For most home-improvement contracts on a 1-4 unit Indiana dwelling priced over $150, the supplier must give you a completed written contract before you sign. On contracts after June 30, 2017, you may cancel before midnight of the third business day after you sign, or after a written insurer determination if that later date applies.

Indiana Code 24-5-11 is the statute. Keep a signed copy, and use written notice if you cancel.

What the written contract must include

The chapter applies to alteration, repair, replacement, reconstruction, or other modification of residential real property with one to four units, used in whole or in part as a dwelling, when the contract price exceeds $150. That price, for this threshold, excludes financing charges, taxes, and governmental fees as the statute describes. A "supplier" is the person who sells or furnishes the improvement. Before the consumer signs, the supplier must provide a completed written contract in a form the consumer can read, with:

• The name and address of the supplier, and, for contracts entered after June 30, 2017, an email address.
• Telephone or other contact information listed in the chapter.
• The date of the contract.
• A reasonably detailed description of the work.
• Start and completion dates, and any contingencies that could change them.
• The contract price, and a statement about third-party labor if the statute requires it.
• Signature lines for the supplier and the consumer.

The supplier must sign the contract before the consumer can be required to make a down payment, and must give the consumer a fully executed copy. Do not start a down payment on a blank or incomplete form. If the work is a kitchen, roof, HVAC replacement, or similar project over $150, ask for the full written contract first.

How the three-business-day cancellation works

IC 24-5-11-10.6 gives the consumer a right to cancel a real property improvement contract entered into after June 30, 2017, before midnight on the third business day after the later of (A) the date the consumer signs the contract or (B) if applicable, the date of a written insurer determination of whether the claim or contract is a covered loss. Notice of cancellation may be given by mail, and is effective on deposit in the mail, or by email. The statute requires a specified cancellation-notice form to appear in the contract.

After a valid cancellation, the supplier is to return payments and deposits. Section 10.6(d) refers to return "within ten (10) days." The required notice form printed in the same section refers to "ten (10) business days." Read both sentences on your contract, and calendar the later date if the two phrases could be read differently, rather than assuming they are identical.

There is a limited exception for the reasonable value of emergency or temporary services that the consumer acknowledged in writing, beforehand, as necessary to prevent damage to the real property. A contractor cannot use a vague "emergency" label to erase the cancellation right on ordinary remodeling. If you agree to emergency board-up or water extraction, put that acknowledgment in writing and keep the scope narrow.

If a supplier refuses to provide a written contract, demands a large cash deposit before you have a signed copy, or ignores a timely cancellation, write to the company and then to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, 1-800-382-5516. Local building permits and, for plumbing, a Professional Licensing Agency license check, are separate steps that still apply.

Use the cancellation window only in writing, and send the notice in a way you can prove: mail it and keep the receipt, or email it to the address in the contract and keep the sent message. Do not rely on a phone call alone. If work has not started, cancellation should be straightforward. If emergency work was already performed under a written acknowledgment, expect to pay the reasonable value of that temporary work as the statute allows, and still cancel the remainder if you are within the period. Keep the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division number, 1-800-382-5516, and the IC 24-5-11 chapter PDF, with your contract file. Local permits and, for plumbing, a Professional Licensing Agency license check, remain separate obligations even after a contract is signed or cancelled.

Read the start and completion dates, the price, and any contingency language before you sign, and do not let a salesperson fill those blanks later. If a change-order is needed after work begins, get it in a signed writing that still fits the chapter's contract rules. Keep cancelled checks or card statements with the contract so you can show what was paid if a cancellation refund is late.

FAQ

When does the written-contract rule apply?

Generally when the contract is for a real property improvement on a 1-4 unit dwelling and the price exceeds $150, under IC 24-5-11.

How long do I have to cancel?

For contracts after June 30, 2017, you may cancel before midnight of the third business day after you sign, or after a written insurer determination if that later date applies.

How do I cancel?

Give written notice by mail (effective when deposited) or by email, using the cancellation form the contract is required to include. Keep a copy.

How soon must a deposit be returned after I cancel?

The statute's section 10.6(d) says within ten days, while the required notice form refers to ten business days. Read both, and follow up in writing if the refund is late.

Next step

Insist on a completed, signed contract before any down payment, calendar the three-business-day cancellation window, and contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division or a licensed local agent if a contractor will not follow the statute.

