How we verify haulers
What the badge actually means
A verified badge is worth exactly as much as the checking behind it, and on most directories that is a box somebody ticked once. Here is what is checked, who checks it, and what happens when it lapses.
What is checked where you are
- Business LicenceUnited States · checked with the state or municipality where the business operates
- Commercial Auto InsuranceUnited States · checked with the provider's insurer
- Workers CompensationUnited States · checked with the state workers' compensation board · re-checked every 180 days
- Hauler PermitNew York · checked with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Where a public register exists, it is read continuously
Some authorities publish a register that can be queried directly. Where that is the case a company’s registration is re-checked on a schedule rather than at sign-up, and the expiry date on our record comes from the register rather than from anything they told us.
Most places have no such register. There we say so plainly and a person does the check by hand, which is slower and is the honest description of what happens.
A register being unreachable is never treated as a company failing a check. An outage is our problem, not theirs.
What it does not mean
It is not a quality rating, not a guarantee, and not insurance. It means the permissions listed above were confirmed with the body that issues them on the date shown. Everything about whether they turn up on time and charge what they quoted comes from customers after the job.
Questions about verification
Does verified mean you recommend them?
No. It means specific permissions were checked against the authority that issues them, on a date we show you. It is not a judgement about whether they will do a good job. Reviews and whether their quotes hold are separate, and reported by customers.
Who does the checking?
A person, with the evidence attached to the record and their name on it. Where a public register has an interface we can read, the lookup is automatic and continuous, but a register answer is evidence for a person rather than a decision by itself.
What happens when a licence expires?
They stop appearing. Expiry dates come from the register itself where one exists, so a licence that lapses in March removes them in March rather than whenever somebody next looks.
Is a certificate of insurance enough?
It is the most forged document in this trade, so a document alone is not accepted where the insurer or authority can be asked directly.