How To Check A HoustonRoofer Is Legit

I read the BBB search card, the Google review record and the city's own permit page for the companies on this site. None of it needs a login. Houston differs from most metros in two ways that shape this checklist: the City publishes no contractor-level roofing permit file, so the permit check is a question you ask rather than a search you run, and the Gulf coast adds a windstorm inspection rule that an inland city does not have.

1. Will It Pull The City Of Houston Re-Roof Permit?

The Houston Permitting Center lists a permit for a re-roof or roofing overlay on a residence. The page says plan review is required, an inspection is required, processing takes 10 business days and the permit is valid for 6 months, with an administrative fee of $33.56 plus the City fee schedule, and the permit and worksheet must be on site for the inspection. Ask the company for the permit number before the final payment. A company that pulls its own permits will hand you the number. One that wants you to pull it as a homeowner, or says no permit is needed, is worth a second question. The page states no square footage exemption.

2. Is There A Houston Contractor Registration To Ask For?

Not that we could find. Three Houston Permitting Center addresses (houstonpermittingcenter.org/contractor-registration, houstonpermittingcenter.org/register-contractor and houstonpermittingcenter.org/contractors) returned not found on 19 October 2026, and the links on the Permitting Center front page list no contractor registration page. So we print no City registration number for a Houston roofer rather than guess at one, and the permit number in check 1 is the record that carries the contractor's name instead.

3. Can You Look The Contractor Up In A Permit File?

Not for Houston. The City's weekly Permit Activity report lists zip code, date, type, project number, address and comments, with no contractor name, so there is no public roofing permit ranking to consult and none on this site. That is why check 1 is a question to the company and a request to the Permitting Center for the record at your address, not a database search.

4. Does Your Address Need A Windstorm Inspection?

The Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association publish rules for roofs on the Gulf coast. TDI lists roof repairs of less than 100 square feet that do not involve roof decking or framing members as not requiring an inspection, and says roof replacements and major repairs must be inspected. TWIA says replacing a roof or a significant portion of one needs a certificate of compliance and sets no size threshold on that page. Its first-tier list includes Brazoria, Chambers and Galveston counties and the part of Harris County east of Highway 146; Fort Bend and Montgomery counties are not on it. Ask a coastal-county roofer who files the certificate and whether the price includes the inspection.

5. What Does The BBB Profile Say, Beyond The Letter?

Open the profile itself, not the badge on the company's site. Read the grade, whether the company is accredited and the complaint count with its dates. For this metro we could read a grade for 20 of the 32 companies from the bbb.org search card,19 show accreditation, and complaint counts are unavailable for every company because the profile pages sit behind a challenge our tools do not pass. That gap is yours to close in a browser: the profile link is on every company page.

The roster behind this page records 23 BBB profile links among 32 companies, which leaves 9 with no profile link we could store at all. That is a hole in our own records rather than a finding about those companies. The newest BBB check on any Houston record is dated October 9, 2026, so recheck the profile before you rely on the grade, because BBB updates it.

6. Does The Texas Business Filing Match The Name On The Contract?

The Comptroller's franchise tax search at comptroller.texas.gov/data-search/franchise-tax shows which legal entities use a name. On 19 October 2026 a search for “Amstill Roofing” returned two entities: AMSTILL ROOFING, L.L.C. with ZIP 77079 and AMSTILL ROOFING, LLC with ZIP 30341, each with its own taxpayer ID. Two filings can share a trade name and sit in different places. Search the exact legal name printed on your Houston contract and match the ZIP code to the address on the estimate. A mismatch is a question for the salesperson, asked before any deposit.

7. Does A License Claim Mean Anything In Texas?

Not at state level. RCAT states that the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation does not administer licensure for roofing contractors and that its license is fully managed by RCAT. The first company licensee must be a principal in a Texas-domiciled roofing company for at least two continuous years and pass exams drawn from the NRCA manuals. So when a site claims a license, ask which license and ask to see it. We did not query the RCAT directory for these companies, so we print no RCAT status for any of them.

8. What Does The Review Base Look Like?

Count and average together, because either alone misleads: a 5.0 from nine reviews is not stronger than a 4.7 from several hundred. The 32 companies here hold 15,085 Google reviews between them, pulled 9 October 2026. Open the Google listing rather than the site's own testimonials page, and read the one-star reviews for the pattern: deposit taken, crew never came; a leak after the job and no call back.

9. How Long Has It Traded Under This Name?

Roofing has a storm-chaser problem, and Houston has had storms worth chasing. We count years under the same name only from a confirmed founding date or BBB start date, and for these companies none was confirmed, so every profile says not verified.25 of the 32 company sites make an experience or since-year claim, which is a claim and not a record. For 25 of the 32 we found the first Internet Archive capture of the company's website; the earliest is Precision Roof Crafters, Inc.'s, in 2001. A first capture only bounds when a site went online. At the other end, the newest first capture on the roster is Sugar Roofing's, in 2025.

