Contractor Licensing in New Jersey

What the state requires is registration as a home improvement contractor business with the Division of Consumer Affairs, which produces a registration number beginning with the prefix 13VH that must appear on every contract, estimate and advertisement for residential work.

This page explains what the requirement is, who it covers, and how to verify any contractor yourself before signing.

Four different things get called "licensed"

In flooring, the word covers state registration, federal certification, trade association membership and manufacturer training — and only the first is required by law in New Jersey.

State registration is the New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor requirement, which produces the 13VH number. It is mandatory for residential work and verifiable on a public state lookup.

Federal certification is the EPA Lead-Safe firm certification, required for work that disturbs painted surfaces in pre-1978 housing.

Association membership and manufacturer training are voluntary. They can signal genuine investment in the trade, or they can be a logo on a truck. They are not licences, and describing them as such is misleading.

What to verify before you sign

Ask for the 13VH registration number, check it on the state's public lookup, and confirm the registered business name matches the name on your contract.

Registration has to be renewed every year, by 31 March, so a number that was valid when a neighbour used the contractor may have lapsed since. Verification takes a minute and is free, and the status has to read Active.

If your house predates 1978, ask separately about EPA Lead-Safe certification. It is a different requirement addressing a different risk.

What registration does not tell you

There is no state exam behind the 13VH number, so it confirms that a business filed and insured — not that it can sand a floor.

Treat it as the first filter rather than the decision. A contractor without it should be excluded outright; a contractor with it still has to demonstrate skill through moisture readings taken before quoting, a stated grit sequence, and named finish products with published data sheets.