How the BuildRated Score Works
The BuildRated score is a 0-100 evidence-based rating derived from 18 signal categories across licensing, insurance, bonds, violations, and payment history. It measures operational compliance, not reputation.
Most contractor ratings tell you who is visible, not who is compliant.
A contractor can have great reviews and still have expired insurance, licensing issues, or recent compliance problems. The problem with most contractor profiles is not that they are false. It is that they are incomplete in exactly the places that matter during approval, audit, or claims review.
Directory profiles and star ratings measure reputation. They do not measure whether a contractor’s license is active, whether their bond is current, whether they have workers’ comp in force, or whether they have a history of violations. Those are the facts that matter when a board is deciding whether to approve a project or sign a payment.
The BuildRated score is designed to fill that gap.
What the score actually measures
The BuildRated score is a 0–100 evidence-based rating derived from 18 signal categories across six domains. It measures operational compliance and payment reliability — not craftsmanship, not customer sentiment, not marketing spend.
License Signals — Registration status, expiry timeline, class, and specialty match against the work being performed. A suspended license is not the same risk profile as an expired one.
Insurance Signals — Coverage adequacy, carrier quality, verification status. General liability and workers’ compensation are evaluated separately because one can lapse while the other remains current.
Bond Signals — Amount adequacy relative to project scope, carrier rating, and expiry timeline. A $15,000 bond on a $200,000 roofing project is a different risk than the same bond on a $5,000 repair.
Violation Signals — Count, severity, recency, and debarment status. A violation from five years ago is weighted differently than one from last month. Active debarment is disqualifying.
Payment Signals — On-time payment rate, volume, and dispute rate. These signals come exclusively from CommunityPay transaction data where the contractor has been paid by an HOA using the platform. They are not self-reported.
Relationship Signals — HOA trust network and repeat usage across multiple communities. A contractor paid by 12 HOAs over three years with zero disputes is a different profile than one with a single payment and no history.
How to interpret the score
90–100 — Strong compliance posture. Current credentials across all categories, no violations, reliable payment history.
70–89 — Generally compliant with some watch items. May have an expiring credential, a minor gap in coverage history, or limited payment data.
50–69 — Meaningful compliance gaps. Missing or expired credentials, thin coverage history, or inconsistent payment patterns.
Below 50 — Elevated compliance or eligibility risk. Active violations, debarment flags, or significant credential gaps.
A score of 82 with one credential expiring next month is a different situation than a score of 82 with all credentials current. The score is a summary. The underlying signal breakdown shows the detail.
What contractors cannot do
Contractors cannot buy a higher BuildRated score, and they cannot opt out of negative public-record signals.
Scores are computed from public records (state L&I databases, business registrations, court records) and actual payment history from CommunityPay’s ledger. There is no premium listing, no sponsored placement, no way to suppress a violation or compliance gap.
The score reflects the data. When data changes — a license renewal, a new compliance alert, a payment event — the score is recomputed.
What the score does not measure
The score does not measure workmanship quality, customer satisfaction, or project outcomes. A contractor with a score of 95 has their paperwork in order and gets paid on time. It does not mean their work is good.
Conversely, a contractor with a score of 60 may do excellent work but has compliance issues that create real risk for the board that hires them. An uninsured contractor doing great work is still an uninsured contractor.
This is an intentional design decision. The score measures the things that are verifiable, auditable, and relevant to payment approval and liability exposure. Quality evaluation requires direct project oversight, which is outside the scope of a compliance rating.
BuildRated Team