10. Does It Say Anything Chapter 707 Forbids?

Texas Insurance Code section 707.002 says an insured under a property insurance policy shall pay any deductible applicable to a first-party claim. A roofer who offers to absorb or rebate your deductible is promising around that rule. Run the numbers on the hail claim calculator yourself, and keep the claim in your own hands.

What The Hail Record Says About When To Check

Harris County logged 195 hail reports between 2010 and 2026, in a file built October 9, 2026 from the NCEI Storm Events Database. Those are preliminary field reports collected after each storm rather than by inspection, so read them as a record of when hail crossed the county, not as a survey of any roof.

The county split is the useful part. The same file carries 387 reports across the 8 counties this metro covers, and Harris holds 195 of them. The list below sets out each county's reports, the days on which they fell and the largest stone recorded there, all from that one file.

• Harris County: 195 reports on 70 days, largest 2.75 inches.
• Brazoria County: 44 reports on 22 days, largest 2.75 inches.
• Montgomery County: 44 reports on 28 days, largest 3 inches.
• Fort Bend County: 44 reports on 21 days, largest 2.75 inches.
• Galveston County: 27 reports on 17 days, largest 4.5 inches.
• Liberty County: 22 reports on 18 days, largest 4 inches.
• Waller County: 8 reports on 6 days, largest 2 inches.
• Chambers County: 3 reports on 3 days, largest 2 inches.

Two markers are worth reading beside the county counts. The busiest single day in the metro file is April 19, 2015, when 19 reports were logged, and the largest stone anywhere in the eight counties is 4.5 inches, recorded at Hitchcock in Galveston County on April 2, 2013. NCEI builds this file from spotter, mPING and emergency-manager logs, so every size is a preliminary field estimate, not an inspected measurement. Source: NCEI Storm Events Database, 2010 to June 2, 2026, file built October 9, 2026.

Our storm-permit join holds 0 qualifying hail days for Houston, so the post-storm permit window is not stored for this metro and this page prints none. Leaving it out is deliberate: another city's count would tell you nothing about a Houston roof, and a number borrowed across metros is worse than an honest blank.

The Storm Prediction Center keeps a shorter and more recent log. Its preliminary local storm reports run from January 1, 2024 to October 9, 2026 at 1 inch or more, and hold 22 days across the metro with 88 reports, 15 of them at 1.75 inches or more. At least one report of 1.75 inches or more appears on 6 of those days, and the largest is 2.75 inches on March 15, 2024. NOAA Storm Prediction Center, preliminary local storm reports (hail) supplies the log, built October 10, 2026; SPC labels these reports preliminary, and its NCEI cross-check runs through June 2, 2026. This block says when hail was reported, not when the City issued a permit after it.

What A Quote Cannot Get From The City's Data

The City of Houston's open-data portal lists no roofing permit dataset. A search at data.houstontx.gov on October 13, 2026 for roof and for reroof returned no dataset at all, and the one building permit result records permits by month and year with no job value figure. With no stored file, there is no local replacement price from permits to print, and this block is not stored for Houston.

Insurer payouts answer a separate question. The Texas Department of Insurance reports $629,419,366 of homeowners paid losses labeled Wind and $1,216,621,747 labeled Total Paid Loss across 8 counties around Houston in 2025, on a page last updated June 22, 2026. Both are reported annual totals, not preliminary estimates; they describe every homeowners claim in those counties and say nothing about one roof.

What A Legitimate Estimate Looks Like

It names the material and the manufacturer line, prices it per square, prices the tear-off separately with a layer count, lists the permit fee as what it is, states the workmanship warranty in writing and says who files any windstorm certificate. Insurance and bond claims on a company's site are the company's own claims; ask for the certificate with your address on it. Our hail and wind history shows the exposure your roof faces, and the directory shows which companies' public records we could verify.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I tell if a Houston roofer is legit?

Ask for the City of Houston re-roof permit number before the final payment, since Houston offers no contractor search to do it for you. Read the BBB profile for grade and accreditation, and check the Google review count and average. Then ask whether the company holds the voluntary RCAT license and for a certificate of insurance with your address on it. 23 of the 32 companies on our ranking have a BBB profile we could link.

How do I know if a Houston roofing company is legit?

A legitimate Houston company can show a re-roof permit number for a recent job and has a legal entity you can find in the Texas Comptroller records. Compare the name on your contract with the name on the BBB profile and the RCAT directory, since a mismatch is worth asking about. 23 of the 32 companies on our ranking have a BBB profile we could link, so a missing profile is common and not proof of a problem.

Does Texas license roofing contractors?

No. The Roofing Contractors Association of Texas states that the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation does not administer licensure for roofing contractors, and that its own license is fully managed by RCAT. A company that claims a state roofing license in Texas is describing something else, or nothing.

Do I need a permit to replace a roof in Houston?

