New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor Registration

Registration produces a number that begins with the prefix 13VH, and state rules require it to appear on contracts, estimates, advertisements, business cards, commercial vehicles and the place of business. Flooring is explicitly covered, the registration has to be renewed every year, and since the law was amended in 2023 it also requires a bond or equivalent security.

Key facts

Is a flooring contractor required to register in New Jersey?

Yes. New Jersey's definition of home improvement names carpeting and flooring directly, which places hardwood installation, refinishing and repair inside the registration requirement.

New Jersey does not issue a separate trade license for flooring the way it does for electrical or plumbing work. There is no state flooring exam and no flooring-specific credential. What exists instead is a single registration that covers home improvement contractor businesses as a class, and flooring sits inside that class.

This is a point where homeowners are frequently misled. A contractor who says they are 'licensed' in New Jersey for flooring is, in practice, describing this registration, or describing nothing at all.

Subcontractors are not exempt. A subcontractor paid by the general contractor, who never signs anything with the homeowner, still has to be registered. New construction is the genuine exception: building a new residence is not a home improvement under the Act.

What the 2023 amendment changed

P.L. 2023, c.237 renamed the statute the Contractors' Business Registration Act, changed the term from HIC to home improvement contractor business, and added a requirement to carry a bond or equivalent security on top of insurance.

The security requirement is the substantive change, and it applies to everyone, including businesses that have been registered for years. It can be a compliance bond from a surety, an irrevocable letter of credit from a bank, or other security the Division accepts, and the amount scales with the size of the work: USD 10,000 for contracts under USD 10,000, USD 25,000 in the middle band, and USD 50,000 for contracts over USD 120,000 or more than USD 750,000 of work in the previous twelve months.

For a homeowner this matters because it is money that can actually be claimed against. It is not a guarantee of good work, but it is a real change from the position before 2024, when a registration on its own carried no bonded backing.

Where the registration number has to appear

State rules require the number on contracts, estimates, advertisements, business cards, commercial vehicles and prominently at the place of business.

This is the most useful consumer protection in the whole system, because it is checkable before any money changes hands. A written estimate for residential work in New Jersey that carries no 13VH number is a signal worth acting on.

The number is a prefix plus eight digits, not a run of thirteen digits, which is a common misdescription. If the number you are given does not look like 13VH followed by eight figures, ask again before you look it up.

How to verify a contractor's registration yourself

The Division publishes a free public lookup where any registration can be checked by business name or number, and the status has to read Active.

Verify before signing, not after. 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. The lookup shows the status, the issue date and the expiration date, so you can see for yourself rather than take a number on trust.

Check that the registered business name matches the name on your contract. A number that is active under a slightly different legal name is worth a question, because the contract is with the entity that signed it.

NJ contractor registration lookup →

What registration does not tell you

Registration confirms that a business filed with the state, carries the required insurance and posted the required security. It is not a measure of workmanship and it does not certify technical skill.

There is no state exam behind the 13VH number. It is a floor, not a ceiling. Treat it as the first filter, since a contractor without it should be excluded outright, and then judge skill on the things that actually demonstrate it: moisture readings taken before the quote, a written grit sequence, and named finish products with published data sheets.

Working unregistered is not a technicality either. The Act carries civil penalties of up to USD 10,000 for a first offence and up to USD 20,000 for each one after that.

Frequently asked questions