Guides

Longer reads for the parts of subcontractor compliance that aren’t a definition — choosing a system, deciding what to require, and handling the day a certificate lapses while the crew is already on site.

If you’re here because of one line in a subcontract, the COI terms pages decode that sentence phrase by phrase instead.

Every guide

• A COI tracking spreadsheet that actually holds upFree, no email required. The columns below are the ones that turn out to matter, and the file is a header row you can fill in immediately.
• Checking a subcontractor's license — and why the card is not the checkA sub sent you a photo of their contractor license. It is a photograph of a status that can change the next day — the card proves the number existed; only the board's register proves it is live today.
• COI tracking software: what a small GC actually needsMost tools in this category were built for enterprise vendor-risk teams. If you're a small general contractor with a few dozen subs, here's the shorter list of what actually matters — and what you can safely ignore.
• Collecting a W-9 from every subcontractorIt is the least interesting document a sub hands you and the one with the shortest window for getting it. Here is what to read on it, and what has to match.
• How to verify a certificate of insuranceA sub just emailed you a certificate and wants to start Monday. Here is what to actually check, in the order that catches problems fastest.
• The endorsement forms, by numberYour subcontract names forms. The certificate names almost none of them. This is the reference that maps one to the other, and what to read on the page that comes back.
• What actually happens when a sub turns out to be uninsuredThe specific machinery by which a subcontractor's missing policy becomes your problem, months or years after the job.
• What COI tracking actually costsThree costs, only one of which arrives as an invoice. Here is how to work out the real number for your own operation.
• What to require from a subcontractor before they startYour subcontract has an insurance exhibit, and every line in it comes back to you as an attachment. This is what belongs in it, what each line is for, and how to reach your own numbers.
• What your insurance auditor will ask forYour own carrier audits you at the end of the policy term. Missing subcontractor certificates become your payroll — and your premium. Here is what to have ready.
• When a sub's insurance expires mid-jobThe crew is on site, the work is half done, and the certificate ran out on Friday. Here is what the gap actually means and what your options are.
• Which safety certifications to require, and how long they lastA sub emails you a photo of an OSHA card with no date on it. Here is what each certification actually proves, which ones genuinely expire, and how to set a validity window that is honestly yours.
• Workers' comp exemption: checking your state's ruleExemption is state law, not a national rule, and it is the one requirement where a confident answer from the wrong state is worse than no answer.