How to file a complaint against a contractor in North Carolina
The licensing boards discipline licenses; the courts handle money. Here is how each works and what to send.
1. Pick the right board
- General contractor (the company that ran the job, or anyone who took a job of $40,000 or more): NC Licensing Board for General Contractors, complaints@nclbgc.org, 919-571-4183.
- Electrician: State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors.
- Plumber or HVAC contractor: State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler Contractors.
- Home inspector: NC Home Inspector Licensure Board, at the Department of Insurance.
- Unlicensed contractor: the General Contractors board still takes the complaint; see the unlicensed contractor guide.
Not sure who holds what? Look up the license first; the result names the licensee and its classification.
2. What to send
- The signed contract, proposals and change orders.
- Every payment: checks, card statements, receipts, with dates.
- Dated photographs of the work and of what was left undone.
- Written communication, especially promises about dates and corrections.
- Permit numbers and inspection results, which you can pull from the county permit office (see county permit pages).
- Any other contractor's written assessment of the defects.
3. What the General Contractors board does with it
A Board investigator reviews the file, contacts the contractor, and may visit the site. Matters that go forward end in one of the outcomes the Board publishes every quarter: a reprimand, probation, a suspension (often stayed on conditions such as a course or repayment), a revocation, a consent order the contractor agrees to, or a voluntary surrender of the license. Civil penalties and the Board's costs can be ordered on top. You can see how often each happens on the disciplinary actions page, built from those summaries.
Two limits matter. The Board cannot order a refund or award you damages; it governs the license, not the contract. And the process takes months: complaints filed in one quarter typically appear in the Board's summaries two to four quarters later.
4. Getting money back
- Small claims court (magistrate court) hears claims up to $10,000 without a lawyer.
- District or superior court for larger amounts; a lawyer is worth it above small claims.
- An unlicensed contractor cannot enforce the contract against you in North Carolina courts, which changes the negotiation on an unfinished job.
- Liens. A contractor or an unpaid subcontractor may file a lien on your property; respond to lien notices promptly and keep proof of what you paid the general contractor.
- Insurance. If the contractor's certificate of insurance named you, the carrier may cover property damage caused by the work.
- Fraud. Deposits taken for work never started go to the NC Attorney General's consumer protection division as well as to the Board.
5. Permit and inspection problems
Work done without a permit, or that failed inspection, is the county or town inspections department's business. They can require corrections and withhold the certificate of occupancy. The department for your address is listed on our county building-permit pages.