Washington: general vs. specialty
Washington registers contractors as either general or specialty, across 63 recognized specialty trades. A general contractor can take on most construction work and hire subcontractors, while a specialty contractor, which is where roofing falls, can only perform work in the trade they registered for and can't hire subcontractors of their own.[1]
Either way, the registration requires a bond and liability insurance on file with the Department of Labor & Industries before the business can legally bid a job.[1]
California: C-39 versus a general B license
California's roofing classification, C-39, covers installing and repairing surfaces that seal, waterproof, and weatherproof a structure, using materials from asphalt shingles to metal panels to tile. A holder of the general "B" license can take on a project spanning more than two trades, but for a single-trade roofing job, the state licensing board points homeowners toward a contractor licensed specifically in that specialty.[2],[3]
A C-39 license also renews every two years, and since a 2022 change in state law, every C-39 roofer must carry workers' compensation insurance whether or not they have employees.[2]
Florida: certified versus registered
Florida law defines a certified contractor as one who holds a statewide certificate of competency and can contract anywhere in the state, while a registered contractor has only met the competency requirements of the specific jurisdiction that issued the registration and can contract there and nowhere else.[4]
On top of that split, a general, building, or residential contractor certified after 1973 isn't allowed to act or advertise as a roofing contractor unless they're also separately certified or registered specifically for roofing.[5]
Why the class matters to you
The class on a license tells you the boundaries of what that contractor is legally allowed to bid. A roofer holding the right class for their state and job is the baseline; it doesn't speak to their workmanship, which is a separate question worth asking references about directly before you sign anything.
What this directory shows versus what it doesn't
Every listing here carries the license number and class the issuing state agency has on file, along with how long that license has been active. None of that is a claim about how good the work will be; it's a record of who is legally allowed to do it and where.
Class alone also won't tell you whether a company subcontracts its roofing work to someone else, so it's worth asking directly who will actually be on your roof and whether that person or crew holds the license themselves, and whether that arrangement is normal for the size of company you're hiring.