and the written itemized price in your hand before you sign anything. Our guarantees page spells out exactly what's on the paper.
Or call Alex direct: (201) 676-3099