How do I search for a contractor?

Use the search bar in the header: choose a trade and enter a location — a town or a ZIP code. Tavlee opens the results grid for that trade in that area.

How do I narrow the results?

Use the filters on the results page: license verified, work photos, mentions on Reddit, Nextdoor or in the news, star rating, BBB rating, review count, latest review, business type (local, regional or national), language, ownership, and what they offer. The most-used ones show up as one-tap chips beside the Filters button.

Can I show only licensed contractors?

Yes. Turn on the licensed filter to show only contractors whose state license Tavlee has verified as active against the official registry.

Why does Tavlee ask for my location?

To scope results to your area and let you sort by distance. Results are ranked on the evidence, never on who paid.

What does changing the sort order do?

It reorders the same set of results — by relevance, rating, review count, distance, most recent activity, or freshest reviews. It does not add or remove contractors.

Searching and browsing contractors

How to search by trade and location and narrow the results with Tavlee's sorting and filters.

Last updated: August 23, 2026

Finding a contractor on Tavlee takes two things: a trade and a place. From there, a set of filters lets you narrow a long list down to the handful worth contacting.

Start a search

Use the search bar at the top of any page. Pick a trade — plumbing, electrical, and so on — and enter a location as a town name or a ZIP code. Tavlee opens the results grid for that trade in that area. Sharing your location lets Tavlee scope results to where you are and sort them by distance; it never affects the ranking in favor of anyone who paid.

Sort the results

Sorting reorders the same set of contractors without adding or removing anyone. You can sort by relevance, rating, number of reviews, distance, most recent activity, or freshest reviews — whichever matters most for the job in front of you.

Filter to what matters

Open Filters on the results page to trim the list down to the signals you care about:

Show only — License verified, Has work photos, Seen on Reddit, Mentioned on Nextdoor, or Mentioned in the news: keep just the contractors with that on record.
Star rating and Review count — set a floor, like 4 stars and up or 25+ reviews, so thinly-reviewed listings drop out.
Latest review — past month through past year, to favor contractors with recent work.
Business type — Local, Regional, or National.
BBB rating and Language — match the contractor to your situation.
Ownership — Woman owned or Minority owned.
How they operate — Fair pricing, Responsive, or 24/7 emergency.

The most-used filters also sit as one-tap chips beside the Filters button, and every chip and filter writes to the page’s link, so you can share a filtered list.

Next: read the profile

Once you’ve narrowed things down, open a contractor to dig in. Here’s how to read a contractor’s page.

Common questions

How do I search for a contractor?: Use the search bar in the header: choose a trade and enter a location — a town or a ZIP code. Tavlee opens the results grid for that trade in that area.
How do I narrow the results?: Use the filters on the results page: license verified, work photos, mentions on Reddit, Nextdoor or in the news, star rating, BBB rating, review count, latest review, business type (local, regional or national), language, ownership, and what they offer. The most-used ones show up as one-tap chips beside the Filters button.
Can I show only licensed contractors?: Yes. Turn on the licensed filter to show only contractors whose state license Tavlee has verified as active against the official registry.
Why does Tavlee ask for my location?: To scope results to your area and let you sort by distance. Results are ranked on the evidence, never on who paid.
What does changing the sort order do?: It reorders the same set of results — by relevance, rating, review count, distance, most recent activity, or freshest reviews. It does not add or remove contractors.