Michigan contractor hiring
Hire with a record—
not a feeling.
A polished presentation is not the same as a complete proposal. Use this sequence to verify what can be verified, compare the same work, and put the important promises in writing before work or payment begins.
Before hiring, collect five things.
- Verified identity and relevant licensing.
- Insurance evidence and similar-project references.
- A complete written proposal against one shared scope.
- A contract with defined changes, payments, permits, and closeout.
- One durable file containing every approval and record.
The hiring sequence
Reduce uncertainty in the order you can control it.
Confirm the exact legal name
Write down the individual or company name that will appear on the agreement, plus the business address, phone number, and the person authorized to make commitments.
Check the relevant license
Use Michigan's official license lookup for work that requires a residential builder, maintenance-and-alteration, or licensed trade contractor. Match the name and license type to the proposed work; do not treat a logo or a number on a truck as verification.
Ask for current insurance evidence
Request the insurer and policy information appropriate to the job, then decide whether independent confirmation is warranted. A certificate is evidence to review—not a promise that every event is covered.
Call references for similar work
Ask about scope changes, schedule communication, site protection, inspection corrections, final records, and how the contractor handled a problem—not only whether the finished project looked good.
Send every bidder the same scope
A shared project description makes differences visible. Ask each bidder to state materials, quantities, preparation, exclusions, allowances, permits, cleanup, warranty, and assumptions.
Compare written proposals field by field
Do not rank bids by total alone. First identify missing work, vague language, low allowances, front-loaded payments, and different product or site assumptions.
Read the complete agreement
Move verbal promises into the written contract. Check names, dates, scope, products, price, allowances, exclusions, change orders, payments, permits, warranty, dispute terms, and final closeout records. Do not sign blanks.
Tie payments to defined progress
Use observable milestones and written approvals rather than calendar dates alone. Keep enough unpaid to resolve incomplete work and obtain the agreed final records, subject to the contract and applicable law.
Name the permit responsibility
Find the local office that handles permits. Write down who prepares applications, pays fees, schedules inspections, corrects failed work, and keeps approval records. The building department—not HomeScope or a contractor's general experience—controls local requirements.
Keep one decision file
Save the scope, each complete proposal, license and insurance evidence, signed agreement, approved changes, payments, inspection results, warranties, manuals, and final approvals together.
Verify through the source
A license claim should lead to an official record.
Michigan LARA explains the residential builder and maintenance-and-alteration licensing system and provides the state's license lookup. A license lookup answers a narrow question about the record shown; it does not grade workmanship, guarantee insurance coverage, or replace checking the proposed scope.
Compare the same project
A lower total is not a lower price when work is missing.
Ask every bidder to respond to one project description. Then compare scope, products, quantities, preparation, demolition, disposal, allowances, exclusions, schedule assumptions, payments, permits, change orders, warranty, and closeout records before comparing totals.
Before signing or paying
Slow the decision down when the paperwork speeds you up.
Michigan's Attorney General advises homeowners to resist pressure, seek multiple written estimates, check licensing and complaints, obtain references, use a written contract, get required permits, and arrange payments as parts of the job are completed.
Cancellation rights depend on how and where an agreement was made and how it is financed. Do not assume every home-improvement contract has the same cancellation window. Read the agreement and the current Michigan guidance; get legal advice when the consequences are material or unclear.
Pause before signing if…
- Blank spaces or promised details remain.
- Pressure replaces time to review.
- The proposal cannot be compared to the others.
- Payment runs far ahead of defined progress.
- Permit responsibility or changes are only verbal.
- Financing documents are rushed or unexplained.
Primary sources reviewed
Go beyond this guide when the source controls the answer.
Keep one project record
Carry the same facts from scope to permits to bids.
Use one reusable return point for the contractor checks, scope decisions, and written proposals you gather.