Texas has no roofing exam. That makes vetting your job.
The documents to ask for, the questions that sort people quickly, and the offers that should end a conversation.
Why this falls on you here
In most trades the state does the first round of filtering. In Texas roofing, it does not.
There is no statewide roofing contractor license in Texas. No exam, no state board, and nothing for the state to revoke when work is bad. Anyone can print business cards and start knocking on doors the week after a hail storm, which is precisely why they do. The common homeowner instinct — "make sure they're licensed" — has no state-level object to attach itself to.
What does exist is local. Many municipalities across the San Antonio metro require contractors to register or license with the city, and that registration is how permits get pulled. It is a real requirement with a real record behind it, and it is checkable by phone. It is also the reason a contractor who asks you to pull the permit is telling you something about their own standing.
So the vetting that a licensing board would do elsewhere falls to you here. The good news is that it is not difficult — it is four documents, eight questions, and a short list of offers that should end a conversation. For the wider picture of what actually governs roofing work in this state, see the compliance detail on Jose's page.
Documents to ask for
Six things a legitimate contractor can produce without hesitation.
Ask for it to be sent directly from the insurance agent or carrier rather than as a PDF forwarded by the contractor. Certificates are easy to alter and easy to keep circulating after a policy lapses. Check that the policy is current and that the named insured matches the company on your contract.
Texas does not require most private employers to carry it, which means plenty of roofing companies do not. If a worker is injured on your roof and there is no coverage behind them, that can become a claim against your homeowner's policy or against you. Ask directly, and ask whether subcontracted crews are covered too.
Most municipalities in the San Antonio area require contractors to register with the city, and registration is what allows a permit to be pulled in the company's own name. Confirm they are registered where your house is, not merely somewhere in the metro. A contractor who wants you to pull the permit is telling you something.
Owens Corning, GAF, Malarkey, and Atlas all publish searchable contractor directories. Look the company up by ZIP code and confirm both the certification and the tier, because the tier determines which enhanced warranty you can be issued.
Underlayment type and weight, ice-and-water placement, starter course, flashing to be replaced rather than reused, ventilation components, hip and ridge, and the field shingle — each by manufacturer and product. A proposal that names only a shingle is not describing a system, and it cannot be compared to anything.
With a stated duration and a plain description of what it covers. The manufacturer warranty covers the material and, at certified tiers, the installation. The company's own workmanship warranty is separate. If nobody will write down a number of years, treat that as the answer.
Manufacturer certifications and the tiers that go with them are covered in detail on our brands and certifications page.
Questions that sort people fast
Eight questions. You will learn more from the hesitation than from the answers.
- 1.Who is physically installing the roof — your employees, or subcontracted crews?
- 2.What is the full system specification, by manufacturer and product, for every layer?
- 3.What is the ventilation calculation for my attic, and what net free area did it produce?
- 4.Under what conditions would you tell me to do nothing right now?
- 5.Do I get a copy of the inspection report and photos even if I don't hire you?
- 6.Will the manufacturer warranty be registered in my name, and can I see the confirmation?
- 7.Who pulls the permit, and is it in your company's name?
- 8.What happens if you find bad decking after tear-off, and exactly how is it priced?
The last one matters more than it looks. Decking condition is genuinely unknown until the old roof is off, so every project carries that risk — but it is also where surprise costs live. The contract should state a per-sheet price for replacement decking and a documented approval step before the extra work happens. A vague "we'll let you know" is an open invoice.
Red flags
Any one of these is enough to stop. Most of them travel together.
Under Texas HB 2102 this is an offense, and advertising it is separately prohibited. It also means the deductible is being recovered somewhere else in the job, usually in the scope. Treat it as the end of the conversation.
What the statute saysThere is no legitimate reason to need a signature that day. The urgency exists to get you committed before you have a second opinion or an approved scope to compare against.
Material costs do move, but not by the hour. A discount that is only available while the salesperson is standing in your kitchen is a closing technique, not a price.
A PO box, a co-working suite opened last month, or an address in another state means there is nobody to call in year three. Storm-chasing crews are mobile by design, and warranties follow companies, not trucks.
Some documents handed over as paperwork are contingency agreements or assignments that transfer your claim rights to the contractor. Read what you are signing, and do not sign anything that assigns your insurance benefits.
It cannot be compared, it cannot be enforced, and it leaves every consequential decision — underlayment, flashing, ventilation, decking — to be made later by someone who is not you.
Comparing bids that aren't comparable
The single most useful thing on this page, and the step almost everyone skips.
Homeowners generally assume three bids differ because three companies chose three margins. That is rarely what is happening. Bids differ mostly because the scopes differ, and the differences are invisible unless someone lays them side by side.
Compare line by line: tear-off versus overlay. Underlayment type and weight. Where ice-and-water membrane is placed, and whether it is there at all. Whether flashing at walls, chimneys, and valleys is being replaced or reused. Whether any ventilation work is included, and on what calculation. Whether there is a decking allowance and what the per-sheet price is. And what warranty tier the finished assembly will actually qualify for.
Once you do that, the pattern usually resolves. The cheapest bid is frequently the one that omitted the most, and the most expensive one occasionally includes work the others quietly left out. Neither is dishonest on its face; they are simply not the same project.
The clean way to fix this is to write down one scope — the most complete one you were given — and ask every contractor to price that exact scope. It takes one email, it turns three incomparable numbers into a real comparison, and the way each company reacts to being asked is itself informative.
Contractor selection FAQs
Related reading
What a real inspection includes, and what report you should walk away with.
ReadWhat each manufacturer tier requires, and which warranty it makes you eligible for.
ReadHB 2102, and what a contractor is permitted and prohibited from doing.
ReadSend it over. We will tell you what it includes, what it leaves out, and whether the price makes sense — even if the answer is that you should sign it.