How to Vet a "Plumber Near Me" — A Friendswood, TX Homeowner Guide
If you typed "plumber near me" into Google, the top three results are almost certainly lead-generation companies — not actual plumbers. They collect your call and sell it to whichever contractor paid most that hour. That is not necessarily bad; the plumber who shows up might still be great. But it means you are the one who has to vet. Here is the 10-minute checklist we tell our own friends and family to run on any plumber — including, honestly, us.
1. Verify the Texas Master Plumber License
Texas requires a Responsible Master Plumber license on every residential plumbing company. The license number should appear on the website, the truck, and the invoice. Verify it in 30 seconds:
- Go to tsbpe.texas.gov
- Click "License Search" → "RMP Search"
- Type the license number (ours: M-40217)
- Confirm the status reads "Active" and the name matches
An expired license, a license that does not match the company name, or no license at all — walk away. The person doing the work is personally liable, and so are you if something goes wrong on an unpermitted job.
2. Confirm Insurance in Writing
Texas requires general liability of at least $300,000 for RMPs. That is the minimum. Any plumber worth hiring carries $1,000,000 or more (we carry $2,000,000). Ask for a certificate of insurance listing your name as a certificate holder. Any legitimate contractor can produce one in under an hour. Any contractor who dodges the question is telling you something.
3. Ask for a Flat-Rate Written Price Before Work Starts
"We charge $X per hour plus parts" is a red flag in 2026. Reputable Friendswood plumbers quote flat-rate pricing in writing before work begins, so you know the number before you agree. Hourly billing on an open-ended job is how $400 drain clears become $1,800 "we hit a snag" invoices.
4. Read 10 Reviews — Not Just the Average
Average star rating is close to meaningless now. Read the actual review text on 10 recent reviews across Google, Facebook, and the Better Business Bureau. Watch for:
- Specifics — street names, neighborhood names, job types — vs. generic "great service"
- Owner responses to negative reviews — professional? defensive? absent?
- A healthy mix of 5s and 4s, with occasional 2s or 3s that got answered thoughtfully
- Review dates spread across years, not clustered in a single month (which signals fake-review bursts)
5. Ask About the Warranty — In Writing
A verbal "we stand behind our work" is worth exactly nothing in a dispute. Legitimate Friendswood plumbers put the warranty on the invoice. Industry baseline is 1 year on workmanship; the better companies offer 2. Parts carry the manufacturer warranty separately. Ask what the process is if something fails under warranty — a 24-hour response commitment, or "we will fit you in when we can"?
6. Confirm They Pull Permits
If the quoted job involves water heater installation, gas work, re-piping, sewer repair, backflow installation, or any main-line work — the City of Friendswood requires a permit. A plumber who offers to "skip the permit to save you money" is offering to make you personally liable for the next buyer, insurance claim, or inspection issue. Legitimate plumbers include the permit cost in the quote and pull it as a matter of course.
7. Verify the Plumber Doing the Work Is Licensed
The license on the truck is the Master Plumber. The person who actually shows up might be a licensed journeyman, an apprentice, or an unlicensed laborer. Texas law requires the work to be performed or directly supervised by a licensed plumber. On any job over $500 of labor, ask: "Who specifically will be performing the work, and what is their license status?" Our answer: Texas Master Plumber, every job. Never a sub, never an unlicensed laborer.
Red Flags That Should End the Call
- Refuses to provide a written quote before starting work
- License number cannot be verified at tsbpe.texas.gov
- Pressure sells urgency ("I need to start right now or the price goes up")
- Door-to-door canvassers after a storm — real plumbers do not cold-call neighborhoods
- Payment demanded in full before work begins (a reasonable deposit on a large job is normal; 100% upfront is not)
- No permit on a job that clearly requires one
Why This Guide Exists
We wrote this because the industry has a trust problem. "Plumber near me" is one of the highest-fraud search terms in home services — storm-chasers, lead-gen funnels, and unlicensed operators account for a large share of the complaints we hear about from our customers after the fact. Every answer above applies to any legitimate Friendswood plumber. Apply it to us too; we expect our customers to.