Hiring a Pro
9 Checks Before You Hire a Garage Door Repair Company
By Garage Doors Directory ·
Two companies can look the same on your phone. One shows a 5.0 from 9 reviews, a 24 hour badge and no address. The other shows a 4.7 from 400 reviews, a shop on a real street and a license number you can look up in two minutes. The second one is the safer call almost every time, and the nine checks below show you why before anyone touches your springs.
We list 2,404 garage door companies across Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, California, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico and Washington. Every number on this page about those companies comes from those listings and from visits to each company's own website in October 2026. The rest comes from state boards and consumer agencies, linked at the bottom.
- Look up the license with your state board. Only 422 of 2,404 company sites showed a license number we could find, so you usually have to ask.
- Read the review count before the stars. 1,312 of 2,336 rated listings sit at a perfect 5.0, and 496 of those have fewer than 20 reviews.
- Ask what a 24 hour promise really means. 905 listings post round the clock hours, and one state agency warns that most real companies do not work that way.
- Keep the deposit small. California's board says a down payment should not pass 10 percent of the price.
- Pull the emergency release cord so a stuck door does not push you into a rushed hire.
Look Up the License Before Anyone Shows Up
A license number is the one claim you can check for free from your couch. Most states that license garage door work run a public lookup, and it takes about two minutes. If the company is not in it, or the name does not match, you have your answer before the truck is booked.
Do not expect the number to be posted for you. Across the 2,404 listings here, only 422 company websites showed a license number in plain text, about 1 in 6. In California it was 295 of 1,131. In Nevada it was 40 of 125. In Arizona it was 17 of 363. Some companies put the number in an image or on a page the visit did not reach, so treat those counts as a floor. The lesson holds anyway. You will often have to ask.
| State | Who licenses the work | Small job line |
|---|---|---|
| California | Contractors State License Board | A license is needed at $1,000 and up, or for any job that needs a permit or hired workers1 |
| Nevada | Nevada State Contractors Board | Repair work under $1,000 can be exempt, unless a permit or other conditions apply2 |
| Arizona | Registrar of Contractors | Under $1,000 can be exempt only if the work is casual or minor and needs no permit3 |
| Washington | Labor and Industries | Use the state verify tool to see the license, bond and insurance status4 |
Watch the permit rule as closely as the price. In California and Arizona, a job that needs a permit needs a license no matter how small the bill.13 A new door or a full opener swap can cross the price line fast. A tech who says a license does not matter may be right on a tiny roller swap. On anything bigger, ask to see it.
What should I check in the license record?
Check three things. The business name should match the truck, the invoice and the website. The status should say active. And the record should show no open discipline. Washington's tool also shows whether the bond and insurance are current, which saves you a separate call.4
Find a Real Address or a Real License, Not Just a Phone
The Better Business Bureau lists a missing physical address as a warning sign of a garage door scam, right next to a generic name that is not registered with the state.5 That advice is sound, but it needs one fix. Plenty of real garage door pros work out of a truck and never post a street address.
Across the listings here, 673 of 2,404 companies serve an area without a public storefront. That is 28 percent. Ruling all of them out would cost you some of the best techs in your town. So use a simple rule. A company with no address has to clear the license check with no excuses. A company with a shop and a license has two ways to be found if something goes wrong.
Each area page counts how many pros have a street base and how many come to you from a service area. Try the Las Vegas garage door pros or the Phoenix garage door pros.
Read the Review Count Before the Stars
Stars barely sort garage door companies anymore. Of the 2,336 rated listings on this site, 1,312 show a perfect 5.0. That is more than half. When half the field is perfect, the star figure stops telling you much.
The count tells you more. Half the listings have 53 reviews or fewer. And 496 of the perfect scores rest on fewer than 20 reviews. A 4.7 built on hundreds of jobs over several years has been tested by angry customers and survived. A 5.0 built on a dozen reviews has not been tested yet.
Is a garage door company with only 5 star reviews safe?
It can be. A new company with a small, perfect record may be great. Open the reviews and look for three things. Real job details like a spring size or an opener model. Reviews spread over months, not one week. And replies from the owner to the few bad ones. The listing pages here show the full star split so you can see the one star share at a glance. Start from the garage door pro search and open any company.
Ask What a 24 Hour Promise Really Means
Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection took 23 complaints about garage door repair in about a year. Its warning was blunt. Be careful with companies that promise instant service or say they run around the clock, because most real companies do not.6
That warning collides with the listings. Here, 905 of 2,404 companies post hours of 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That is 38 percent. Many of them are real shops with an on call tech. So a 24 hour badge is not proof of a scam. It is a question you should ask out loud.
