Choosing a roofer in the 919: the license, the storm record and the list

What to check on a Triangle roofer before you sign

1. 1

   Look the license up yourself

   North Carolina has no separate roofing license; roofing sits under the general contractor law. G.S. 87-1 requires a license from the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors when the cost of the undertaking is $40,000 or more, and the Board lists roofing as the specialty classification S(Roofing) on its classifications page. Type the company or license number into the Board’s public license search and read the status, classification and limit for yourself; do not accept a photograph of a card.

2. 2

   Match the limit to the job

   Under G.S. 87-10 a Limited license covers projects up to $750,000, an Intermediate license up to $1.5 million and an Unlimited license carries no cap. Almost any house is inside the Limited tier; a commercial or multi-building job may not be. Below $40,000 no state license is required at all, which is why the insurance and workers’-comp checks matter on smaller roofs.

3. 3

   Ask for two certificates, then verify them

   General liability protects your property; workers’ compensation protects you from a crew member’s injury claim. G.S. 97-2 makes coverage mandatory once a business regularly employs three or more people, and the NC Industrial Commission runs a public coverage search. Ask for certificates naming you as certificate holder, then confirm the policy is active.

4. 4

   Know the permit and the cancellation rules

   G.S. 160D-1110 exempts single-family work under $40,000 from a building permit but names the addition of roofing, excluding replacement, as a trigger, so ask your inspections office which applies. If a roofer signed you up at your door after a storm, G.S. 14-401.13 gives you five business days to cancel after your insurer denies the claim, and the NC Department of Insurance keeps a plain-language page on post-disaster contractor scams.

Wake County’s storm record, 2016 through 2025

Every number here is a report in NOAA’s Storm Events Database for Wake County, and each one links to the search that produced it. Hail is the roof-killer: the county logged 125 hail reports in 2016 through 2025, 93 of them at one inch or more, with the peak month in May.

Tropical systems reached the county on 6 days in the same period (Hermine, Florence, Michael, Dorian, Isaias and Ian), per the NCEI tropical-storm records. Counts are NCEI reports, not individual storms: one storm can generate several reports in a county.

• 125

  hail reports in Wake County, 2016–2025

• 93

  of them 1 inch or larger, the NWS “severe” line

• 2.75 in.

  largest hail, May 13, 2019

• 322

  damaging thunderstorm-wind reports

• 76 mph

  strongest measured gust, September 8, 2023

• 5

  tornadoes (strongest EF2)

Three ways to shortlist, compared

There is no single best roofer in the 919; there are roofers whose paperwork checks out for your job. These are the three routes people take, with what each one does and does not prove.

1. 1

   The directory’s ranked list above

   Ranked by Google rating with featured listings surfaced first, from the same table the North Carolina directory publishes for the whole state. A rating tells you how past customers felt; it does not verify a license. Run the top three through the Board’s portal before you call.

2. 2

   Carolina Trophy Roofs

   A Rocky Mount roofing contractor whose site lists Raleigh in its service area, with residential and commercial roofing, storm-damage repair and insurance-claim work, free inspections, and manufacturer certifications from Owens Corning, GAF, IKO and Atlas, according to that site. Check it the same way as any other option: license number on the Board’s portal, insurance certificate, written scope.

3. 3

   Your own three-quote shortlist

   The slowest route and the most reliable: three written quotes on the same scope, each with a license number you looked up, insurance certificates you verified, and the manufacturer warranty terms in writing. The quote form on this page sends your request to roofers listed above so the three arrive without three phone calls.

Disclosure: this site and the National Roofing Directory are run by the same publisher, and quote requests sent from this page can be passed to Carolina Trophy Roofs as well as to other roofers listed here.

1. Step 1

   Tell Us What You Need

   Roof repair, replacement, or inspection — takes 60 seconds.

2. Step 2

   Get Matched Locally

   We connect you with 919 area roofers who know your neighborhood.

3. Step 3

   Compare & Choose

   Review competing quotes and pick the best deal for your project.