How to check a roofer is really local to the Maritimes

Why it matters

Some roofing websites aren't roofing companies. They collect your details and sell the lead to whoever will pay for it, sometimes to a contractor you have never heard of, sometimes to one from another province. Others are call centres answering for several brands at once. The site looks local; the company behind it may not be. Ten minutes of checking before you book a visit tells you who you are actually dealing with.

1. Find a real office in the Maritimes, not a call centre

A local company can tell you where its office is. Look for a street address in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island, not just a list of towns it "serves", and look it up on a map: is it an office you could walk into, or a mailbox? Ask who answers the phone and where they sit. A toll-free number and a contact form with no address are a reason to ask more questions.

2. Look at the phone number

A roofer working on Prince Edward Island will usually answer on a local number: 902 or 782 in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, 506 in New Brunswick. A toll-free number on its own doesn't mean anything is wrong, but it doesn't tell you where the company is.

3. Search the company in the provincial registry

Every Maritime province keeps a public registry of businesses. In Nova Scotia, the Registry of Joint Stock Companies search shows a company's registered names and addresses, registration date, directors and officers, recognized agent, status and filing history. In New Brunswick, search the Corporate Registry run by Service New Brunswick. In Prince Edward Island, search the PEI Business/Corporate Registry by name or number. Search the legal name on the quote, not the website name, and check that the company is active.

4. Check the direct-seller licence

If a company sells to you at your home rather than at its own place of business, ask whether it is licensed as a direct seller in your province, then check before you pay a deposit. Nova Scotia publishes a list of Licensed Direct Selling Companies on its open data site. New Brunswick's Financial and Consumer Services Commission (FCNB) has a Check Licence and Registration search. Prince Edward Island's Direct Sellers Act requires a licence issued under the Act; ask the company for it.

5. Read the company's BBB profile

In Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, the Better Business Bureau office is BBB Serving the Atlantic Provinces. A BBB profile shows the business's rating and its complaints, and how each one was answered. Look at the address on the profile too: it should match the office the company told you about.

6. Ask for a workers' compensation clearance

A WCB Nova Scotia clearance letter confirms that a business is covered, up to date with payroll reporting and has no outstanding balance. WorkSafeNB advises New Brunswick homeowners to download a clearance certificate before work starts, and WCB PEI advises requesting a clearance letter whenever contractors with workers are hired. Ask for the legal name so you can match it.

7. Ask where their recent jobs are

A company with a real install record on Prince Edward Island can name the towns, show you photos of finished roofs near you, and put you in touch with past customers. Stock photos and reviews with no town attached tell you nothing.

8. Get it in writing, from the company that does the work

Always insist on a written contract. The quote, the contract and the warranty should all name the same legal company, the one that installs the roof, and the contract should state your cancellation rights; for a contract signed at home, all three provinces give you 10 days to cancel. Read the warranty's exclusions before you sign.

Our answers

Legal name: Maritime Metal Roofing Ltd. Office: 101 Thornhill Dr #105, Dartmouth, NS B3B 1S2, our only office, serving Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Phone: (782) 825-6416. Founded in 2007. BBB rating: A+. Ask us for our workers' compensation clearance and insurance certificate, and ask any other roofer for the same. Check our registration and BBB profile yourself. Our job book lists completed Interlock® roofs by town.

Where to check

Nova Scotia: Registry of Joint Stock Companies search and Licensed Direct Selling Companies (novascotia.ca and data.novascotia.ca); WCB Nova Scotia clearance letters (wcb.ns.ca).

New Brunswick: Corporate Registry, Service New Brunswick (snb.ca); Direct Sellers, Financial and Consumer Services Commission (fcnb.ca); WorkSafeNB clearance certificates (worksafenb.ca).

Prince Edward Island: PEI Business/Corporate Registry and the Direct Sellers Act (princeedwardisland.ca); WCB PEI clearance letters (wcb.pe.ca).

Sources checked October 2026.