Ask who answers at 2 in the morning. Ask if that person works for the company or for a call center that sells the job. Ask what the after hours charge is before anyone drives out. A real shop gives you a number. A lead broker gives you a callback.
Get the Price in Writing Before Work Starts
The classic garage door scam starts with a tiny service call fee and grows once the tech is in your driveway. The BBB names that exact pattern, a low trip charge that swells with extra repairs, plus pressure to decide on the spot.5
The fix is boring and it works. Ask for the trip fee on the phone. Ask for a written estimate that lists the parts, the labor and the total before any work starts. If the tech says you need new springs, rollers, cables and an opener when you called about one snapped spring, ask which part failed and why the rest must go today. A good tech can show you. A pushy one changes the subject.
Get a second quote on any big ticket item. The BBB says several quotes are the fastest way to spot a price that is out of line.5
Keep the Deposit Small
California's license board says a down payment on a home improvement job should not pass 10 percent of the contract price. It also says later payments should not run ahead of the work done or the materials delivered.1 That rule is a good habit in every state, not just California.
The International Door Association, the trade group for door dealers, gives the same advice in plainer words. Check the credentials and avoid paying up front.7 The BBB lists a demand for full payment before the work is done as a red flag.5 On a same day spring repair you will usually pay when the door works. On a new door that has to be ordered, a small deposit is normal. Half up front on a repair is not.
Match the Name, the Number and the Website
Some bad actors copy the name of a well known local company and change one word. Connecticut's agency warns about lookalike names and website addresses for this reason.6 The BBB says to make sure the name and address in the ad match the company that shows up.5
Run a quick match. The name on the license record, the name on the website, the name on the truck and the name on the invoice should all be the same company. The phone number you called should be on the company's own site. Across the listings here, 2,166 of 2,404 companies have a live website of their own, about 90 percent. If a company has none, that alone is not a deal breaker, but every other check now has to pass.
Ask Which Brands They Install and Service
A company that names the brands it works on is telling you what parts it stocks. On their own websites, 551 companies here name LiftMaster, 385 name Genie and 369 name Clopay. Amarr, Chamberlain, Overhead Door and Wayne Dalton follow.
Tell the dispatcher your opener brand and your door brand when you call. Ask if the tech carries those parts on the truck. A yes means one visit. A shrug often means a second trip and a second charge. You can see which pros name each maker on the garage door brands pages.
Buy Yourself Time With the Release Cord
Rushed hires are where most of the trouble starts. Connecticut's advice is simple. If the door will not open, find the red emergency release cord and open it by hand, so a stuck car does not push you into hiring the first number you find.6
One warning matters more than any other on this page. If a spring may be broken, pull the cord only with the door fully closed, since a door with a dead spring can drop. Never touch the springs, cables or bottom brackets. They hold enough tension to hurt you badly. If the door is heavy or crooked, leave it down, park outside for a night and make your calls in the morning with a clear head.
Need to Know
Do garage door repair companies need a license?
In many states they do once the job passes a set price or needs a permit. California, Nevada and Arizona all draw a line near $1,000, with extra rules about permits and workers.123 Check your own state board before you assume a job is too small to count.
How much should I pay up front for garage door repair?
For a same day repair, usually nothing until the door works. For a new door that must be ordered, keep the deposit small. California's board uses 10 percent of the price as its ceiling.1
Is a company that answers at 3 in the morning a scam?
Not by itself. Plenty of real shops run an on call tech. Ask who you are talking to, whether they work for the company and what the after hours fee is before anyone drives out.
How many quotes should I get?
Two is enough for most repairs. Get three for a new door or an opener swap, since prices spread widely on bigger jobs.
Elsewhere on the Site
Search every listed company by name or city on the garage door pro search. Own a garage door company and see something wrong on your listing? Fix it on the listing update page.
We built this directory so you can run these checks fast, with the hours, the reviews and the website for every company on one page. Take the nine checks with you, and call the company that passes all of them.
Primary Sources
- Contractors State License Board, Handyperson Exemption to Increase to $1,000 in 2025, release of December 30, 2024. Accessed November 2026.
- Nevada State Contractors Board, Handyman Exemptions. Accessed November 2026.
- Arizona Revised Statutes, Section 32 1121, persons not required to be licensed. Accessed November 2026.
- Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, Hiring a Contractor. Accessed November 2026.
- Better Business Bureau, BBB Scam Alert on Garage Door Repair Scams, October 6, 2023. Accessed November 2026.
- Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Call for Complaints Regarding Garage Door Services, April 21, 2025. Accessed November 2026.
- International Door Association, Scam Awareness. Accessed November 2026.