I need to find information on general contractors in the state of
Alabama, city of Mobile to complete hurricane Katrina related repairs.
Specifically, I need to know how to confirm the:
1. Bonding information for general contractors
2. Licensing information for general contractors
The contractors that I have talked to are either to0 busy to give me
the information or have a policy against providing it. I want to be
able to prescreen vendors before I call them.

Dear andrewcorley-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. There
are a variety of sources you can turn to for the information you need
depending on the type of contractor in question. For example, a
general contractor in Alabama should be listed with the Alabama
Licensing Board of General Contractors.

ALABAMA LICENSING BOARD OF GENERAL CONTRACTORS
http://www.genconbd.state.al.us/DATABASE-LIVE/roster.asp

Heating and Air contractors can be researched by checking them against
the database of the Alabama HVAC Board.

ALABAMA HVAC BOARD
http://www.hvacboard.state.al.us/Lic_Search/searchform.asp

Likewise there are a number of other regulatory agencies in Alabama
that one can check with depending on what the contractors are
supposedly licensed to do (plumbers, electricians, etc).

CONSTRUCTION WEB LINKS
http://www.constructionweblinks.com/Industry_Topics/Licensing__Industry_Topics/Alabama__Licensing/alabama__licensing.html

Of course you can always contact the Alabama Attorney General?s Office
for more information about bonding and licensing and direction on how
to determine which companies are working within the guidelines of the
state:

ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL?S OFFICE
http://www.ago.state.al.us/
http://www.ago.state.al.us/consumer.cfm


I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

Defined above


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

Alabama

Contractor

Bond

License

Board

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Request for Answer Clarification by andrewcorley-ga on 03 Jan 2006 13:35 PST

All of this information is good.
But, I want to be able to verify a vendor's bonded status also. The
vendors are either reluctant to provide it or unwilling to spend the
labor faxing it to all potential customers. With the amount of work
available, the vendors are inclined to set their own terms on what
they will and will not do to get business.

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 03 Jan 2006 14:10 PST

If a contractor refuses to tell you (or provide proof on demand) that
he is bonded, or if he says he?s ?too busy? to give it to you, it is
logically best to assume that he is not bonded and seek another
contractor. To me this would be an immediate red flag and I would not
only report the incident to the city/county in which I lived but I?d
also report it to the Attorney General?s Office.

You can?t ?make? someone tell you if they have a bond, but you may be
able to tell through the licensing regulator (one of the appropriate
links I gave you) if they declared on at the time they applied for
their license. If they are unlicensed of course, there?s no need to
look into them further anyway.

If the contractor refuses to show you proof but merely gives you the
name of the binding company, here is a list of companies and his might
be one of them. (This is also among the links I gave you):

http://www.constructionweblinks.com/Industry_Topics/Insurance_and_Bonds/insurance_and_bonds.html

Otherwise, as I said, the first stop would be the licensing entity or
the Attorney General?s Office. These are your options. I wish there
was more but frankly you can?t force people to do what they are not
willing to do.

Tutuzdad-ga