Paving is one of the few trades where you can't see bad work at handoff. A lot paved over a soft subgrade looks identical to a lot built right — for about two years. Then the alligator cracking, ponding, and premature potholes start, and the contractor who underbid everyone is nowhere to be found.
That's why vetting matters more in paving than in almost any other vendor category a property manager handles. Here's the paperwork to collect, how to verify it in Georgia, and the questions that separate real contractors from brokers with a truck.
The document checklist
Before any crew touches your property, you should have four things on file:
- Certificate of Insurance (COI) — with your ownership entity listed as additional insured
- W-9 — so accounting can onboard the vendor and issue a 1099 if required
- Proof of registration and licensing appropriate to the scope of work
- A written scope of work detailed enough to compare bids apples-to-apples
Let's take each one seriously, because each has a common failure mode.
The COI: what to actually check
Most COI reviews stop at "they emailed us a certificate." That's not verification. Check:
- General liability limits. For commercial paving, $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is the common baseline. Larger portfolios and institutional owners often require umbrella coverage on top.
- Commercial auto. Paving means dump trucks, pavers, and rollers moving through your property. Auto liability is not optional.
- Workers' compensation. In Georgia, any business that regularly employs three or more people is required to carry workers' comp. You can verify a contractor's coverage yourself through the State Board of Workers' Compensation online verification tool. If an uninsured worker is injured on your lot, the claim can land on the property.
- Additional insured status. Ask for the certificate to be issued directly from the contractor's agent, naming your ownership entity. A COI forwarded as a PDF by the contractor can be outdated — or edited.
- Policy dates. Make sure coverage extends through your projected project window, not just the bid date.
A legitimate contractor treats this as routine. Biran Paving Group provides a COI on request for exactly this reason — if a paving company hesitates on insurance paperwork, that hesitation is your answer.
The W-9 and entity check
The W-9 does more than satisfy accounting. Match the legal name on the W-9 against the Georgia Secretary of State business search. You're confirming:
- The entity actually exists and is in active/compliant status
- The name on the W-9, the COI, and the contract all match
- How long the entity has been registered — a company claiming "20 years of experience" that registered last spring deserves a follow-up question
Mismatched names across documents are one of the most common signs you're dealing with a broker who will sub your job out to an unknown crew.
Licensing in Georgia: what's actually required
Georgia licensing surprises a lot of out-of-state property managers. Under Georgia's contractor licensing law (O.C.G.A. § 43-41-17), asphalt paving is a recognized specialty trade, and specialty contractors working within their trade are exempt from holding a state residential or general contractor license. So "show me your Georgia GC license" isn't the right question for a standalone paving job.
What you should confirm instead:
- Local business license (occupation tax certificate) in the contractor's home jurisdiction
- Permits where the scope requires them — full-depth reconstruction, drainage changes, or work touching the right-of-way often involves the local jurisdiction
- A state GC license only if the paving is part of a broader construction scope that requires one
Beyond paperwork: the questions that reveal quality
Paper qualifies a contractor; answers qualify the work. Ask every bidder:
- What thickness of asphalt, and how many lifts? Vague bids ("pave parking lot — $X") make comparison impossible. A real bid specifies asphalt depth, base repair areas, and tack coat.
- How will you handle failed subgrade? If the answer is "we just pave over it," walk away. Alligatored areas need full-depth patching or reconstruction before any overlay.
- Mill and overlay, or overlay only? Around curbs, drains, and door thresholds, milling before the overlay preserves drainage and transitions. Overlay-only bids are cheaper for a reason.
- Who is actually doing the work? Own crews or subs? With Michael's Asphalt now operating alongside Biran Paving Group, we field multiple crews — ask any contractor how they staff and schedule.
- What's the warranty, in writing? And on what — workmanship, materials, or both?
- Can I see similar properties you've paved? A contractor with 500+ completed projects should have no trouble pointing to occupied commercial properties like yours, not just residential driveways.
Red flags worth walking away from
- A bid dramatically below the pack — in paving, the money usually comes out of asphalt thickness or base prep, where you can't see it
- Pressure to sign because "we have leftover asphalt from a job nearby" — a classic paving scam
- No physical address, no entity match, cash-only terms
- Refusal or delay producing a COI
- No written scope, no written warranty
Where Biran Paving Group fits
Biran Paving Group LLC is a Dunwoody-based contractor serving Metro Atlanta — 15+ years in asphalt, 500+ projects completed, licensed and insured with a COI available on request, and a 5.0-star rating. We do parking lot paving, mill and overlay, and ongoing maintenance programs for property managers who want one accountable vendor.
Send us your vetting packet requirements before you send us the RFP — we'd rather you check. Call Ben Biran at (678) 332-8941 or email biranpaving@gmail.com.