Inside the City of Houston, the Houston Permitting Center lists a permit for a re-roof or roofing overlay on a residence, with plan review and an inspection required, a processing time of 10 business days and a validity of 6 months. The page states no square footage exemption, so we do not claim one. Outside the city limits, ask the city or county where the house sits.

Does a Houston-area roof need a windstorm inspection?

It can. TWIA lists Brazoria, Chambers and Galveston counties, and the part of Harris County east of Highway 146, as first-tier counties, and says replacing a roof or a significant portion of one needs a certificate of compliance. Fort Bend, Montgomery, Waller and Liberty counties are not on that list. Whether a certificate applies to your policy is a question for your insurer.

Which Houston roofing companies are BBB accredited?

19 of the 32 companies on our ranking show BBB accreditation on the bbb.org search card, each linked to its profile. Two of those flags are marked weak in our records. Accreditation is applied for and reviewed by BBB, so an unaccredited company can still hold a clean grade; 20 of the 32 have a grade we could read.

Is a roofer who offers to cover my deductible legit?

Texas Insurance Code section 707.002 says an insured under a property insurance policy shall pay any applicable deductible on a first-party claim. A roofer who offers to make your deductible disappear is promising something the statute puts on you, so treat the offer as a warning sign and read the statute before you sign.

Can I search Houston roofing permits by contractor?

Not in bulk. The City of Houston publishes a weekly Permit Activity report with zip code, date, type, project number, address and comments, and no contractor name. You can ask a company for its permit number and the Houston Permitting Center for the record at your address.

Why does years under the same name matter?

Roofing has a storm-chaser problem: companies appear after a big storm and are gone before the warranty matters. Time under one name is the cheapest check. We did not confirm a founding date for any of the 32 companies here, so every profile shows years as not verified and a first Internet Archive capture of the company's website where one exists (25 of 32), which says nothing about when the business began.

How much does a roof replacement cost in Houston?

Architectural asphalt shingle runs $350 to $1,000 per roofing square installed in the price pages of Houston roofers we read on October 25, 2026. That is a published asking range, not a quote for your roof. The Houston cost page lists each source page, and a bid that falls outside the range should say what it adds, such as decking, a second layer to tear off or a steep pitch.

Who are the best roofers in Houston?

The 32 companies on our ranking, ordered by BBB band, Google reviews, years under the same name where established, manufacturer certifications where documented and the places each names, with every fact linked to its source.

What does the Houston hail record show?

The NCEI Storm Events file holds 387 hail reports across the 8 counties around Houston from 2010 to June 2, 2026, with 195 in Harris County and the largest 4.5 inches at Hitchcock on April 2, 2013. The file was built October 9, 2026, and its reports are preliminary field estimates rather than inspected measurements. The Storm Prediction Center's separate log holds 22 preliminary hail days from January 1, 2024 to October 9, 2026. Neither file says anything about the condition of one roof.

Where is the Houston post-hail permit window?

Not stored. Our storm-permit join holds 0 qualifying hail days for Houston, so this page prints no window and borrows no other metro's count. The City of Houston publishes no contractor-level re-roof permit file, and its weekly Permit Activity report carries no contractor name, so there is no local permit series to join a hail day to. Ask the company for its permit number instead and read the record at your address.

Sources

1. Houston Permitting Center. Residential re-roof permit, HPWCODE1140. https://www.houstonpermittingcenter.org/hpwcode1140. Read 9 October 2026.
2. City of Houston. Permit Activity reports archive. https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/DevelopRegs/dev_reports-archives.html.
3. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Storm Events Database, the hail report file behind the county counts. Hail reports 2010 to June 2, 2026. ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents. File built October 9, 2026.
4. NOAA Storm Prediction Center. Preliminary local storm reports, one row per hail day. spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports. File built October 10, 2026.
5. Texas Department of Insurance. Homeowners insurance losses by county, tdi.texas.gov county loss page, the page behind the reported totals. Updated June 22, 2026, pulled October 13, 2026.
6. Texas Department of Insurance. Windstorm inspections not required. https://www.tdi.texas.gov/wind/no-inspection-required.html. Read 9 October 2026.
7. Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. Windstorm certification. https://www.twia.org/windstorm-certification; coverage eligibility and the first-tier county list: https://www.twia.org/coverage-eligibility/. Read 9 October 2026.
8. Roofing Contractors Association of Texas. Quick steps for the RCAT license application. rcat.net, quick steps page. Read 9 October 2026.
9. Texas Insurance Code, section 707.002. Payment of deductible required. Official text: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/IN/htm/IN.707.htm; section text read at Texas Public Law.
10. Better Business Bureau. Company profiles linked from each company page on this site.
11. Google Business Profile. Review counts, DataForSEO Google Maps API, pulled 9 October 2026.
12. Internet Archive. First capture of each company website, Wayback CDX index, checked 9 October 2026.
13. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Franchise tax account status search, query “Amstill Roofing” run 19 October 2026. https://comptroller.texas.gov/data-search/franchise-tax/.