How can you tell if your OKC plumber is licensed or not? 😮
So you’re worried or maybe just trying to figure out if your plumber really licensed.
First of all, why should I care? Make me care…!
If it works, it works right? Wrong…
If someone doesn’t have the proper state and city license needed to do plumbing, there’s an extremely good chance he doesn’t carry insurance. If he doesn’t carry insurance and something happens, maybe floods your house, CO2 leaks, natural gas leak, then there’s a good chance you are gonna be out of luck and left to deal with their consequences💧💀📈
Also, most manufacturers won’t honor warranties if your installation or repair wasn’t performed by a licensed professional. I know most water heater manufacturers won’t even look at the warranty if it wasn’t installed by a licensed professional. Also, even some homeowner policy’s won’t approve a claim if you chose to use an unlicensed person.
Chances are, yes, they are cheaper, of course, they are…
They are like a weekend warrior offering you $5 brain surgery. The same goes for many unlicensed plumbers in OKC, they know enough to be dangerous…
They aren’t paying the proper overhead to do things the right way. So these unlicensed hacks will always be able to underbid the real professionals.
Often these unlicensed imposters will never honor their own warranty. We’ve all been there or know someone who has, they call their “contractor” or “repairman” back because something went wrong and they can’t get a hold of anyone or get constant excuses of why they can’t come back to fix the issue.
Remember, asking someone if they are licensed or not is NOT the best way to find out if they are truly licensed. If they are willing to do plumbing without a license, then they are willing to lie to you when answering that question.
So here are some pointers on how to know if a plumber is truly a licensed plumbers Oklahoma City or not.
1. Hey buddy, what’s your license number? 🤔
In Oklahoma and in most states it’s required by law to list your license number with all advertisements. So anywhere where they are advertising for their plumbing services they should have their state license number listed nearby.
The state even requires this license number to be listed on both sides of all work vehicles of the company. They also have a law on how large and what color the number is supposed to be listed on the vehicles!
3” tall and in all-black letters.
If someone is reluctant to give you their license number, then this should definitely send you red flags. If they don’t have or want to provide you with their license number, then stay away.
2. How to understand their license number #️⃣🔢
HINT: There is a science to it
Okay, so they gave you their “supposed” license number. I’ve seen unlicensed guys give out fake license numbers to customers thinking “there’s no way they’ll know if it’s real or not.”
You have to understand the levels of licensing. Just like not all nurses are the same, the same goes for a plumber.
There are 3 levels of plumbing, and I’ll show you which one you are looking for.
Level 1: Plumbing Apprentice, this is an entry-level position, they have to work under a licensed journeyman at all times, and they cannot work by themselves.
Level 2: Plumbing Journeyman. This is after at least 3 years of apprenticeship and a pass on the state exam. This level can work by themself on a job site but still operate under the plumbing contractor.
Level 3: Plumbing Contractor. This is the one you are looking for. Also, that’s what we are at Rapid Water Heaters™. These are the licenses you need to run a plumbing company. These are the ones required to have proper insurance and bonds.
Some journeymen or apprentices try to illegally run side jobs for themselves or even open illegal plumbing companies. They’ll give you their license number, but it’ll just be their journeyman or apprentice number. So it’s good to triple-check the number they provided you with.
3. Run their license number 📲
So now you have their license number and know what kind of license you’re looking for. Now it’s time to run their number in the Oklahoma Plumber License Lookup at Cib.ok.gov which stands for construction industries board. They are state board that regulates licensing for construction trades.
Here’s the direct link:
http://cibverify.ok.gov/Clients/OKCIB/Public/Licensee/LicenseeSearch.aspx
Use that link, and type in the license number in question. If they are licensed, you will find an active “plumbing contractor” license under the number.
No licensed professional should ever be annoyed should you ask for their license number. More than likely they will be happy you are weeding out the unlicensed imposters.
You should always check anyone who is supposed to carry a license who’s going to do work on your home or projects. It’ll only take a couple of minutes but can save you a lot of time, money, and headache.