Guides & rules

How to Check a Kitchen Contractor's Licence

By the kitchenremodelingkansascity.net editorial team · Published 2026-08-09 · Updated 2026-08-09

Verifying a contractor here takes a few minutes and almost nobody does it. The one thing that makes it harder than it should be is that the register you need depends on your address, and checking the wrong one tells you nothing useful.

Which register covers you

• Overland Park, Olathe, Shawnee — Johnson County's contractor register. The cities issue permits but the county issues the licence, and a permit will only go to someone listed as a permittee in the county's system.
• Leawood — the city's own licensed-business search. Leawood issues its own contractor licences rather than deferring to the county, which makes it the single easiest mistake to make in this metro.
• Kansas City, Missouri — the city's licensed-contractor database. A licensed firm here holds a business licence, a trade Certificate of Qualification and the contractor licence itself.
• Kansas City, Kansas — the Unified Government. Contractors and subcontractors need a city occupational tax licence; trade masters hold a separate master's licence.
• Lee's Summit — Development Services. Here the contractor licence is a business licence, and it requires a Missouri No Tax Due certificate, which makes the check meaningful rather than a formality.

Check the class, not just the name

A firm appearing in the register is necessary but not sufficient. In Johnson County the Class A, B and C licences that cover remodeling all explicitly exclude plumbing, electrical, HVAC and fire protection — those carry their own classes. So a kitchen that moves a sink and adds circuits legitimately involves more than one credential.

That is not a red flag. What would be a red flag is a single firm claiming a remodeling licence covers work it does not, or being unable to say who is doing the plumbing.

What to ask before signing

• Which authority licenses you, and under what class?
• Who is doing the electrical and plumbing, and what licence do they hold?
• If the home was built before 1978, are you certified under the EPA's lead-safe renovation rule?
• Who pulls the permit — you or me?

If you are your own contractor

Several cities allow it with conditions. Overland Park does not require a homeowner working on their own home to be licensed, though every subcontractor they hire must hold an active county licence. Olathe allows the owner of a single-family home to act as general contractor where it is their occupied primary residence. Confirm your situation with your city before planning around it.

This page explains how these rules generally work and is not legal advice. Requirements change and vary by address — confirm anything that affects your project with the city that issues your permit, and speak to an attorney about contract or lien questions.