Before emergency repairs begin
Check the payment request before the storm contractor gets your money.
Calculate the deposit share. Surface identity, proof, contract, and payment gaps. Leave with the questions and official sources to check next.
RUN THE FREE CHECK ↓Private browser check
What are you being asked to pay?
Three entries produce a useful first screen. Add optional proof details for a sharper result. Nothing entered is stored or sent.
Enter the state, quoted price, and amount due now. Optional details make the result more specific.
Why this check exists
The Federal Trade Commission warns that unlicensed contractors and scammers can appear in recovery zones, promise immediate repairs, demand money up front, or refuse to provide license, insurance, and contract documents. This tool turns those warnings into a short pre-payment screen.
What the result cannot establish
A low number of entered warning signs does not prove that a contractor is qualified, insured, honest, or likely to perform good work. Records can be incomplete and rules vary by trade and jurisdiction. The result organizes the next questions; it does not replace a current source check.
When to use the paid check
Use Prove the Pro when the deposit is material, the contractor is unfamiliar, the payment name differs, the correct licensing source is unclear, or you want the quote, business, license, insurance evidence, and payment recipient reviewed together in a private source-linked report.
Straight answers
Storm repair payment questions
Should I pay a contractor deposit after a storm?
A deposit can be legitimate, but do not assume one percentage is acceptable everywhere. Check the rules for the project location, identify what the payment buys, and connect later payments to written work or material milestones.
What if the contractor needs money for materials?
Ask for the exact materials, supplier, ownership terms, delivery timing, cancellation terms, and payment schedule in writing. Urgent material needs do not replace identity, license, insurance, and payee checks.
Can this tool tell me whether a contractor is legitimate?
No. It identifies payment and documentation gaps from the facts you enter. It does not search current records, predict workmanship, determine guilt, or provide legal or insurance advice.
General U.S. consumer information only. Not a contractor endorsement, background report, legal conclusion, insurance opinion, or guarantee. Requirements and records vary by jurisdiction and trade. Last reviewed July 20, 2026.