Always question "the license"

 So many handyman types and other professional trades or work people will list being "licensed" in their advertising or marketing.   One reason is because consumer expectations have been trained to look for things like licenses as a provenance for ability.

Let's examine the facts though. licensing is primarily two things; permission to do business by state or local governments and demonstration of ability via that government's testing.

Many government agencies designated to oversee such things often do not have a license for certain areas.  They might require registering with their office.  But a registration is not a license.   It has little or nothing to do with provenance via testing.  It simply means the individual or business complied with a request or requirement to provide information and paid a fee.  Registration is buying permission to do business.

That doesn't stop many businesses or individuals from claiming that they are licensed when they are actually just registered.   Being "licensed" sounds more legitimized. 

Each state and local jurisdiction will decide on which services they will require registration and/or a license for.  You can go from one state that requires a license,  to the state next door which might only require registration.   There might be another state next to those that requires neither.

But, some folks also conflate certification with licensing.  But pretty much anyone can offer certification for just about anything.  Licensing, by definition,  can only be offered by a government bureau. It should also require testing or some demonstration of skill and knowledge.   They don't always.  But in most cases, they do to some degree.

So when a business tells you they are "licensed",you should be asking questions.   First one being, "licensed by whom?"  If its not a government agency,  its not a "real" license. Another important question is, "licensed for what specifically?" Sometimes they might have a license in one specific category or specialization but try to use that license as a blanket cover, incorrectly,  for other work.

And, a lit of times, they say "licensed" when what they have is a registration and/or certification.   Which are most definitely NOT the same thing.  That may be OK.  If you don't need a license,  go ahead and look for other sources of provenance,  like certification. As long as you verify the certification is by a reputable source.  

The "best" certifications are done by trade organizations which have staked their reputation on reliability.  They will often require in-depth and rigorous testing and demonstration of ability (usually at no low cost) for certification by their organization.

Also be advised that a "Certificate" offered by a college or some kind of school is NOT the same thing as having a certification.  A "Certificate" is the lowest level of graduating documentation.  Next is an "Associates" degree, then Bachelors,  and so on.  And an educational "Certificate" does require a testing of knowledge and ability of the area or field specified in order to graduate.  So, it is not necessarily illegitimate but it is not the same thing.  It is often seen as the most basic first step in the experiential ability of that person on the path to professional status.

Almost all certifications and licensing are focused on results and procedural ability.  The abilities to turn out results as determined by established building codes and safety protocols.

There are no legitimate licenses or certification based on finesse or macho points or 90% of the baloney that you see folks talk about online.  No one cares how fast, how dexterious, how smooth, you go about your job.  What's important is knowledge and actual, results based ability.

So, do your homework,  do a bit of checking up on claims to licensing and certification.   Also, check on the actual requirements in your state, county, city, etc... for those things.  They may not be required.  (If they aren't required, they are probably then not provided which means the folks claiming to have it may not be completely honest).

Also, decide what your projects actual results needs to look like and be.  What do you want compared to those?  Wants and needs aren't always the same and the cost to meet wants over needs may be dramatically different.  Some realistic expectations may need to be put in place.  This will affect who you hire and what they are charging for.