Checking what a contractor has actually done

A gallery of finished sites proves somebody owns photographs. What tells you whether a contractor can do your job is a site you can go and look at, an owner you can speak to, and work that resembles yours rather than merely resembling clearing.

Published by the Land Clearing Authority editorial team · Last revised 2026-07-29 · Editorial policy · Corrections

Who this is for

Owners with a shortlist and no basis to choose between them
Anyone whose only information is a website and a quote
People whose job has an unusual constraint they need evidence for

The short answer

Ask for two or three recent jobs resembling yours in scope, ground, and access — not their most impressive work. A large open-acreage portfolio tells you little about a constrained residential lot.

Go and look at one if you can. A cleared site six months or a year old shows regrowth, surface condition, rutting, and how the edges were finished, none of which appears in a photograph taken on the last afternoon.

Speak to at least one previous owner and ask about the parts that go wrong: what changed from the estimate, how a discovery was handled, what the site looked like a season later, and whether they would use them again for the same work.

Then verify the boring things — insurance in force, whatever licensing or registration applies where you are, and that the business is what it says it is. Requirements vary by state, so check locally rather than assuming.

What changes the answer

How closely their past work resembles your scope and ground
How recent the comparable work is
Whether the constraint on your site is one they have met before
Whether references can be reached independently
What licensing or registration applies where you are

What each source of evidence is worth

Ranked by how hard it is to present favourably, which is roughly the inverse of how easy it is to obtain.

Evidence sources by reliability
Source	Reliability	What it cannot show
A site you visit, a year old	Highest	How the job was managed at the time
A previous owner you speak to	High	Whether your ground is comparable
A site you visit, freshly finished	Good	Regrowth, settlement, or durability
Dated photographs with location context	Moderate	What is outside the frame
A website gallery	Low	Whose work it is, or when
A list of names with no contact	None	Anything at all

The questions worth asking a previous owner

Most reference conversations produce nothing because the questions invite a general endorsement. These invite specifics.

What did the final invoice come to compared with the estimate, and why?
Was anything found that nobody expected, and how was it handled?
Did the crew turn up when they said, and stay until it was finished?
What did the site look like a season later?
What was left for you to deal with that you had not expected?
Would you use them again for the same work — and for different work?
Is there anything you would do differently in how you set the job up?

Reading an old site

If you can visit one finished site, this is what to look at, and none of it requires expertise.

The edges, where careful work shows or does not. Whether ruts were repaired or simply grassed over. Whether piles are still sitting where the crew left them. How much regrowth there is, and whether it is uniform or worst where the work was rushed. Whether retained trees are alive and healthy. And what the access route looks like.

Then ask the owner one question about what you have seen. It converts your observation into an explanation, and the explanation is where you learn how the contractor works.

The verification that is not about capability

Separate from past work, and not a substitute for it.

Confirm insurance is in force by asking for a certificate from the insurer rather than a copy from the contractor, and check the dates and what it covers. Establish what licensing or registration applies to this work where you are — requirements differ by state and by the nature of the work, and this platform does not state what applies in any location.

Confirm the business identity matches the name on the quote and the vehicle. And where subcontractors will be used, ask the same questions about them, because they will be on your property too.

Matching the evidence to your specific constraint

Generic competence is not the question. The question is whether they have done the thing that makes your job difficult.

If your constraint is a narrow gate, ask for a job with a comparable access limitation. If it is soft ground, ask for one on similar soil. If it is working beside occupied buildings, ask for a residential job with neighbours on both sides. If it is retention, ask for a site where trees were kept and go and see whether they are alive.

A contractor who has genuinely done it will produce the example immediately. One who has not will offer their most impressive job instead, and that substitution is itself an answer.

What this cannot tell you

Nothing here rates or ranks any contractor, and this platform does not verify, endorse, or vouch for any firm. No reviews are collected and none are published, because a review system this platform has not built would be a fabricated signal.

It also cannot tell you what licensing applies where you are, which is a question for your state or local authority. What it offers is the sequence of checks an owner can perform themselves, which is the part that is portable.

What drives the cost

Cost drivers on this kind of project
Driver	Effect
Time spent verifying	An afternoon of checking against the cost of the wrong contractor
Relevance of past work	Experience with your specific constraint matters more than volume
Insurance verification	Confirming cover directly rather than accepting a copy
Subcontractor checks	Anyone on your property warrants the same verification
Local licensing requirements	Varies by state and by the nature of the work

Common mistakes

Treating a website gallery as evidence of anything
Accepting the most impressive job instead of the most comparable one
Asking references whether they were happy rather than what went wrong
Accepting an insurance copy without confirming it is in force
Not asking the same questions about subcontractors

Questions to ask a contractor

Can you show me two recent jobs with a constraint like mine?
Is there a site from last year I could go and look at?
May I speak to the owner of a job comparable to this one?
Can your insurer send confirmation of cover directly?
Will any of this work be subcontracted, and to whom?

What to do next

Identify the one constraint that makes your job difficult
Ask each bidder for comparable work on that specific constraint
Visit one finished site from a previous season if you can
Verify insurance with the insurer and check local licensing requirements

Questions people actually ask

Does this site rate or recommend contractors?

No. No reviews are collected, no rankings are published, and no firm is endorsed here. What is published is the verification an owner can carry out themselves.

What licensing should a clearing contractor have?

That depends on your state and on the nature of the work, and requirements differ substantially. Your state or local licensing authority is the place to establish what applies rather than any national page.

Is it unreasonable to ask to visit a previous site?

Not at all, and it needs the previous owner’s agreement rather than only the contractor’s. A contractor with good work behind them usually has somebody willing to let you look.

How many references are enough?

Two comparable ones are worth more than five unrelated ones. What matters is relevance to your specific constraint rather than the number of names.