Columbia General Contractor is a referral service run by R&S. You send a quote request, and it goes to one independent local contractor in Columbia, Missouri, who prices the project and does the work. Columbia General Contractor does no building and sends nobody to your house. You pay Columbia General Contractor nothing for the request. Not sure what kind of builder you need? Read how to hire a general contractor in Columbia.
What happens after you send the form?
A person gets back to you within one business day. Scope, price, schedule, contract and warranty are then between you and the contractor, not Columbia General Contractor.
- Send the form. Give your name, phone number, ZIP code and what you want done, such as "update a galley kitchen in a house near downtown."
- A person gets back to you within one business day and says again that Columbia General Contractor only refers.
- With your OK, your request goes to a local contractor. It contacts you and prices the project. Ask for the quote in writing.
Who does the work?
The work is done by an independent local contractor, not by Columbia General Contractor.
Anything a contractor says about its own license, insurance or past jobs is its own claim, not something Columbia General Contractor has checked. The next section shows how to check it yourself.
Does Missouri license general contractors?
A trade guide from Procore (updated June 18, 2024) says the State of Missouri does not require anyone to hold a state-issued contractor license. The same guide says the City of Columbia requires every business operating in the city, construction businesses included, to hold a city business license from its Finance Department, and that construction businesses with employees must show workers' compensation insurance. That guide is a third-party source, not a city page, so confirm the rule with the City of Columbia before you rely on it. Ask any contractor you meet to show you its city license and its insurance certificate.
Columbia's building code adds a trade rule (City of Columbia Code, Chapter 6, read October 27, 2026). Electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fuel gas work must be done by trade contractors licensed by the City for that trade, or as the ordinance allows. For alterations and additions to one- and two-family homes, the permits may be issued to the general contractor on behalf of those trade contractors.
Two more checks come from the Missouri Attorney General (published June 17, 2025). Get a written contract that details all the work. Get at least two or three bids. Do not prepay for work, and never pay in cash. Look up the contractor's complaint history with the Attorney General's office and the Better Business Bureau.
What does Missouri law make a contractor give you?
On a residential job, an original contractor must hand you a written "NOTICE TO OWNER" before taking any payment. It warns that unpaid suppliers or workers can lead to a mechanic's lien, and that missing lien waivers may leave you paying for labor and material twice (RSMo 429.012). If you have no notice in hand, ask for it before you pay. The kitchen, bathroom and addition pages come back to this when they cover contracts: see kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling and home additions.
Which towns do requests come from?
The quote form is open for homes in Columbia, which has the ZIP codes 65201, 65202, 65203 and 65211, and for Ashland, Hallsville, Centralia, Fulton, Boonville, California, Holts Summit and Fayette. These towns are listed as areas served only. This site has no separate page for any of them, and the permit rules of these towns have not been read on an official page. Ask the contractor which office issues the permit at your address.
Where do the facts on this site come from?
Pages are written from official and industry sources, such as Missouri statutes, the City of Columbia code, the National Weather Service and the U.S. Census Bureau. Each fact is stored with its source address and the date it was read, and a fact without a source is left out. Every page is reviewed before it is published. Where a rule could not be read on an official page, the page says so and tells you whom to ask.
The disclosure and how to reach us
Columbia General Contractor is a referral service operated by R&S. We pass your request to an independent local company, which does the work.
See the Contact page for what to have ready when you send the form.