Authority Network America

Authority Network America: Consumer Resource Index

The Authority Network America consumer resource index maps the structured landscape of home services and trades verticals covered across the network's member sites. Each member site operates as a sector-specific reference authority, covering licensing standards, provider qualification frameworks, and regulatory structures for a defined trade category. This index describes the scope of each resource, the mechanism by which the network operates, and the decision logic consumers and professionals use to navigate it.

Definition and scope

Authority Network America functions as a national-scope hub coordinating eight member reference sites, each anchored to a distinct home services or construction trades vertical. The network does not represent individual contractors or service providers — it documents the professional standards, credentialing bodies, and service structures that govern each sector.

The network's provider framework defines how member sites are structured: each covers a single vertical in sufficient depth to serve consumers researching service categories, professionals verifying licensing requirements, and researchers analyzing sector regulation. The standards reference cross-references the regulatory and credentialing benchmarks each member site applies.

Collectively, the eight member sites address the following verticals:

  1. Residential and commercial plumbing
  2. HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning)
  3. Electrical systems
  4. General contracting
  5. Roofing
  6. Swimming pools and aquatic installations
  7. Cross-vertical authority reference (network-tier)
  8. National authority designation and standards

The vertical coverage map details the geographic and categorical scope of each member, including which state licensing regimes each vertical is subject to.

How it works

The network operates on a hub-and-spoke model. Authority Network America (the hub) maintains shared infrastructure: provider listing standards, quality benchmarks, and referral protocols. Each member site (the spokes) publishes sector-specific content governed by the network membership criteria and quality benchmarks.

Member site index — primary subjects of this page:

National Plumbing Authority covers the full scope of licensed plumbing trades across US jurisdictions, including state-by-state licensing reciprocity, master and journeyman classifications, and the distinction between residential service plumbing and commercial mechanical systems. It is the reference point for consumers and contractors navigating plumbing credential requirements.

National HVAC Authority documents the HVAC trades sector, including EPA Section 608 refrigerant handling certification requirements, NATE (North American Technician Excellence) credentialing, and the regulatory differences between residential, light commercial, and industrial HVAC work.

National Electrical Authority covers electrician licensing, the National Electrical Code (NEC) adoption status across states, and the distinction between master electrician, journeyman, and apprentice classifications as they apply to permit-pulling authority in different jurisdictions.

National Contractor Authority addresses general contracting licensure, bonding and insurance requirements, and the structure of contractor oversight across state contractor licensing boards. It also covers the distinction between general contractors and specialty trade contractors in terms of scope-of-work authority.

National Roof Authority maps the roofing sector's licensing landscape — noting that roofing is one of the least uniformly licensed trades in the US, with licensing required in fewer than 40 states — alongside manufacturer certification programs such as GAF Master Elite and CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster, which operate as de facto quality indicators in unlicensed jurisdictions.

National Pool Authority covers swimming pool and spa contractor licensing, which is governed by a patchwork of state contractor boards and, in some states, dedicated pool contractor classifications. It addresses the difference between pool construction licensing and pool service technician certification.

The Authority Network organization site provides cross-vertical reference content applicable to multiple trades, including contractor verification methodology and the structure of multi-trade projects. The National Authority reference site serves as a designation and standards hub, covering the criteria by which authority designations are applied across the network.

The home services vertical summary and trades vertical summary provide comparative overviews of how these member sites relate to each other structurally.

Common scenarios

Three usage patterns account for the majority of consumer and professional interactions with this index:

Scenario 1 — Credential verification. A homeowner or property manager needs to verify that a contractor holds a valid license before issuing payment or signing a contract. The contractor verification framework describes the lookup tools and state licensing board databases relevant to each trade.

Scenario 2 — Cross-trade project navigation. A renovation project involving plumbing, electrical, and HVAC work requires understanding which trades require separate licensed subcontractors versus what a general contractor can self-perform under a single license. The plumbing, HVAC, and electrical overview addresses this directly, as does the roofing and pool exterior overview for exterior-scope projects.

Scenario 3 — Interstate licensing research. Contractors working across state lines face non-uniform reciprocity agreements. The network geographic coverage resource maps reciprocity status by trade and state pair.

Decision boundaries

The consumer resource index is a reference structure, not a contractor directory. The distinction between these two categories is operationally significant:

Reference Resource Contractor Directory
Documents licensing standards Lists individual providers
Covers regulatory frameworks Enables direct contact
Maintained by standards criteria Maintained by listing submissions
Applies nationally May be geographically filtered

The member site scope comparison defines the precise boundary of what each member site covers and explicitly excludes. The provider listing standards document the criteria applied when any provider-facing content appears within the network.

Network content is governed by a data integrity policy that prohibits unverifiable claims, undocumented statistics, and fabricated regulatory citations. The network trust indicators page describes the sourcing and verification standards applied across all member sites.

References

On this site

Core Topics
Contact
Other Pages

In the network

State & Local Authorities