Licensing and certification in the roofing industry

By Emma Peterson.

When hiring a contractor, you want to make sure they are qualified and reliable. Learn how certifications and licenses help you pick the right roofer for your project.

In a new episode of the AskARoofer Podcast, host Lauren White got the chance to talk to Travis Jones. Travis is the owner of Smart Roof and Home Performance, and his team operates out of Dallas, Texas. This location makes him the perfect person to talk to about this episode’s topic — contractor licensing and manufacturers like IKO Industry’s certification programs.  

For some background information, Texas is well-known in the roofing industry because the state does not have a roofing license. Travis explained, “It really differs from state to state. In Texas, we do not have a roofing license. The only license you can get is a voluntary license through our state organization, which is the Roofing Contractors Association of Texas (RCAT). That’s the license I have.” But Travis and Smart Home are in the minority of contractors in the state, only an estimated 350 roofers out the 10,000 companies in the state have that license.  

Why does this matter? Licensure is a form of accountability. Travis elaborated, “Think of roofing licenses like driver’s licenses. Having a driver's license doesn't mean you're going to be a good driver. But if you're a bad driver, they can take that license away. So making sure your contractors are licensed, means a homeowner can reach out if something goes wrong.”

So, in a place like Texas without a state roofing license, how do you find a qualified roofer? One option is to look for RCAT licensed professionals like Travis. The other is to look for certifications. These are not the same thing as a license. Travis shared a bit about the difference, saying, “Manufacturers want their products to succeed, which requires them to be installed correctly. So many of them have some kind of a certification for roofers that basically says, ‘If you go through our training and if you put on our system, then you are eligible to register for the extended warranties and you get a certification.’” Travis and his team are specifically IKO and GAF certified.  

For a homeowner, finding a contractor with the right certifications for what they want to put on their roof can be another way to make sure they are hiring a qualified and accountable roofer. Travis gave an example of how his team’s certifications play into customer interactions, saying, “I had a client who got a roof five years ago by a reputable manufacturer. She had me look at it because of some windstorms and I noticed it was blistered all over. Because nothing else seemed wrong, I told her that it looked like a warranty claim.” Once they filed the claim, the manufacturer agreed that it looked like a warranty claim, but the roof had not been originally installed by a certified contractor. That meant it didn’t have an extended warranty. Travis explained, “Without an extended warranty, the manufacturer just pays for the shingles and a little bit of labor — that's it. They're not paying for the accessories; they're not paying for tear off. In other words, this homeowner was going to be stuck with a very large bill.”  

Read the transcript or Listen to the full episode to learn more about licensing and certifications in the roofing industry.