Home Services in the US 2026 — Licensing, Insurance and Pricing

American homeowners spend roughly $500 billion a year on home services, according to Joint Center for Housing Studies tracking of improvement and maintenance expenditure. The marketplaces that sit between consumers and pros — Angi (formerly HomeAdvisor), Thumbtack, TaskRabbit, Yelp, Nextdoor — extract fees from both sides. Pros pay per-quote even when they don't win the job; homeowners often discover “estimated” prices become “actual” prices once the pro arrives.

Fee models differ: some marketplaces charge pros per lead, others take a commission only when a booking actually happens. Whichever route you use, check the pro against their state licensing board, confirm insurance and bonding where required, and read reviews from completed jobs. Identity checks and reviews are only meaningful on platforms that are actually operating.

US licensing: the state-by-state reality

The United States does not have a single national home-services regulator. Licensing is almost entirely state and municipal. A careful homeowner, or a careful marketplace, verifies the correct credential for each trade in each jurisdiction. Representative examples:

• California: Contractors State License Board (CSLB) for general contractors and most specialty trades; Bureau of Household Goods and Services (BHGS) for appliance repair.
• New York: NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) for contractors in the five boroughs; county/town licensing elsewhere; separate Department of State licensing for specific trades.
• Texas: Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) for electricians and HVAC; Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE) for plumbers.
• Florida: Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB).
• Illinois: IDFPR for electricians and plumbers; Chicago requires additional city licenses.
• Washington: Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) for contractor registration and electricians.
• Massachusetts: Division of Occupational Licensure for most trades.

Cleaners and handymen are generally not state-licensed but are still vetted by reputable marketplaces via background check, W-9/1099 setup, and insurance verification — ask any platform you use exactly what it checks.

Worker classification, FLSA, and state ABC tests

Pros on US marketplaces are usually independent contractors. Classification is evaluated under the Fair Labor Standards Act economic-realities test (restored to a multi-factor totality standard by the 2024 DOL final rule), plus state standards that are often stricter. California's ABC test (codified in AB5 and Labor Code Section 2775) and New Jersey's ABC test put the burden on the hiring party to show the worker is genuinely independent. A compliant model is designed for that scrutiny: pros control their own hours, rates, tools, and client relationships; the platform supplies booking, payment rails, and reviews.

US pros earning over $600 in a calendar year receive a 1099-NEC from the platform they work through. Tax withholding is the pro's responsibility; platforms typically provide year-end earnings summaries and exports suitable for TurboTax, H&R Block, and FreeTaxUSA.

Insurance and bonding

Every pro you hire in the US should be able to show:

• General liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence
• A contractor bond where required by state (California CSLB $25,000 bond; Washington general contractor $12,000; Florida & others variable)
• Workers compensation for pros who employ others (state rules apply)
• Automobile insurance adequate for business use where driving to jobs

Ask to see certificates of insurance before work starts and check they are current. Claims flow through a named additional-insured endorsement where appropriate.

How US pricing compares

• House cleaning (2–3 bed): $120–$220 per visit typical; deep clean $200–$450
• Plumber: $100–$200 callout plus $80–$150/hour; bigger jobs bid flat-rate
• Electrician: $100–$300 callout; $60–$150 per outlet or fixture install
• HVAC: service call $80–$200; full system install $5,000–$12,000 depending on region
• Handyman: $60–$120/hour, 2-hour minimum common
• Lawn care: $30–$80 per mow depending on lot size

Angi and HomeAdvisor charge pros per lead regardless of whether the pro wins the job — often $15–$100 per quote — which pros pass through to homeowners. Thumbtack runs a similar pay-per-quote model. TaskRabbit takes ~15% of booking value plus a service fee from customers; the economics end up comparable to Angi when tasker fees are summed. Commission models paid only on completed bookings can be materially cheaper for pros than pay-per-lead; compare the total platform take before assuming a headline rate is the whole cost.

From the Upper East Side to South Austin: how a booking typically works

A brownstone renovation in Brooklyn's Park Slope needs a licensed plumber to re-pipe a bathroom. The owner posts the job on a US marketplace Monday night; by Tuesday morning three licensed New York City master plumbers have sent flat-rate quotes. She chooses one, books a site visit, and pays the deposit through the platform on her credit card, with the balance due on completion under the platform's payment terms. In Austin the same week, a ranch-style home on South Lamar books a state-licensed HVAC tech for a summer tune-up the same way. This is an illustrative example of how US marketplaces work, not a GeraHome booking: GeraHome does not operate in the US and operates no escrow system.

Connected to the Gera ecosystem

GeraHome is part of the Gera group, but it has not launched yet and does not operate in the US: its first launch market is the UK, prelaunch and waitlist only today. Other Gera products have their own sites and their own availability.

Sources & references

• US Department of Labor — FLSA Fact Sheet 13 (Employment Relationship)
• CSLB, TDLR, DBPR CILB, NYC DCWP, IDFPR, Washington L&I licensing portals
• NAIC — contractor general liability guidance
• IRS — 1099-NEC filing requirements