Is it normal for a contractor to ask for a deposit?

Yes — a reasonable deposit to cover materials or scheduling is normal. What's not normal is a deposit that covers most or all of the job cost before work starts. Many states cap deposits by law, often between 10% and 33% of the contract price, so check your state's rule before you pay.

What if a contractor doesn't have a license number handy?

A licensed contractor should be able to give you their license number immediately, since it's public information you're meant to verify. Hesitation, a mismatched business name, or an expired license are all reasons to keep looking.

Are door-to-door contractor offers always scams?

Not always, but the FTC flags unsolicited door-to-door offers — especially ones involving leftover materials or storm damage — as a common scam setup. Treat any door-to-door offer the same way you'd treat any other bid: verify the license, get it in writing, and compare against other quotes.

What should be in a written contract before I sign?

A solid contract spells out the scope of work, materials to be used, a start and completion date, the total price and payment schedule, and your right to cancel within three business days if you signed at home. Never sign a contract with blank spaces left for someone to fill in later.

How many quotes should I get to spot a bad deal?

Most guidance points to at least three quotes for a meaningful home improvement project. With three bids in hand, an outlier price, deposit demand, or timeline stands out clearly instead of being something you just have to take on faith.

Contractor Red Flags: Warning Signs to Watch Before You Sign

A knock on the door, a deal that sounds too good, a contractor who needs an answer by tonight — these are the moments that separate a good home improvement decision from a costly mistake. Most contractors are honest, licensed professionals. But the warning signs of the ones who aren't tend to show up early, usually before any work starts, if you know where to look.

How Big a Deposit Is Too Big?

A request for a large deposit before any work begins is one of the clearest red flags in home improvement. The Federal Trade Commission warns that legitimate contractors don't ask you to pay for everything up front, and many states legally limit how much a contractor can collect before the job starts (consumer.ftc.gov).

Those limits vary a lot by state:

State	Deposit Cap
California	10% of contract price or $1,000, whichever is less
Nevada	10% of contract price, or cost of special-order materials, whichever is greater
Maryland	33% of contract price
Arizona	No statutory cap, but the Registrar of Contractors can investigate unusually large deposits as potential fraud

If your state caps deposits and a contractor asks for more, that's not a technicality — it's a legal violation and a sign they may not plan to finish the job. If you're not sure what your state allows, your state contractor license board or consumer protection office can tell you.

Will They Show You a License Number?

A licensed, reputable contractor will give you their license number without hesitation, because you're supposed to check it. If someone is vague about it, claims they don't need one for small jobs, or gives you a number that doesn't match their business name when you look it up, treat that as a stop sign, not a technicality. For the exact steps, see How Do I Check a Contractor's License? It's also worth confirming insurance at the same time — our guide on what insurance a contractor should have covers what to ask for.

Why Does Cash-Only or Wire-Only Payment Matter?

The FTC specifically flags contractors who ask you to pay for everything up front or only accept cash as a scam pattern. A demand for cash, a wire transfer, or gift cards — with no invoice, no paper trail, and no way to dispute the charge — takes away your ability to get your money back if the work never happens or falls apart. A legitimate contractor will take a check or card and give you a receipt tied to a real business.

What Do High-Pressure Tactics Look Like?

Scammers often push for an immediate decision: a discount that expires today, materials supposedly left over from a job down the street, or pressure to sign before you've had a chance to get a second opinion. A contractor with a real backlog of work isn't going to lose sleep if you take 48 hours to compare bids. If someone won't give you that time, that alone is worth walking away from.

What Other Signs Should Make You Pause?

No written contract, or one with blank spaces you're told to sign anyway. The FTC recommends a contract that spells out the scope of work, materials, a completion date, and total price, plus your legal right to cancel within three business days for contracts signed at your home.
They offer to arrange financing through a lender they know. Shop your own financing instead — a contractor steering you toward a specific lender is a common setup for inflated loan terms.
They ask you to pull the building permits yourself, shifting legal responsibility for the work onto you.
No fixed local address, or a business that's hard to find any history for. A quick search of the company name plus "complaint" or "review" takes two minutes and can save you thousands.

Why Getting Multiple Quotes Matters Here

None of these red flags are foolproof on their own — a small local contractor might genuinely prefer checks over credit cards, for instance. That's exactly why getting more than one quote matters: when you compare two or three bids for the same job, you can see whether a price, a deposit request, or a timeline is actually out of line, instead of just taking one contractor's word for it. As we cover in how many quotes you should get for a home project, the comparison itself is often what reveals a red flag — you're not just hoping the number is fair, you know it because you've seen what else is out there.

What to Do About It

If a contractor shows one of these signs, don't assume the worst automatically — but do slow down. Ask for their license number and verify it with your state's licensing board before signing anything. Ask for proof of insurance. Get the scope of work, materials, and price in writing. And get at least one more quote from a different contractor for the same job, so you have something to compare against. If a contractor pushes back hard on any of that, take it as your answer.

If you've already paid and suspect fraud, the FTC recommends reporting it to your local police, to ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and to your state consumer protection office.

None of this means you need to interrogate every contractor who knocks on your door or answers your call. It means treating a bid the way you'd treat any other major purchase: verify the credentials, get the terms in writing, and don't let urgency substitute for due diligence. The contractors worth hiring are used to homeowners asking these questions — and won't mind answering them.