To choose a general contractor in Portland OR, verify the license on the Oregon CCB database, confirm bonding and insurance, and get a fixed written scope before any money changes hands. Boss PDX (CCB #232383), a Portland firm building since 2020, wrote this guide to show you exactly what to check — for any contractor, including us.
How do I verify a contractor's license in Oregon?
Search the contractor's name or CCB number at the Oregon Construction Contractors Board license search (search.ccb.state.or.us). Every legitimate general contractor in Oregon must hold an active CCB license. The record shows license status, endorsement type, bond and insurance on file, and any disciplinary history. It takes two minutes and it is free.
What to look for in the record:
- Status: Active. Not expired, not suspended.
- Endorsement: Residential, commercial, or both — it must match your project type.
- Complaints and discipline: The CCB lists resolved disputes and enforcement actions. A long history is a signal.
- License age vs. claimed experience: A contractor claiming twenty years in business with a two-year-old license deserves a follow-up question. Sometimes there is a good answer. Ask.
Working in Washington too? Contractors crossing the river need a separate Washington registration — verify it at the Washington L&I contractor lookup. Boss PDX holds both: Oregon CCB #232383 and Washington license BOSSPPL793RN.
What insurance and bonding should a Portland contractor carry?
At minimum: the CCB surety bond, general liability insurance, and workers' compensation coverage if they have employees. The bond and liability policy appear on the CCB record. Ask for a certificate of insurance sent directly from the contractor's insurance agent — not a photocopy from the contractor — and confirm the policy is current.
The bond exists to pay claims if the contractor fails to perform. Liability insurance covers damage to your property. Workers' comp covers injuries on your site — without it, an injured worker's claim can land on the homeowner. All three matter. None are optional.
What should a written scope of work include?
A real scope names the work, the materials, the price, the payment schedule, and what happens when something changes. If a contractor's "estimate" is one line and a handshake, keep looking. Ambiguity in the scope becomes a dispute in month two.
A complete scope covers:
- Line-item work description — what gets demolished, built, and finished, room by room.
- Materials and allowances — specified products where known, dollar allowances where not.
- Fixed price and payment schedule tied to milestones, not dates.
- Change order process — how scope changes get priced and approved.
- Who pulls permits — named in writing.
Boss PDX works exclusively from fixed written scopes, and every change order is approved in writing before work continues. We think that should be the baseline for the whole industry, not a selling point — but ask any contractor you interview how they handle changes, and listen carefully to the answer.
Who pulls the permits — me or the contractor?
The contractor should. In Portland, permits run through the Bureau of Development Services; suburbs like Tigard, Lake Oswego, and West Linn each run their own desks. When the contractor pulls the permit, the contractor owns the inspections and the corrections. A contractor who asks the homeowner to pull the permit is shifting liability onto you — and often signaling they cannot pull it themselves.
Get the permit responsibility named in the contract. Then verify the permit was actually issued before rough work starts. Most jurisdictions let you look up permit status online by address.
What are the red flags when hiring a general contractor?
The big ones: no CCB number on the bid, a large cash deposit demanded up front, pressure to sign today, and any suggestion to skip permits. Each of these is a reason to end the conversation, not negotiate.
- No license number in advertising. Oregon requires the CCB number on bids and ads. Its absence is not an oversight.
- Deposit over 10–15 percent before materials are ordered, or cash-only payment.
- "We don't need a permit for this." Sometimes true for small cosmetic work. For anything structural, electrical, or plumbing, it is not — and unpermitted work surfaces at resale.
- No written contract, or a contract with no change-order language.
- Price far below every other bid. Someone is paying the difference later. It will be you.
- Vague answers about who is on site. You should know who runs your job by name.
What questions should I ask before signing?
Ask who runs the job day to day, which subcontractors they use, how change orders are priced, and how they close out the project. The answers tell you more than any portfolio photo. A contractor who answers all four crisply has run this play before.
- "Who is my point of contact, and who is on site?" At Boss PDX every job gets one lead carpenter and one project manager — one number to call, one person accountable. Whatever structure a contractor uses, it should have a name attached.
- "Which trades do you self-perform, and who are your subs?" Good contractors name their partners without hesitation. We publish ours — 41 named trade partners, engineers through paint — at /partners/.
- "How do you handle a change mid-project?" The only right answer: priced and approved in writing before the work continues.
- "How does the job end?" Look for a walkthrough, a punch list, and a sign-off — in person, not by text.
How do I compare bids fairly?
Get bids against the same written scope, then compare line by line — not bottom line against bottom line. A low bid with thin allowances and no permit line is not cheaper; it is incomplete. Three bids on an identical scope will show you quickly which contractor actually read the drawings.
Watch the allowances especially. Two bids can differ by $15,000 simply because one carried a realistic tile allowance and the other carried a placeholder.
Is Boss PDX a good option?
We think so, and we will hand you the evidence to check: Oregon CCB #232383, licensed, bonded, and insured; six years building in Portland; 4.9/5 on Google across 60+ reviews; fixed written scopes with written change orders on every job. Run us through every test in this guide — that is what the guide is for.
We serve Portland, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Wilsonville, Tualatin, Tigard, Sherwood, Newberg, McMinnville, and Lincoln City, across residential and commercial work — from garage conversions and outdoor living to framing, excavation, and commercial bathroom remodels.
Call 844-BOSS-PDX (844-267-7739) — same-day reply — or start a free scope and estimate. One licensed lead, on your property, listening. Questions first? See the FAQ or contact us.