Question 1

How is Provetly different from other contractor directories?

Accepted Answer

Most large home-services directories run a lead-share model: when you ask for a quote, your phone number is sold to four or five contractors who then bid for your job. The contractor pays $40–$100 per shared lead, then prices that cost back into your quote. We don't do that. We charge contractors a flat monthly subscription, list one direct phone number per profile, and never sell your contact info. The contractor sees your call, you see one quote.

Question 2

Are the contractors actually verified?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We pull the license number from the issuing agency ourselves — Skilled Trades Ontario, RBQ in Quebec, Skilled Trades BC, Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training, the appropriate state board in the US, and so on for each jurisdiction. We confirm it's active for the trade the contractor lists. We require a current insurance certificate (general liability + workers' comp) on file, re-checked at policy renewal. And we run a background check on the owner: criminal record, civil suits related to construction, BBB profile. If any step fails, the contractor doesn't get listed. Rejection rates will be published at /how-we-vet-contractors once we have meaningful volume.

Question 3

Why is Provetly free for homeowners?

Accepted Answer

Because contractors pay us a flat monthly subscription (Pro and Premium tiers — see /pricing for current rates in your currency). That covers our costs. We never need to charge you, sell your number, or push paid contractors above better-rated ones. The contractor pays the same whether they get one job from us or twenty.

Question 4

How does the verification process work?

Accepted Answer

Three steps before a contractor goes live. (1) License: we look up the contractor's license number directly with the issuing agency and confirm trade, status, and any open complaints. (2) Insurance: we require a Certificate of Insurance naming Provetly as a verifying party, with general liability of at least $1M per occurrence. (3) Background: multi-source check on the owner. Full methodology and the state boards we use are at /how-we-vet-contractors.

Question 5

Is browsing really free?

Accepted Answer

Yes — searching, viewing profiles, and contacting contractors costs nothing. No account needed to browse. No subscription. We don't collect your phone number, email, or address unless you create an account to manage favourites or jobs. We don't sell anything we do collect.

Question 6

What cities are you in?

Accepted Answer

Provetly is a Canada-wide and US directory. The map of where we have verified contractors fills in city by city as contractors apply and pass verification. Browse by city to see what's live near you — empty results mean we haven't verified anyone there yet, not that we're hiding listings. Apply through /claim if you want to be one of the first verified pros in your area.

Question 7

How do I know the reviews are real?

Accepted Answer

Every review on Provetly comes from a homeowner whose job we can match against the contractor's record on the platform. We cross-reference contact details to block reviews from people who didn't actually hire that contractor. Reviews from anyone else don't make it past validation. Contractors can't buy or seed reviews — and our admin team can hide reviews that violate our policy (with a public reason logged).

Question 8

What if a contractor I hire turns out to be bad?

Accepted Answer

Report it through our dispute form. If the complaint is verified, we re-review the contractor's license, insurance, and background. Repeated valid complaints, license lapses, or insurance gaps trigger removal from the directory — typically within 14 days unless the issue is severe enough to remove immediately. We log all moderation actions in the public audit trail.

Question 9

I'm a contractor — how do I list my business?

Accepted Answer

Go to /claim and submit your license number, proof of insurance, and contact info. We typically verify within 1–2 business days. The basic listing is free. Paid tiers (Pro / Premium) add lead notifications, analytics, and category placement. There are no per-lead charges on any tier — that's the whole point.

A directory of contractors we actually verified.

Three steps. None of them involve us selling your phone number.

Pick your trade and city

Read the actual verification

Call them directly

Ten trades to start. More as we grow.

Lead-share platforms aren't scams. They're predatory by design.

The math

What goes wrong

What we do instead

We don't have homeowner reviews yet.

Live in 10 cities

Common Questions