Email - We verify providers' emails to ensure instant and reliable communication.

Phone - We verify providers' phone numbers to ensure instant and reliable communication.

Address - For $1, we cross-check providers' addresses against a credit card database to verify their identity.

Social Security Number - For $3, we verify that the Social Security number is valid and matches the name of the provider. This service is performed by Acxiom Information Security Services. This tool also verifies name and address simultaneously.

Facebook - We allow users to login to Thumbtack through their Facebook account. This process allows users to share their Thumbtack activity with their social network if they choose. Additionally, we recommend reviewing your service provider's Facebook profile to further vet their background. (If you ask your provider to send you a message on Facebook you will be able to view their profile but they will not be able to view yours.)

Thumbtack Human Review - We personally review every profile on Thumbtack to ensure that it meets our strict community standards. This takes significant investment on our part, but it's important to us that we personally control and approve all content on Thumbtack.

DOJ Smart Screen - We manually run every provider through the sexual offender database provided by the Department of Justice's SMART Office (Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking). The service, called the Dru Sjodin National Sexual Offender database, contains sex offender registries for all 50 states. It may be accessed here. By using the DOJ Smart service we can ensure that a provider's name and address is not in the sexual offender database, but it is your responsibility to confirm that they are who they say they are. We recommend asking your provider to complete a background check or name and address verification to verify their identity; if you do not do this, it is important to check their driver's license.

National Criminal Check (Electronic Search) - For $8, we screen a provider through Acxiom Information Security Services' proprietary national criminal record database which contains more than 600 million criminal record files for all 50 states. Information in the national criminal record file is compiled from local law enforcement, statewide criminal record repositories, state department of correction records, state parole and probation records, and local public record sources. When we run a National Criminal Check Acxiom also verifies the provider's name, address, and Social Security number.

National Criminal Check (Electronic and Physical Search) - For $49, we screen a provider through Acxiom's electronic database described above. In addition, Acxiom physically checks federal and county courthouses. Although Acxiom's proprietary national criminal record database contains more than 600 million criminal record files for all 50 states physically checking courthouses is the only way to get the most up-to-date information. When we run a National Criminal Check Acxiom also verifies the provider's name, address, and Social Security number.

Professional License Check - Many professions require a professional license and providers in these fields should share their license number with you. But how do you know if the license is valid and not suspended or expired? We've done the hard work of navigating the maze of state license verification websites, and have created the most powerful license check database available on the Internet.

Ratings - After a provider has completed a job the customer is prompted to leave a rating (positive, negative, or neutral) of their work. This allows you to find the best skilled and most trustworthy providers. And it also allows providers to acquire a reputation online that accurately represents their offline work.

Reviews - In addition to a rating, customers are asked to leave a written message to describe anything they particularly liked or did not like about the provider's work.

Testimonials - When providers first join Thumbtack, we encourage them to invite previous customers to write testimonials about their work. For important jobs, we encourage you to speak directly with the provider's references.

Community Flagging - In addition to personally reviewing every profile and offering a dozen tools to vet providers' backgrounds we also encourage community policing of our marketplace. If you ever see anything inappropriate please flag the profile by clicking on the exclamation point. Additionally, if you ever want to discuss any concerns or suggestions we would love to hear from you! Contact us anytime and we'll get back to you right away.