Complaint Reporting, Review and Jurisdiction

The Board for Licensing Contractors strives to protect the health, safety and welfare of Tennessee citizens from unscrupulous contractors. This is our number one concern and want consumers to report problem contractors, licensing law violations, and notify us of any judgments awarded by the court, as this will benefit others from being harmed. We encourage consumers to use state licensed professionals and you may check their license status at: Department of Commerce & Insurance Administration Licence Roster Search.

The Board oversees licensing of contractors, home improvement remodelers, electricians, plumbers and approves contractor prelicensing course providers. The Board may take disciplinary action for licensing law violations reported, while the Division of Consumer Affairs works to resolve matters between the consumer and the licensee. 

We hope you will never have to file a complaint, but want you to be aware of your options and assist you with the filing process.   At the prompt below, you may file an online complaint, OR if you have important copies of documentation to be included and it would benefit the evaluation of the case, print the Complaint Form and mail to the address listed on the form (please allow 5 to 7 business days for state mail delivery) and include copies of your evidence (copy of contract; permit; codes inspections reports; canceled checks; invoices; etc.). If this is an issue where you also want to get monetary judgements or force the licensee to pay for repairs, you need to contact an attorney to file civil charges, as the Board does not have the authority to make these type judgments.

REPORTING VIOLATIONS & COMPLAINTS

Upon receipt of your completed complaint form, our legal counsel will evaluate the complaint and determine if the Board has jurisdiction or if mediation would benefit the consumer.  To make this determination, the following are considered:

• License (Does the contractor, electrician, plumber or a course provider have a license or was one required?) You may check to see if they are licensed at: http://licsrch.state.tn.us/ ; Check whether the licensed contractor, contracted in the legal name and mode of operation, as licensed
• Contract or Monetary Amount (Did the amount of the project require a license?  If in excess of $25,000, a contractor's license is needed; any amount for an electrician or plumber in a county without a local license agency, requires a state limited license.  Was the contractor acting as a prime contractor? Subcontractors other than electrical, mechanical, plumbing and HVAC are not required to be licensed. All prelicensing course providers must be approved to offer services.
• Home Improvement Complaint (If you live in one of the following nine (9) counties: Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Johnson, Knox, Robertson, Rutherford or Shelby; and the cost was in excess of $3,000, the Home Improvement Commission would have jurisdiction over these licensees, and those with a valid license with the Contractors Board.)
• Electricians and Plumbers (Limited Licensed Electricians (LLE) and Limited Licensed Plumbers (LLP) are required to obtain a state license with our Board, in counties who do not have their own local licensing agency.  Major counties such as Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Shelby, etc., have their own license requirements.)(Neither the Board nor Commission has the authority to award monetary damages or to force the contractor to complete and/or make repairs.
• Contractor Prelicense Course Provider (Courses to help in passing the contractor's license exams). These course providers must have each course approved by the board and follow strict guidelines, outlined in the Rules and Regulations.
• Action (Board does not have the authority to award monetary damages; or to force the contractor to complete and/or make repairs. They may impose discipline on cases related to licensing violations.)
• Age of Complaint (There is a one (1) year “implied warranty”  [see T.C.A. 47-2-314] on cosmetic items and a statute of limitations of four (4) years on structural damage.)
• Unlicensed Activity (You may report unlicensed activity by submitting the name of the contractor and the address where they are working, and if needed, you may remain anonoymous.)

The Board does not have the authority to award monetary damages or force the contractor to make repairs. They may assess discipline such as letters of warning/caution, citations, civil penalties, consent orders and  in some cases, they may revoke or suspend the license through an adversarial formal hearing process with an Administrative Judge, pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act. In order to prosecute for workmanship issues, it is impearative to include evidence of codes violations (if your county has a codes official).

Anyone seeking to recover monetary remedies for injuries should consult a private attorney, as the Board has no jurisdiction over these matters.  Some municipality's may require a permit bond, and check with the local permit office to see if one was required and obtained. A bond is not required to obtain a contractor's license and our office does not have bond information on file, except, home improvement contractors (HIC) are required to obtain a $10,000 surety bond, property bond or Irrevocable Letter of Credit; therefore, HIC files will have this information. If you have been wronged by a contractor, reporting a complaint provides a means to protect other consumers.  However, complaint cases do not become public information until after the case is closed. Closed cases are available at the at the Regulatory Boards site of  Disciplinary Action or listed on the "Problem Contractor List"  with the Division of Consumer Affairs.   Formal action of the board is listed at Revoked/Suspended site.

PROCESS - Disciplinary Action or Mediation

Consumers hiring a licensee benefit from the mediation program with the Division of Consumer Affairs.  Should our Legal section recommend transferring your reported complaint to CHAMP (Consumer/Homeowner Accountability Mediation Program) you will be notified in writing from their coordinator. 

STEP 1

●Mediation - Must be: a legal residential project (unlicensed or when the law requires a license); complaints involved in litigation; and commercial projects, are not eligible for participation in CHAMP. After the mediation process, if there are license law violations, the case may l be transferred to the Board for discipline against the license.

AND/OR

●Discipline - Will be processed by our Legal section for possible discipline. You may also use the complaint form to report unlicensed activity and may remain anonymous.

