Choosing a roofer
How do I check whether a roofing company is legitimate?
Practical checks on company details, insurance, address, reviews and completed work before letting a roofing contractor onto your property.
- Evidence before expenditure
- Options, not pressure
- Updated 2026-09-16
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Check that the company is identifiable, insured and traceable: a registered name and verifiable address, public liability cover you have actually seen, reviews across more than one platform, and comparable work you can look at. Then check that the advice is evidenced, because a legitimate company still owes you a reasoned diagnosis.
Identity and traceability
A trading name, a verifiable address that is not just a mobile number, and consistent details across their website, paperwork and listings. Where a limited company is named, it should match the name on the quotation.
The purpose is simple: if something goes wrong in two years, you need to be able to find them.
- Consistent company name across website, quotation and paperwork
- A verifiable address, not only a mobile number
- Public liability insurance you have seen
- Reviews on more than one platform, with detail
- Comparable completed work you can view
Insurance
Ask to see public liability cover and check the dates and the insured name. Roof work carries real risk to your property and to passers-by, and uninsured work leaves that risk with you.
Where subcontractors will be used, ask whose insurance covers them.
Reviews and references
Read for specifics rather than counting stars: descriptions of the problem, the work and the outcome are hard to fake. A cluster of very short five-star reviews posted in a few days is worth treating cautiously.
Ask to see work of a similar type — a firm that mainly fits flat roofs is not automatically the right choice for a heritage slate roof.
Doorstep approaches
Not every unsolicited caller is dishonest, but the pattern to be wary of is consistent: an alarming claim about your roof, pressure to decide immediately, and work starting the same day without written scope or evidence.
The safe response is always the same. Take the details, decline to decide on the spot, and arrange your own inspection.
Then test the advice
Legitimacy checks confirm who you are dealing with. They do not confirm the diagnosis. Ask what was inspected and what was found, and expect photographs — that is how you know the recommendation fits the roof rather than the invoice.
Verifying trade body membership directly
A logo on a van or website is not proof of membership; trade bodies typically offer a search facility or a phone line to confirm whether a company is currently registered and in good standing, and it is worth using it rather than taking the badge at face value. Membership can lapse without a website being updated to reflect it.
Where a scheme offers a form of guarantee protection for the homeowner, check what that protection actually requires — some depend on registering the job with the scheme before work starts, which is easy to miss if nobody mentions it.
What evidence should you look for?
These are indications, not conclusions. Each one narrows where to look; only an inspection confirms a cause.
No verifiable address and no insurance produced.
There may be no practical recourse if work proves defective.
Areas that may need investigating
- company details
- insurance certificate
- independent references
Urgency: Monitor
These are due diligence checks; urgency comes from the roof rather than from the checks.
Treat it as more urgent if you see:
- Work has already begun without agreed terms
Repair or replace?
Where an unverified contractor has recommended replacement, obtain an independent inspection before committing to that scope.
Further investigation is the right next step when
- Recommendation received from an unverified source
How we can help
- Roof SurveysA roof survey is a documented assessment of a roof's condition, remaining service life and defects, delivered as a written report with photographs and prioritised recommendations. It is used for property purchases, planned maintenance budgeting, insurance, dilapidations and settling disagreements about whether a roof needs replacing.
- Roof RepairsPlanned roof repair fixes an identified defect — slipped slates, cracked tiles, failed flashings, valley or ridge problems — before it becomes water ingress. Repairs are appropriate where the covering and structure are otherwise sound and the fault is localised.
- Drone Roof InspectionsA drone roof inspection uses a camera-equipped unmanned aircraft to photograph and film every part of a roof at close range without scaffolding, ladders or anyone working at height. It produces high-resolution evidence of the actual condition of ridges, valleys, chimneys, flashings and coverings, delivered as a documented report you can keep, share and compare against future inspections.
Related questions
What should you do next?
Verify the company details and insurance, then arrange an independent inspection before agreeing to work.
Last updated 2026-09-16.
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