The quick check at the Oregon CCB
The Oregon Construction Contractors Board runs a free public search, and every contractor it licenses, chimney sweeps included, has a record there that you can read before anyone comes to the house.
This guide is about checking any Oregon contractor. The board’s rules say what a search shows and what the number on a bid means, and that is what follows; the same steps work for the sweep, the roofer and the furnace installer. Book a chimney inspection once you are satisfied, and ask the same questions of us that you would ask of anyone.
- Open the CCB license search. It is linked from the agency’s consumer tools page, and the sources list at the end of this guide has the address.
- Search by business name, person or license number. A company may trade under one name and hold its license under another, so if the name returns nothing, try the number on the bid or the website, or the owner’s name.
- Check the status first. You want an active license with an expiration date in the future. Anything else, including a lapsed or inactive license, means the bond and insurance protections may not be in force for your job.
- Read the endorsement. It tells you what size and mix of work the state has approved the company for; the next section explains the three residential endorsements.
- Look at the bond, insurance and workers’ compensation lines. The board says the search shows whether the contractor has a surety bond, has submitted proof of liability insurance, and carries workers’ compensation coverage.
- Open the complaint history. The record shows complaints and disciplinary actions filed with the CCB in the past ten years. Read them rather than counting them.
- Keep a copy. Screenshot the record with the date showing and file it with the bid.
What each line of the CCB record means
A CCB record is short, but every line answers a different question about who is standing on your roof and what happens if something goes wrong.
| Line on the record | What it tells you | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Status and expiration | Whether the license is current today | Anything other than active is a stop; ask the company to show a renewal before you book |
| License number | The number the state issued; by rule it must appear on the company’s website, written bids, written inspection reports and business cards | Match it against the bid and the website; a company whose name does not match the record should be able to explain why |
| Endorsement | Residential General Contractor: an unlimited number of unrelated building trades on residential and small commercial projects. Residential Specialty Contractor: one or two unrelated trades per project, or more on one property only under a small contract. Residential Limited Contractor: part-time work with a cap on yearly gross and on each contract | Sweeping and repair fit inside a specialty or a general endorsement; a limited endorsement cannot carry a large rebuild |
| Surety bond | A bond the board can direct toward a homeowner’s loss through its complaint process | The reason the license matters: without one, the board says, you lose the ability to recover damages through a bond |
| Liability insurance | Whether proof of a policy was submitted to the board | Ask the company for a current certificate from its insurer before any roof work |
| Workers’ compensation | Whether the company carries coverage for its own crew | Matters most for anyone working on your roof or in your attic |
| Lead-based paint renovation | Whether the company holds the separate endorsement for disturbing painted surfaces in pre-1978 houses | Chimney work that touches a painted mantel, surround or trim can cross the thresholds; ask |
| Complaints and disciplinary actions | Ten years of history filed with the board | One resolved complaint in a decade is a data point; a pattern, or discipline, is an answer |
The bond and insurance minimums step up with the endorsement, and the board’s endorsement chart lists the amounts; a general endorsement carries the largest bond and policy, and the limited endorsement the smallest.
Which chimney work needs a CCB license in Oregon
Sweeping, inspection and every chimney repair need a CCB license, because ORS 701.005 counts anyone who, for pay, offers “to clean or service chimneys” as a contractor, and ORS 701.021 requires a current license and endorsement.
The board’s own list of examples of work that requires a license includes “Chimney inspection/sweeps,” alongside roofing, heating, home inspection, handyman work and repair of attached appliances. Its list of work that does not need one is pure cleaning: gutter cleaning, pressure washing and debris cleanup.
Read together, that covers inspections at every level, masonry and crown repair, liners, caps, dampers and flashing. Dryer vent and air duct cleaning appear on neither list; cleaning a duct is not cleaning a chimney, and the board treats other cleaning-only work as unlicensed, while heating work is licensed.
The statute’s exemption for casual, minor work under a small dollar threshold is narrower than it sounds. It is lost by anyone who advertises as a contractor, so a company with a website, a truck wrap or business cards cannot rely on it, and the rule limits it to work that does not affect the health or safety of the occupants.
What an active license does and does not tell you
An active license means the state has a bond and proof of insurance on file and gives you a complaint process; it says nothing about whether the person on your roof understands chimneys.
Getting the license takes a pre-license course, a state exam, a fee, the bond and the insurance. None of it involves a flue. Trade training and credentials come from trade bodies rather than the state and are worth asking about, but they do not stand in for the CCB check, and the CCB check does not stand in for them.
What shows skill is the work product: which inspection level was done and why, camera photos of your flue labeled by position, a written report that lists each part and its condition, and a recommendation that says what to fix, what to leave alone and what can wait. Our inspection levels guide explains what to expect from each level.
The license also decides who can pull a permit. The board says only a contractor with a license can obtain the required building permits, and Portland requires a mechanical permit for any stove, insert or system that vents into a chimney, with the city stating that all contractors doing mechanical work need a license.
Seven things to ask once the record checks out
The lookup clears the floor; these seven questions sort out which company you actually want on your roof, ours included.
- Does the name on the bid match the name on the CCB record? A trade name is fine if the record lists it; an unrelated name is a question to settle before money changes hands.
- Will the bid and the inspection report carry the CCB number? The advertising rule requires it on both, and on the website.
- Which inspection level will be done, and will I get the photos? A sweep comes with a Level 1 look; for a sale, a new appliance or a chimney fire the standard recommends a Level 2 with a camera, and a real estate chimney inspection is a Level 2 with a written report.
- Who pulls the permit, and under whose number? In Portland a permit is always required to install a stove or insert, and masonry repair below the roofline needs a building permit, while the city says a chimney may be repaired above the roofline without one. Suburbs set their own rules, so ask the city.
- Is the house pre-1978, and will painted surfaces be disturbed? If so, the lead-based paint endorsement applies above the board’s thresholds, six square feet of painted surface per room inside or twenty square feet outside, and a large share of Portland houses are old enough to ask.
- Can I see a current certificate of insurance? The CCB record shows that proof was filed, not what the policy covers today; the insurer can send a certificate directly.
- Is the price posted or quoted on the phone, and what changes it? A written scope with the price, the inspection level and what adds cost removes most disputes before they start; our price board exists for that reason.
When something goes wrong
The CCB mediates a dispute only when the contractor holds a license, which is the practical reason the quick check matters more than any badge on a website.
Oregon’s advertising rule bars anyone from claiming, by any means, to hold a license, a bond or insurance without a current license, and the statute sets a civil penalty for each violation and makes contracting without a license a Class A misdemeanor. A website that makes the claim and shows no number is telling you something, and the lookup takes less time than reading the claim.
If a job goes badly with a contractor who holds a license, the saved record and the written bid are where the board’s complaint process starts. Without a license, the bond route is closed, which is the loss the board warns about.