GC wants a copy of my licence should I be alarmed?

[infinity]

So every contractor has a state seal whether they are incorporated or not. Here just corp. have the seal.

If you operate as a corporation you would have two seals. One for the corp the other to operate an electrical contracting business, that one allows you to sign/seal permits. In NJ you can be a licensed electrical contractor but you still are not permitted to do electrical work, that would also require a separate business permit. Basically this distinguishes between someone who only passed the electricians licensing exam and someone who's permitted to operate an electrical contracting business.

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

I would ask the contractor a few questions, and if you are unsure of the contractor, call the building department/state for some information as to policy.
License numbers for all ECs are listed either on the state site or locally depending on how the licensing is procured.

My question to Electrical Contractors is - do you have a contract with said General Contractor. Some guys get a little mad at the question, the reason I ask the question is to protect the EC.
*For years in the area I am from, the EC generally works with an proposal, and not a contract, which leaves them wide open for problems. In the last 10 years or so (where I am from), it is a LAW for any contractor to have a contract with the consumer...which most consumers and contractors seem to be unaware of. This really only becomes a problem when the job goes "south" - of course we all know the percentage of jobs that go south.


The moral of this post - protect yourself, no one else gives a damn about you.

 

[cdslotz]

Our license number is on every truck/van and on all of our proposals.

Also, all municipalities have on record, those names that can pull a permit.

I'm not sure how a GC could pull that off

 

[stevenje]

GC wants copy of my licence says needs to submit it with town permits for bathroom reno this is NJ. Seams odd never needed more then my seal.

Why not just ask him why he needs it. Maybe he is just uninformed on what information and /or procedures that he needs to pull a permit. I would imagine that any license number in every state is public record, available to anyone who would like to know it.
Are you thinking that this GC is going to use your license to do the electrical work himself or have someone else do it for him under your license? I suppose that it is possible, but at the risk of being brought up on fraud charges.

 

[LEO2854]

GC wants copy of my licence says needs to submit it with town permits for bathroom reno this is NJ. Seams odd never needed more then my seal.

Here we have to display our license number in all advertisements, invoices,and other business comunications,

The Electrician has to pull his own permits,

A GC can not pull Electrical permits unless he is also a licensed Electrician.

 

[kwired]

What a PIA. Our State online electrical permit application is great. A simple phone call is acceptable to the closest ciity. Advantage of people knowing who I am just by voice recogniton alone.

I believe I have provided a copy of my license to any customer that has asked. (Maybe two times.) No different then having them ask for a fed Id # or proof of insurance, or so I thought.

I love the online permit application. Can have a permit just minutes before doing the job if necessary, can have a permit 24/7/365.

As far as someone else using your license to apply for their own permits, On line you must sign in with your own username and password, by snail mail they could try but if the application info does not match the address of the license holder it may not get processed without some phone calls first, and if it does get processed the permit will be sent to the license holder and not to the person trying to steal the license.

 

[emahler]

Probably the town is requiring it. Just filed a permit in the town I live in, and the requested it....even though the permit was signed and sealed and contains all our information....

Just another hoop to jump through in nj....no wonder we are ranked as one of the least friendly states fora small business...

 

[Fulthrotl]

GC wants copy of my licence says needs to submit it with town permits for bathroom reno this is NJ. Seams odd never needed more then my seal.

every place is different.... in california, you go to the website, put in the
license number, and get the abstract, with bonding and workers comp info,
along with contact information, and business address.

https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicenseII/checklicense.aspx

when you go to pull a permit, you have a license card with a magnetic stripe
on the back, and they just swipe your card at the permit window...

 

[satcom]

Here we have to display our license number in all advertisements, invoices,and other business comunications,
The Electrician has to pull his own permits,

A GC can not pull Electrical permits unless he is also a licensed Electrician.

The Electrical Contractor should be Filing the permit in New Jersey and not letting some GC or homeowner do it, the EC should also call for the inspection and not let the GC or homeowner do it but some guys enjoy the extra sleep they get in the CEU's law review , so they just follow what they others do, usually the wrong process to file a permit.

 

[robwire]

Why not just ask him why he needs it. Maybe he is just uninformed on what information and /or procedures that he needs to pull a permit. I would imagine that any license number in every state is public record, available to anyone who would like to know it.
Are you thinking that this GC is going to use your license to do the electrical work himself or have someone else do it for him under your license? I suppose that it is possible, but at the risk of being brought up on fraud charges.

There are a few towns in NJ that require a photocopy of your license to pull a permit. Some stupid paper pusher got confused with the Home improvement registration.

I gave into their stupid demands the first couple of times and wrote all over the copy For address XXX XXXX XXXX only and underlined it like 25 times.

Then I got tired of wasting paper and told them that I contacted the state and the state told me it was illegal for me to make copies of my license so go piss up a rope. They never asked again

Give it to him but make sure you write something on it so he can't reuse it or tell him you will drop it off at the town and give them hell about it when you do. We paid for that seal,that is what should matter

 

[revolt]

New Jersey is a "Home Rule" orientated state. What that basically means is that each city, township, bourough etc. is in charge of their own services. That includes the sub-code officials. Some towns hire their own, some sub out to part timers,some hire the state to inspect and some hire companies to inspect etc.. Some towns require a copy of your license, most don't. Some towns you can only take out a permit when the building inspector gets off of his day job and comes in at night after dinner on Tuesday and Thursday between 6 & 8 PM. The counties have limited power in NJ. Every thing is done at a local level and it creates some confusion at times. Garbage pick up, salting the roads, police, road departments etc. are controlled by the local towns. Like it or not they will not change because no one wants to give up the control. Ever wonder why we have the highest property taxes?