Sources: Indiana Code 24-5-11, Home Improvement Contracts; Indiana Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division.

Indiana does not issue a single statewide license for most general building contractors. Cities and counties often require their own licenses or registrations. Plumbing contractors and journeymen, however, are licensed statewide by the Indiana Plumbing Commission through the Professional Licensing Agency (PLA).

Verify a plumber in the state's free license search, and always check the building department where the work will be done.

What is statewide, and what is local

Unlike some states that license general contractors above a dollar threshold, Indiana does not have one statewide general-contractor license that covers most building trades. That does not mean anyone may work without local approval. Many cities and counties require a contractor to be licensed, registered, or bonded before pulling a permit, and they may require a permit even when the trade is not licensed at the state level. Call the building or planning department for the city or county of the job site, ask whether the company must be registered there, and confirm which permits the project needs. Do not rely on a license issued only in another Indiana city.

Plumbing is different. Indiana Code 25-28.5 makes it unlawful to act as a plumbing contractor or a journeyman plumber without a license from the Indiana Plumbing Commission. The Professional Licensing Agency publishes licensing information and a free Search and Verify tool at in.gov/pla. Look up the individual or the company, confirm that the license is current and of the correct type (contractor versus journeyman), and match the name to the person who will be on site. If a plumbing bid comes from a business that cannot produce a license number, or if the PLA search shows an expired or missing license, choose another company.

Other trades can have their own state or local rules. Electrical work, for example, is often overseen through local permitting and inspection even when there is no single statewide general-contractor card. Ask the local department which trades require a licensed or registered contractor, and which inspections will be scheduled. For any project, get the contractor's legal name, a physical address, insurance certificates (general liability and, if the company has employees, workers' compensation), and written references you can call.

How to hire without a statewide general-contractor card

Treat local verification as the first screen, not a substitute for a written contract. Indiana's home-improvement contract law, IC 24-5-11, generally requires a completed written contract before you sign when the price exceeds $150 on a 1-4 unit dwelling, and it gives the consumer a three-business-day cancellation right on contracts after June 30, 2017, with a limited emergency exception. Use that written contract to list the scope, start and completion dates, price, and payment schedule.

Ask whether subcontractors, including the plumber, will be licensed and listed on the permit. A general remodeler who is properly registered with the city still needs a licensed plumbing contractor for plumbing work covered by IC 25-28.5. Check PLA again if a different plumber shows up on installation day.

If a problem arises, start with the contractor in writing. The local building department can address permit and inspection issues. The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, 1-800-382-5516, takes complaints about certain consumer-contract practices. PLA can address plumbing-license questions. There is no single statewide "contractor board" that disciplines every general remodeler, which is why the local license or registration, the written contract, and the cancelled-check or card record all matter.

Ask the local building department whether the contractor must be registered or licensed in that city or county, whether a permit is required for the work, and which inspections will be scheduled. Write down the clerk's name, the date, and the answers, and compare them to what the contractor has promised. For plumbing, use the Professional Licensing Agency's free Search and Verify tool at in.gov/pla/license/free-search-and-verify/ and confirm that the license is current and is a plumbing contractor or journeyman license, as the work requires. IC 25-28.5 makes it unlawful to act as a plumbing contractor or journeyman plumber without that license. Keep insurance certificates, the written bid, and the permit number with the contract. If the project is a home improvement priced over $150 on a 1-4 unit dwelling, IC 24-5-11 also requires a completed written contract and generally gives a three-business-day cancellation right on contracts after June 30, 2017.

FAQ

Does Indiana license general contractors statewide?

No. There is no single statewide general-contractor license for most building trades. Local governments often require their own licenses or registrations.

Which contractors are licensed by the state?

Plumbing contractors and journeymen are licensed statewide by the Indiana Plumbing Commission through the Professional Licensing Agency. Confirm a license at the PLA Search and Verify page.

How do I check a plumber?

Use the free search at in.gov/pla/license/free-search-and-verify/, and match the name and license type to the person or firm on your contract.

Where do I check other trades?

Call the building department in the city or county where the work will be done, and ask about local contractor registration, permits, and required inspections.

Next step

Look up any plumber in the PLA license search, call the local building department about registration and permits, and talk with a licensed local agent if you also want to review insurance certificates before work starts.

Sources: Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, Search and Verify a License; Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, Plumbing Licensing Information; Indiana Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division; Indiana Code 24-5-11, Home Improvement Contracts.