How to Choose a Court Installation Contractor

Don't just take a registration number at face value — New Jersey makes it easy to check. The Division of Consumer Affairs runs a public search at its MyLicense verification portal, where selecting Home Improvement Contractors under Business Search and entering a name or registration number confirms whether it's currently active. If you'd rather talk to a person, the Division's consumer line is 888-656-6225, prompt #2. Either way, it takes a few minutes and it's worth doing before signing, not after a deposit check has cleared.

The state is specific about terminology here, too — it's a registration, not a license, and contractors and marketing materials aren't supposed to call it one. That distinction doesn't change what it means for you: a contractor who isn't registered isn't supposed to be performing home improvement work in New Jersey, and without that registration, they also can't pull the municipal construction permit your project needs. An unpermitted build is exactly the kind of thing that surfaces during a home inspection years later — see our guide on whether a court adds home value for how an unpermitted improvement plays out at resale.

A workmanship warranty covers the installer's labor — if the base cracks because it was poured or reinforced incorrectly, or the surface delaminates because it wasn't prepped right, that's on the contractor. Two to five years is typical, and it's separate from any warranty on materials themselves.

A manufacturer warranty covers the materials — the acrylic coating system, typically 3–5 years against fading or defects, and in some cases a longer structural warranty on post-tension concrete against cracking, often 5–10 years from reputable systems. The surface itself, well maintained, usually performs beyond the warranty period before it needs resurfacing — the warranty is a safety net for defects, not an expiration date on the court.

The gap between a cheap bid and a fair one is usually hiding in exactly these terms. When you're comparing quotes, put the base spec, surface system, and warranty length side by side before you look at the total — see our DIY vs. professional installation guide if you're also weighing whether to hire out the work at all. Insurance is the other paperwork worth checking alongside the warranty — our guide to court construction insurance covers what a certificate of insurance should show you before work starts.

A written scope matters even more when a property carries its own approval layer before a contractor can start work at all. On a deed-restricted farm in Salem County — New Jersey's leading farmland-preservation county — a contractor should be confirming exception-area boundaries and County Agriculture Development Board sign-off as part of the proposal, not assuming a standard residential permit path applies once a bid is signed.

A municipality, school district, or county facility hiring for a court project has an entirely different bidding and registration checklist to work through before a contractor is even eligible to submit a number — see our public court construction bidding guide for bid thresholds, prevailing wage, and Public Works Contractor Registration Act requirements that don't apply to a residential build.