Authority Network America: Provider Listing Standards Across Members

Provider listing standards across the Authority Network America member network establish the baseline qualifications, verification requirements, and ongoing compliance expectations that determine which contractors, tradespeople, and service firms appear in member site directories. These standards apply uniformly across 8 member sites spanning the residential and commercial trades sector. Inconsistent listing practices across professional directories have contributed to consumer harm at scale — the Federal Trade Commission logged over 2.8 million fraud reports in 2022 (FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2022), with contractor and home improvement fraud consistently ranking among the top categories. The framework described here defines how the network addresses that structural problem through enforceable listing criteria.

Definition and scope

Provider listing standards are the formalized criteria that a contractor, licensed tradesperson, or service firm must satisfy before appearing in a network member directory — and must continue to satisfy to remain listed. These are not editorial recommendations or informal quality signals; they are threshold requirements tied to licensure, insurance documentation, and geographic authorization.

The Authority Network America Standards Reference establishes the cross-network baseline. Individual member sites may apply sector-specific criteria on top of that baseline, but no member site may reduce minimum requirements below the network floor. The Provider Listing Standards page documents that floor in full, including which document types are accepted, how license verification is performed, and which regulatory databases are queried.

Scope covers all 50 US states. Where state licensing boards publish public license status APIs or lookup tools — as 38 states do through their respective contractor licensing boards — the network uses those official records as primary verification sources rather than self-reported documentation.

How it works

Provider onboarding follows a structured sequence before any listing is activated:

1. License status verification — The applicant's license number is cross-referenced against the issuing state licensing board's public database. Expired, suspended, or conditionally restricted licenses trigger automatic hold.
2. Insurance confirmation — General liability coverage at a minimum of $1,000,000 per occurrence is required for general contractors; specialty trades may carry higher thresholds depending on member site requirements. Workers' compensation documentation is required where the provider employs field staff.
3. Geographic authorization check — Each listing is tagged to the jurisdictions in which the provider holds active authorization. A plumber licensed in Texas does not appear in listings for Colorado service areas.
4. Sector classification — The provider is assigned to the appropriate member site vertical. A firm holding both HVAC and electrical licenses is listed under both verticals but maintains separate compliance records per site.
5. Periodic renewal — License and insurance documentation is subject to re-verification on a 12-month cycle. Providers who fail re-verification are suspended from listing pending documentation update.

The Network Provider Onboarding page details the document submission process and turnaround timelines. The Contractor Verification Framework describes how license database queries are structured and which state boards are integrated into automated lookup.

Common scenarios

Scenario: Multi-state contractor
A roofing contractor licensed in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina submits for listing. Each state license is verified independently against that state's contractor licensing board. All three must be in active, unrestricted status. The provider appears in directory results for those three states only. National Roof Authority covers roofing-specific licensing tiers, insurance minimums by state, and storm-damage endorsement requirements that apply to this category.

Scenario: HVAC firm with lapsed insurance
An HVAC provider passes initial license verification but submits an insurance certificate with a policy expiration date 14 days prior to the submission date. The listing is placed on administrative hold. The provider has 30 days to submit a current certificate of insurance before the listing is permanently suspended for the cycle. National HVAC Authority publishes the insurance documentation standards specific to refrigerant-handling and mechanical contracting firms.

Scenario: Electrical contractor adding a second state
An electrician licensed in Ohio seeks to expand a listing to Indiana. Indiana requires a separate state-issued electrical contractor license distinct from the journeyman or master electrician credential. The application flags this distinction, and the expansion is held until the Indiana contractor license — not merely the individual trade credential — is confirmed active. National Electrical Authority maintains state-by-state breakdowns of contractor licensing versus individual credential requirements, which differ across 31 states.

Scenario: Pool contractor in a regulated specialty
Pool and spa installation is subject to specialty licensing in 27 states, with Florida and California among the most stringent (National Swimming Pool Foundation, State Regulatory Summary). A pool contractor operating across state lines must hold state-specific pool contractor credentials, not merely a general contractor license. National Pool Authority maps those requirements by state and distinguishes between construction, service, and chemical handling endorsements.

Decision boundaries

Listing status decisions fall into three distinct categories — approved, held, or rejected — each with defined reinstatement paths.

Approved vs. Held: A held listing preserves the provider's application in queue pending a specific document correction. Held status does not count against the provider's application history provided the deficiency is resolved within the prescribed window.

Held vs. Rejected: Rejection occurs when a license is confirmed as suspended or revoked by the issuing authority, when documentation is determined to be fraudulent, or when the provider fails to respond to a hold notice within 30 days. Rejected applications require a full reapplication following a 12-month waiting period.

Single-vertical vs. multi-vertical listings: A provider listed under National Plumbing Authority does not automatically qualify for listing under National Contractor Authority. General contractor licensing involves separate statutory criteria in most states, and the two verticals maintain independent compliance records. The Member Site Scope Comparison details where vertical categories overlap and where they diverge.

The Network Quality Benchmarks page defines the performance thresholds — complaint rate ceilings, response time standards, and re-verification pass rates — that influence listing status beyond the initial credentialing gate.

References

• Federal Trade Commission — Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2022
• National Swimming Pool Foundation — State Regulatory Resources
• U.S. Small Business Administration — Contractor Licensing Overview
• National Electrical Contractors Association — State Licensing Requirements
• Council for Licensing Law & Enforcement (NASCLA) — Contractor License Reciprocity Agreements