 

[gadfly56]

The Electrical Contractor should be Filing the permit in New Jersey and not letting some GC or homeowner do it, the EC should also call for the inspection and not let the GC or homeowner do it but some guys enjoy the extra sleep they get in the CEU's law review , so they just follow what they others do, usually the wrong process to file a permit.

The GC is the guy running the job. He has one jacket and there is one permit number for all the work associated with the job. This prevents confusion at the building department, where you could wind up with separate, Building, Mechanical, Electircal, Fire, and Plumbing permits all for the same block and lot. We frequently fill out our own subcode technical seciton and pass it on to the GC who submits all the permit applications at once. And it allows for coordination of the various rough and final inspections. And yes, we get requests for copies of our various licenses all the time. I just fax or e-mail the PDF. It doesn't matter how perfect a copy of our electrical license or my PE license you have, if you ain't got the seal, you can't make the deal.

 

[satcom]

The GC is the guy running the job. He has one jacket and there is one permit number for all the work associated with the job. This prevents confusion at the building department, where you could wind up with separate, Building, Mechanical, Electircal, Fire, and Plumbing permits all for the same block and lot. We frequently fill out our own subcode technical seciton and pass it on to the GC who submits all the permit applications at once. And it allows for coordination of the various rough and final inspections. And yes, we get requests for copies of our various licenses all the time. I just fax or e-mail the PDF. It doesn't matter how perfect a copy of our electrical license or my PE license you have, if you ain't got the seal, you can't make the deal.

That is all very nice, in the perfect world, not all GC's are perfect, so to avoid problems such as the permit was never filed or no inspection was called for, do it yourself, we simply take the file to the inspection office and have it added to the job folder, and we supervise all our jobs so we know if it is ready for inspection, we don't have a GC jumping the gun on a ready for inspection, GC may be overseeing the project, but he is not running the electrical even though some of them try.

 

[rodneee]

hate when that happens

hate when that happens

GC wants copy of my licence says needs to submit it with town permits for bathroom reno this is NJ. Seams odd never needed more then my seal.

it seemed odd for me but one GC i have prefers it that way, handles everything and pays for every thing...

 

[GBBOLT]

Be alarmed

Be alarmed

It is getting common here in Florida for GC's to ask for your license to turn in with a bid. If you see it as part of the bid documents, which will tell you that the GC has to have copies of all subs licensing to turn in with their bid proposals, but if you have not seen that in the bid documents, I would ask for documentation. I gave it to a GC one time only to find out he WAS doing work under our license, small jobs like pulling meters off buildings to replace the wood behind them, and then calling the power company to come cut the seals so he could screw the meters back on. These guys are out there, so I would make them provide documentation in the bid documents before giving it out!

 

[kwired]

It is getting common here in Florida for GC's to ask for your license to turn in with a bid. If you see it as part of the bid documents, which will tell you that the GC has to have copies of all subs licensing to turn in with their bid proposals, but if you have not seen that in the bid documents, I would ask for documentation. I gave it to a GC one time only to find out he WAS doing work under our license, small jobs like pulling meters off buildings to replace the wood behind them, and then calling the power company to come cut the seals so he could screw the meters back on. These guys are out there, so I would make them provide documentation in the bid documents before giving it out!

The AHJ is the one that doing this the wrong way. If I send someone a copy of my EC license and they try to pull permits with it, the permit may get processed if all information is correct but the permit will be sent to me and not whoever is trying to use my permit. Then I will be able to contact AHJ to tell them I did not file that permit and they can investigate what is going on and take proper action.

 

[gadfly56]

It is getting common here in Florida for GC's to ask for your license to turn in with a bid. If you see it as part of the bid documents, which will tell you that the GC has to have copies of all subs licensing to turn in with their bid proposals, but if you have not seen that in the bid documents, I would ask for documentation. I gave it to a GC one time only to find out he WAS doing work under our license, small jobs like pulling meters off buildings to replace the wood behind them, and then calling the power company to come cut the seals so he could screw the meters back on. These guys are out there, so I would make them provide documentation in the bid documents before giving it out!

How is the GC pulling permits without the electrical subcode technical section carrying the electrician's seal? If FL doesn't require electrical permit applications to be sealed, shame on them! They're just asking for this sort of fraud.

 

[unytko]

Nyc

Nyc

Do it all the time. In NYC it is usually reqested by managing company to provide photo copy of the license. Sometimes it is anough to let you do the job in the building - that is why I have to make sure to write address or project name occross - this way it can't be used for a different project especally by the GC

 

[Electric-Light]

Do you find it alarming that Enterprise makes a copy of your driver's license when you rent a car too?

Here, you can look up most professional licenses online. Some only provide limited information. Some even provide the registered address, which means for sole proprietor, their home address.

 

[kwired]

Do you find it alarming that Enterprise makes a copy of your driver's license when you rent a car too?

Here, you can look up most professional licenses online. Some only provide limited information. Some even provide the registered address, which means for sole proprietor, their home address.

A sole proprietor does not have to work out of their home.

The license is for the individual and not for the business. Some places may require some type of license for business also but there needs to be some individual within the organization that has qualification that allows them to do what it is that they do. You could have a business with a contractor or master license that is not the owner as well as a non qualified owner that holds a business license of some type.