How does Tavlee rate a contractor?

We read and score every review and comment we can find on its own, then combine it with the rest of the record into one rating that reflects how much the evidence supports trusting the contractor. It's not an average of stars, and it can't be bought.

Is the license information self-reported?

No. A license badge means we checked the official state registry and found an active record. We link the record from the profile so you can open it yourself.

What happens when something about a contractor changes?

We keep re-checking. We log new comments, a license verified or revoked, an owner's edit, and every rating update on the profile's update timeline, with the reason behind the change.

Can a contractor pay for a better rating or position?

No. Rankings can't be bought. Search results, ratings, and the written read reflect the evidence — never payment.

What if a profile is wrong?

Email us at support@tavlee.com and we'll look into it. If you own the business, you can also claim your listing and file a dispute from your dashboard.

How the research works

How we build every contractor profile: every source weighed, a rating built from the evidence, licenses verified against the state registry, a citation on every claim, and a log of every change.

Last updated: August 26, 2026

A Tavlee profile isn't a listing the contractor wrote. It's our researched read of the public record, put together the same way for every business, with the evidence attached. Here's how we build it.

Every source, weighed

We gather what's publicly available about a contractor: reviews and comments wherever homeowners left them, mentions in local conversations, work photos, business records, and the official state license registry. Every review and comment gets read and scored on its own, weighing how specific it is, whether it describes real work, how recent it is, and much more, before it counts toward anything. A five-star rating with no words behind it carries far less weight than a detailed account of a job.

One rating, built from the evidence

Our rating is not an average of stars. We combine every scored comment with signals from the rest of the record into a single number that reflects how much the evidence supports trusting the contractor. Our staff engineers thoughtfully design, iterate and check the math, and we show a confidence level beside the number, so a thin record never looks as solid as a deep one.

Licenses checked at the source

We never take a contractor's word on licensing. A license badge means we looked the business up in the official state registry and found an active record, and we link that record straight from the profile so you can open it yourself. When a license lapses or is revoked, we update the profile to match.

Open the receipts

We link each point in the honest read, whether a strength, a concern, or a pattern, to the source it came from. If we can't back a claim with evidence, we don't publish it. We never ask you to trust our summary over the original.

A paper trail, not a verdict

We keep re-checking, and we log every change that matters on the profile's update timeline: new comments, a license verified or revoked, an edit by a verified owner, and every rating update with the reason behind it.

What we don't do

Sell rankings. Search results, ratings, and the written read reflect the evidence — never payment.
Let contractors edit their own reviews or rating. A verified owner can update photos, their official name, and languages, and can file a dispute; the rest is ours to research, and for homeowners to decide.
Recommend. We show the record and let you decide.

Spotted a mistake?

Tell us at [email protected]. We build profiles with our own research and review anything it flags, but a real correction from a homeowner or an owner is the fastest way to fix an error. If you own the business, you can also claim your listing and file a dispute from your dashboard.

Why this exists

We built Tavlee after our own frustrating search for a contractor in Massachusetts. The story, and who we are, is on our About page.

Common questions

How does Tavlee rate a contractor?: We read and score every review and comment we can find on its own, then combine it with the rest of the record into one rating that reflects how much the evidence supports trusting the contractor. It's not an average of stars, and it can't be bought.
Where does the information on a profile come from?: From publicly available sources: reviews and comments, local mentions, work photos, business records, and the official state license registry. We link every claim on a profile to the source it came from.
Is the license information self-reported?: No. A license badge means we checked the official state registry and found an active record. We link the record from the profile so you can open it yourself.
What happens when something about a contractor changes?: We keep re-checking. We log new comments, a license verified or revoked, an owner's edit, and every rating update on the profile's update timeline, with the reason behind the change.
Can a contractor pay for a better rating or position?: No. Rankings can't be bought. Search results, ratings, and the written read reflect the evidence — never payment.
What if a profile is wrong?: Email us at [email protected] and we'll look into it. If you own the business, you can also claim your listing and file a dispute from your dashboard.