How KnowYourGC Works
We aggregate public records, court filings, and verified reviews to give homeowners a complete picture of any general contractor — before they sign a contract.
What data we pull
Building & permit records
Permits, violations, stop work orders, inspection results
Court filings & legal records
State court filings, lawsuits, and legal proceedings
Licensing & compliance databases
License status, expiration, insurance, and disciplinary actions
Verified insider reviews
Anonymous reviews from verified former employees
Verified client reviews
Anonymous reviews from homeowners, verified by permit number
How the trust score works
Every contractor gets a score from 0–100 based on five factors. The score updates automatically as new public records are filed.
Violation history
Open violations, stop work orders, and fines — weighted by severity and recency
Legal record
Active lawsuits, settlements, and case outcomes
License & compliance
Active license, insurance, bonding, and regulatory standing
Staff stability
Project manager and key staff turnover rates
Reviews
Insider and client review scores, weighted by verification strength
Clean
Caution
High Risk
How reviews are verified
Insider (ex-employee) reviews
Verified through LinkedIn profile cross-referencing, offer letters, W2s, or pay stubs. The reviewer's identity is never published — only their role and tenure dates appear.
Client (homeowner) reviews
Verified by matching the NYC permit number to the contractor. This confirms the reviewer had an actual project with the firm. Identity is never revealed.
Our neutrality policy
- No contractor pays us. There are no sponsored listings, featured placements, or pay-to-play mechanisms.
- Trust scores are computed algorithmically from public data. No human manually adjusts scores.
- All data is sourced from verified records. Every violation, lawsuit, and review is cross-referenced by M8ven for accuracy.
- Contractors can flag factual errors. We have a correction process for disputes over data accuracy.
Data corrections
If you believe any data on a contractor's report is inaccurate, you can flag it directly from the report page. We review all correction requests within 5 business days and update the record if the correction is verified.