What a Connecticut Home Improvement Contract Must Include: A Homeowner Checklist

In Connecticut, a home improvement contract is not a formality. The state's Home Improvement Act says what it must contain, and a contractor whose contract leaves out the required pieces can struggle to enforce it. That works in your favor, but only if you read it before you sign.

What the contract must include

According to the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), a Connecticut home improvement contract must be in writing and include:

• The contractor's name, address and Connecticut registration number.
• The signatures of both the contractor and the homeowner.
• The date the contract is signed.
• The date by which you can cancel, which is three business days after signing.
• A notice of your cancellation rights, placed near your signature.
• A start date and a completion date for the work.
• The entire agreement between you and the contractor about the work and the price.

Connecticut law also requires the contractor to disclose other businesses they have owned or held a stake in during the previous five years. If a contract is missing any of these, ask for a corrected copy before you sign.

Your three-day right to cancel

You can cancel a home improvement contract until midnight of the third business day after you sign it. Since July 1, 2025, business days for this rule exclude Saturdays, Sundays and Connecticut legal holidays (Public Act 25-111). Sign on a Wednesday and your days are Thursday, Friday and Monday, so you have until midnight Monday. Older guides, including some state pages, still say Saturday counts. It no longer does.

Cancel in writing and keep a copy with proof of when you sent it.

What the scope of work should spell out

"Entire agreement" means that if it is not written down, assume it is not included. DCP specifically points to:

• Materials. Brand, product line, color and grade. "Architectural shingles" is vague. A named product is not.
• Cleanup. Who hauls away debris and old materials, and when.
• Permits. Who pulls them. DCP notes that making sure permits are approved is ultimately the homeowner's responsibility, so write into the contract that the contractor will obtain them.
• The payment schedule. More on that below.

Add anything you agreed out loud: protecting the landscaping, what happens if they open a wall and find rot, who supplies the fixtures. If the plan changes mid-job, put the change in writing with its price and both signatures before the extra work is done.

How much to pay up front

DCP recommends a payment schedule in three or four parts that follows the progress of the work, and says the down payment generally should not be more than one-third of the project. Never pay in cash, and get a receipt for every payment. A contractor who wants most of the money before starting is asking you to carry their risk.

Look up the registration number before you sign

The registration number is on the contract for a reason. Look it up on elicense.ct.gov and confirm it is active and belongs to the business named on the page. Here is the lookup, step by step. A registered contractor also keeps the state's Home Improvement Guaranty Fund in reach if the job goes badly wrong.

The checklist

• Contractor name, address and CT registration number, and the number checks out as active.
• Both signatures and the signing date.
• Cancellation date and notice, near your signature.
• Start date and completion date.
• Full scope: materials, cleanup, permits, anything agreed verbally.
• Payment schedule tied to progress, with a third or less up front.
• No cash. Receipts for everything.
• Proof of insurance from the contractor's agent (how to get it).

DCP's own guide, Contracting and Working With a Home Improvement Contractor, is worth reading in full before a big job.

That is the check TradeCheck runs on every business we verify: license and insurance confirmed against the issuing source, dated, and re-checked on a schedule rather than once. If you would rather start from contractors who have already passed it, search verified pros near you, or see exactly what we check.