What actually earns you a 'Trusted' badge on My Local Hire

Every pro on My Local Hire sits at one of three levels: Listed → Onboarded → Trusted. It's not a paid tier and it's not something we sell — it's earned, and it's meant to describe evidence we've actually gathered about you, not a certification we're handing out. Here's what moves the needle at each stage.

Listed — you're on the platform

This is where every new pro starts the moment you sign the provider agreement: business details, categories, service area, and your membership in good standing. It means you're a real, signed-up provider — nothing more yet.

What to do here: fill out a complete profile. Bio, service categories, a real photo, portfolio images if you have them. An empty or thin profile doesn't just look less trustworthy to homeowners — it's also the first input into everything that follows.

Onboarded — your profile is complete and a few facts are checked

This is where you've finished your profile and we've confirmed a few objective facts: a working phone number, and a Georgia Secretary of State registration or a county/city business license on record. It describes steps completed, not the quality of your work, and we say exactly that on the badge.

What to do here: complete every part of your profile (photo, bio, real work photos, service area), and make sure your business registration or local license is current and under the name you use with us. If you're in a licensed trade (electrical, plumbing/HVAC, remodeling), your Georgia license number has to be on file and confirmed before you can be matched at all; once it is, your profile shows "Georgia license on record." We don't verify insurance, so anything you list there shows as provided by your business.

Trusted — the homeowners you've worked for vouch for you

This is the level that's actually hardest to fake, because it isn't something you tell us — it's built from your Rehire Rate: the percentage of homeowners who say yes when we ask "would you hire this provider again?" after a completed job.

What actually moves your Rehire Rate:

• Show up when you say you will. The single most common source of a "no" isn't quality of work — it's a missed appointment or a no-call, no-show.
• Communicate when something changes. Running 20 minutes late and texting ahead reads completely differently than running 20 minutes late and saying nothing.
• Do the job you scoped, or communicate clearly and get sign-off before you deviate from it (see our guide on pricing a job — the same clarity that protects your margin also protects your Rehire Rate).
• Ask directly. When a job wraps clean, it's fair to mention that My Local Hire will follow up and ask if they'd hire you again — most homeowners are happy to say yes, they just need the prompt.

Why this is worth caring about, beyond the badge itself

Trusted status is what homeowners actually see and compare when they're choosing between two or three pros for a request. It's also the thing that's genuinely hard for a new, unproven business to fake — which is the whole point. It rewards the pros who are actually good to work with, not the ones with the fanciest photos.