The five checks
- Request a certificate of insurance for general liability. Ask the flooring company to have its insurance agent send you a current certificate of insurance (COI) for general liability, with your name or property address as certificate holder. Any insured contractor can do this the same day.
- Read the certificate against the six fields below. Check the named insured matches the company on the quote, the policy period covers your job dates, general liability is listed with per-occurrence and aggregate limits, and the certificate holder is you — not blank, not a lumber yard.
- Call the insurer on the certificate. Phone the agent or carrier shown and confirm the policy is active for that named insured. Do not use a number the contractor gives you separately — use the one printed on the certificate.
- Check the Better Business Bureau profile on the day. Search bbb.org for the company and Amarillo. Note accreditation, letter grade, listed start date, and complaint pattern. "Not Rated" means insufficient information, not a problem.
- Call City of Amarillo — Building Safety Division about the permit. If the job touches the slab, subfloor, or structure, call 806-378-3041, describe the work, and ask whether a permit is required and whether this company has pulled one. The city does not issue contractor ID numbers — report any "city license number" you were quoted.
That is steps one through five of the full vetting guide, which adds the sixth — the itemized quote — and the slab questions that separate installers.
Anatomy of a certificate of insurance
Most COIs follow the same standard one-page form. Six fields matter; here is what each one is, what a good one shows, and what a bad one looks like.
| Field | What it is | Good | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Producer | The insurance agency that issued the certificate | A named agency with a phone number you can call | Missing, or the contractor asks you to call a number they give you instead |
| Insured | The business the policy covers | Exactly the company name on your quote | A different or "related" business, an individual's name, or a DBA that doesn't match |
| Insurer(s) affording coverage | The carrier(s) behind each policy | A named carrier with a policy number | Blank, or a carrier you can't find |
| Policy period | Effective and expiration dates | Covers every day your job could run | Expires mid-job, or already expired |
| General liability limits | Per-occurrence and aggregate dollar limits | Present, with per-occurrence limits appropriate to your home's value | Only auto or workers' comp listed; general liability absent |
| Certificate holder | Who this certificate was issued for | Your name and address | Blank, "for information only," or a supply house |
Two Texas-specific notes. Workers' compensation is optional for private employers in Texas, so a small flooring crew's COI may show general liability only — that is normal, not a red flag, but it does mean an injury on your property is a question for their liability policy, so ask. And a COI is a snapshot: it proves a policy existed when the agent printed it, which is why the call in step three exists.
The Building Safety call script
Call the City of Amarillo — Building Safety Division at 806-378-3041. The city's own 2025 reminder to contractors is the basis for this script: contractors need a permit to work in Amarillo, the city does not issue ID numbers, and residents can verify permit status by calling this office.
| Say | Why | Write down |
|---|---|---|
| "I'm a homeowner at [address]. I'm having flooring work done that includes [slab repair / self-leveling / a new plywood subfloor over the slab / structural work]. Does that require a permit?" | Describes the work, not the trade — the permit question turns on what is being done to the slab or structure, not on the word "flooring" | Yes / no, and the reason given |
| "The company is [name]. Have they pulled a permit for my address, or are they registered to work in the city?" | Verifies the specific company and job, not a generic status | What the office can and cannot confirm |
| "They gave me a city license number: [number]. Is that something the city issues?" | Only if you were given one — the city says it does not issue them, so this is a fraud report as much as a question | The office's answer, and whom to report it to |
| "If a permit is required, what inspections happen and when?" | Tells you what to expect on site and whether the contractor's schedule accounts for it | Inspection points |
If the work is plain like-for-like flooring on an existing slab or subfloor, the likely answer is that no permit applies — which is still worth hearing from the city rather than from the bidder. For Canyon and Bushland addresses, the authority is different; see the Canyon & Bushland page.
What this page deliberately doesn't do
It doesn't link to a license database, because Texas doesn't have one for this trade — flooring installation is not regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and the state issues no general contractor license. Any site offering to "look up" an Amarillo flooring contractor's license is either checking a different trade or selling you a search. The three things above — insurance, BBB, permit — are the real checks, and they are all free.
Sources
City of Amarillo permit posture and the no-ID-numbers statement: the city's March 2025 public reminder to traveling contractors (claude_FACTS_AMARILLO AMA-001), verified 2026-09-05. Texas licensing posture: TX-002, same date. COI field descriptions follow the standard industry certificate form.
Texas does not require a state contractor license for flooring installation, refinishing, or repair — it is not a TDLR-regulated trade (TX-002). That puts more of the vetting burden on you: ask any company for proof of general liability insurance, check their standing with the Better Business Bureau, and — for work that touches the subfloor or slab — confirm whether the job needs a City of Amarillo permit before work starts. The City of Amarillo does not issue contractor ID numbers, so a company citing a "city license number" for flooring work is a vetting red flag, not a credential (AMA-001). Verify permit requirements yourself with the City of Amarillo Building Safety Division at 806-378-3041.