STEP 2

●Complainant will receive an acknowledgement letter verifying receipt of the complaint and whether it wil be transferred to CHAMP; or it may remain with Legal for investigation. Note:  Details of the case while in the Legal Section, are not public information.  Notification of  the status on the case, will not be sent until the case is "closed".  Cases are considered "open" until the contractor pays the recommended penalty or appears for a Formal Hearing overseen by an Administrative Judge. During this process, the Board cannot prevent a licenses from working, cannot hold the license or renewal issuance, until the case is closed.

●Contractor/Respondent will also be notified; their notice is sent by certified mail, of the complaint allegations and directed to respond in writing within *ten (10) days of receipt (from the date the contractor receives notification from the Board). A copy of the complaint will be included in the notice to the contractor. Please note due to certified mail delivery, a typical contractor’s response may take *thirty (30) days.

STEP 3

●Legal Counsel will review all documentation, after the time is up for a response to allegations, and determine the next course of action. This may require an investigator or inspector onsite visit, if necessary to prove violations in the case. You will not be contacted unless an inspection is needed to gather more evidence to prove license law violations, or if you are needed as a witness for a formal hearing.

NOTE: Legal files are not considered open to the public and investigative/inspection reports are confidential (legal work product). Once their case is closed, they will forward only the findings to the Board office.

STEP 4

●Board Review for Discipline - consists of cases presented anonymously to the Board on a Legal Report at a regularly scheduled meeting, by the Legal section, to review the recommendations of the Legal Counsel for action.  The Board will not see the complaint, have knowledge of the contractor's or complainant's name on the case and decisions are based upon the findings of licensing law violations determined by Legal.

Our Board may only take disciplinary action against a contractor for licensing law violations (they cannot force the contractor to repair items or award monetary damages).   This requires Legal to provide evidence to the Board showing the contractor violated the license law.

OR

●Mediation - Any eligible residential complaint received in the Board and Commission office will be transferred to the Division of Consumer Affairs for processing through CHAMP which offers consumer mediation.

CHAMP (Consumer Homeowner Accountability and Mediation Program)

The Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs, the State’s consumer protection agency within the Department of Commerce and Insurance, contains a residential construction complaint mediation service known as CHAMP (Consumer Homeowner Accountability and Mediation Program). This consumer based complaint process allows the parties to agree on making repairs or corrections or to resolve residential construction issues without administrative disciplinary hearings.  CHAMP has been a benefit to those who have hired a state licensed contractor.

Licensees/Respondents failing to respond to the complaint with the CHAMP section are listed on the "Problem Contractors List" which acts as a buyer beware to others. Although, these individuals or companies may not have violated the law, they failed to respond to the consumer's issues and is a good source for checking out a contractor prior to hiring one.

General Information

If Legal determines a license law violation has occured, they will recommend to the Board to authorize a consent order providing for a civil penalty to be assessed and sent to a licensee, however, a consent order is merely an offer of informal settlement, which the respondent (contractor) may or may not accept.  The case is not considered "closed" until the consent order is signed and the civil penalty has been paid.  If the contractor does not respond or appeals the decision, the case remains "open" until the Board's attorney schedules a formal hearing.  The Board could rule to revoke the license or suspend until the civil penalty and/or the cost of the hearing are paid.  (Unlicensed contractor penalties may be referred to the Attorney General or local District Attorney. Unpaid civil penalties may be referred to a collection agency. 

Throughout the complaint process, due process rights are assured to prevent a higher court from over-turning the Board's ruling.   The final decision reached by the Board is based on the findings of an investigation and/or the outcome of a public formal hearing.  This process is lenghtly and could take several months.  Complaints with the State are not meant to have a bearing on individual civil proceedings, but to evaluate if disciplinary action is warranted.   The law which provides jurisdiction to the Board is T.C.A. Title 62, Part 6 and may be reviewed from the Michie's Legal Resources website under Tennessee jurisdiction at:  www.michie.com. You may also review a list of law violations on our website at "Law References for Consumers".

If your complaint includes other professions, such as the Real Estate agency, appraiser, home inspector, etc., you may check with their Boards for filing a complaint. A list of all Regulatory Boards is available at: State of Tennessee - Department of Commerce and Insurance

Should you contact the Complaint Division to inquire about the progress of the case, staff may be able to give you an update to the status (open or closed), only; they will not have details of the investigation.  The legal files and inspector reports of the investigation are not considered public information.   No official information is available until action is taken by the Board at their regularly scheduled meetings.  The attorney will not present a case on their Legal Report to the Board until their investigation is complete and this process may take several months.

The members of the Contractor's Board and Home Improvement Advisory committee do not review the complaint unless at a formal hearing setting (before all parties and an Administrative Judge). Review of complaints is performed by our Legal section for license law violations and they will submit a Legal Report with their findings and recommendations; the Legal Report will not identify the parties and is presented anonymously. Notification will be provided to the complaintants at the earliest possible and appropriate time.  When a decision is reached, you will receive a letter from our board staff relating any disciplinary action against the contractor you reported or whether the case was dismissed due to no licensing violations. The complainant must rely on the courts for monetary recovery.  

 After the case is closed, the findings becomes public information and consumers may have access to the complaint prior to hiring a contractor.  In addition, you may want to contact the local Better Business Bureau or Federal Trade Commission to record your complaint.

Complaint Form

Print Complaint Form [pdf] | Online Form

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