How to Choose a Myrtle Beach Roofing Contractor: 11-Point Checklist (2026)

South Carolina requires roofing contractors to be either licensed as a general contractor (commercial work and residential work over $5,000 or 3 squares) through the SC Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR), or registered as a Residential Specialty Roofing Contractor for smaller residential work. Verify any contractor at llr.sc.gov before signing any contract. Residential specialty roofing registrations renew on June 30 of odd-numbered years. Out-of-state contractors must be separately licensed in SC — a license from another state is not sufficient.

Go to llr.sc.gov and use the License Lookup tool. Search by business name or license number. Verify the license is active (not expired, suspended, or revoked), the licensee's business address matches what you were given, and there are no disciplinary actions or pending complaints. Print or screenshot the license verification page for your records before signing any contract. Refusing to provide a license number is itself a major red flag.

At minimum: $1 million general liability insurance and current workers compensation coverage. Request a Certificate of Insurance (COI) directly from the contractor's insurance carrier — not just a copy from the contractor (those can be forged). The COI should list your address as a certificate holder. Verify the policy is active by calling the agent listed on the COI. Without these coverages, an injury on your property or damage to your home becomes your problem and your homeowners policy.

GAF Certified Plus™ is a manufacturer certification awarded to less than 3% of GAF roofing contractors based on training requirements, manufacturer-verified workmanship standards, customer review scores, and ongoing compliance audits. Certified Plus™ contractors can offer GAF's extended System Plus warranty — the longest workmanship warranty available on GAF products. The next tier above is GAF Master Elite® (top 2% nationally) which adds the Golden Pledge® warranty. WeatherShield is GAF Certified Plus™.

Ten essential questions: (1) What is your SC LLR license number? (2) Can I get a Certificate of Insurance directly from your carrier? (3) What manufacturer certifications do you hold? (4) How long have you been in business at this physical address? (5) Can I see your last 5 completed projects? (6) What is your written workmanship warranty? (7) What is the manufacturer warranty and is it registered in my name? (8) How many days will the project take? (9) What is your payment schedule? (10) Who is the project manager I can call directly with questions? Refusal to answer any of these is a deal-breaker.

Standard practice in SC: no deposit, or 10% maximum at contract signing with the balance due upon completion. Material delivery payments (typically 30–40%) come when materials arrive on site, not before. Anyone asking for 50% upfront, full payment before starting, or cash-only deposits is a fraud risk. Per SC Department of Consumer Affairs guidance, large upfront deposits are the most common signal of contractor fraud. Pay by check or credit card only — never cash for a deposit.

Storm chasers are out-of-state contractors who arrive after hurricanes, collect insurance payments, and disappear. Red flags: door-to-door solicitation immediately after a storm, out-of-state license plates, no permanent local address verifiable on Google Street View, no SC LLR license, demand for large upfront deposits, Assignment of Benefits (AOB) paperwork that transfers your insurance rights to them, pressure to sign immediately, and any 'free roof inspection' that turns into a high-pressure sales pitch on the spot. Always verify SC license first, never sign anything on the day of solicitation, and check Google reviews with at least 50 entries from local addresses.

AOB transfers your insurance claim rights to the contractor — they can negotiate, settle, and receive payment directly from your insurer with limited input from you. SCDOI consumer alerts identify AOB as a leading driver of contractor fraud. While AOB is legal in South Carolina, signing one means you lose direct control over your claim, your contractor can settle for less than full damages, and you remain personally liable if the contractor disappears or does substandard work. Recommended practice: never sign AOB. Pay your contractor directly after receiving insurance proceeds, not before. See our AOB warning page for details.

A complete SC roofing contract should include: contractor's legal business name and SC LLR license number, contractor's physical business address, full description of work (materials by brand and product line, square footage, accessory components), itemized pricing, payment schedule (deposit not exceeding 10%, milestone payments, final payment upon completion), start and completion dates, written workmanship warranty (minimum 5 years), manufacturer warranty registration provision, change order procedure, lien waiver requirements, dispute resolution process, and signatures of both parties. Verbal agreements are not enforceable in SC. Get everything in writing.

Minimum 5 years for written workmanship warranty, with 10 years preferred and 25–50 years available from manufacturer-certified contractors offering enhanced warranty programs (GAF Golden Pledge® at 25 years; GAF System Plus and Owens Corning Platinum Protection at 10–25 years). Workmanship warranties cover installation defects — leaks at flashing, improper fastening, etc. The manufacturer warranty separately covers material defects in the shingle itself. Both should be in writing and registered in your name. A contractor offering only a 1-year workmanship warranty on a roof replacement is offering a substandard product.

Minimum 50 verified Google reviews on the company's Google Business Profile, with overall rating 4.5+ stars. Look at recency (regular reviews over years, not all clustered in one month), specificity (real customer names and project details, not generic praise), and the contractor's response pattern to negative reviews. Companies with under 50 reviews after multiple years of operation are not established enough for major work. Companies with 100+ reviews and 5.0 average from local addresses (Myrtle Beach, Conway, North Myrtle Beach, etc.) are the safest choice. WeatherShield currently has 82 Google reviews at 5.0★.

Yes — get 3 quotes minimum for any project over $5,000. To compare apples-to-apples, give each contractor identical specifications: same shingle brand and product line, same wind rating (ASTM D7158 Class H for coastal), same fastener spec, same underlayment, same edge metal, same flashing details, same warranty requirements. Quotes that vary by more than 20% usually indicate either different specs or one contractor cutting corners. The cheapest quote is rarely the best — verify the contractor verification checklist (license, insurance, certifications, reviews) before comparing price.