• VALIDATION
  • HISTORY
  • VERIFICATION
  • DECISION

How to verify contractor licenses with your AI

Connect Shovels to your AI client to pull real-time licensing data. Once connected, you can validate any professional's credentials using just a state ID.

Ask AI about this page

Short answer

How can I check if a contractor is licensed?

Give your AI the contractor's state business license ID. Your agent will pull their official registration and professional history directly from state records. You'll get a clear picture of their standing and past work.

The outcomes

What you get from a check

The AI handles the data retrieval so you can focus on the decision.

VALIDATION

License status check

The AI confirms if a specific license ID is active and valid in state databases.

HISTORY

Professional background

You receive a summary of the contractor's registered business history and credentials.

VERIFICATION

Identity matching

The AI ensures the person or company you are talking to matches the official state record.

DECISION

Human review

You take the gathered data to decide if the contractor meets your project requirements.

The workflow

What your AI does when the license ID arrives.

Your agent acts as a bridge between your chat and state licensing databases.

  1. Identify the contractor

    The AI takes the license ID you provide and searches for the specific business entity.

    get_contractor_by_license

  2. Pull full profiles

    If you have a name or partial info, the AI finds the complete professional record.

    get_contractor

  3. Summarize findings

    The agent parses the raw state data into a readable summary of status and history.

    get_contractor_by_license

  4. Flag discrepancies

    The AI compares the provided name against the official license holder to catch mismatches.

    get_contractor

Try it

Copy these to start.

Use these prompts to trigger the Shovels connection.

Starting points

Replace the bracketed text with the actual license numbers or names you have on hand.

Shovels Connector

You're all set. Choose your MCP client and follow the setup instructions.

Connector linkhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_RSG9zy7OuDDwy2PArhzcYxbqgpEgvLANjYpKraK6/mcp

Claude Desktop

Follow the steps below to connect in seconds.

  1. 1In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors.
  2. 2Click “Add custom connector” and paste the connector link above as the remote MCP server URL.
  3. 3Click Add and start a new chat — Shovels capabilities are ready to use.
Configuration · claude_desktop_config.jsonCopy
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shovels-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_RSG9zy7OuDDwy2PArhzcYxbqgpEgvLANjYpKraK6/mcp"
    }
  }
}
Copy into chat04

  • Check the license status for ID 123456789.

  • Verify if the contractor with license ID ABC-987 is currently active.

  • Get the professional history for the company registered under license 555-012.

  • Does the contractor name 'Smith & Sons' match the holder of license 998877?

  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Cursor
  • VS Code
  • Windsurf
  • Claude Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cline

Start here

Connect Shovels once, then ask.

One click connects the MCP to your client. Your credentials stay encrypted and the setup is handled on our end.

Connect Shovels to your AI

FAQ

How the tool behaves

  • 01

    Can the AI update or change a license status?

    No. The AI only reads data from state records. It cannot modify any official government information.

  • 02

    What if I don't have a license ID?

    You can still use the tool to search for a contractor by name, though a license ID is the most accurate way to verify them.

  • 03

    Does the AI make the final call on whether a contractor is 'good'?

    No. The AI provides the facts and the official status. You must make the final judgment call based on that data.

  • 04

    Can the AI verify licenses in every state?

    The AI can only verify licenses for states where the Shovels data is available through the provided tools.

  • 05

    Will the AI save my contractor's private info?

    The AI only accesses the data required to answer your specific request via the MCP.

  • More questions about Shovels? The Connector page answers them. See everything the Shovels Connector can do

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