methodology · drawn October 16, 2026
How the sheets are made
This page records where every fact on the site comes from, the date it was read, how the one ranked list is scored, what is never scored, how the site is paid and how a correction is made.
The state sheets
Source rule
A fact on a state sheet was read on a state page: the regulator's own site, the legislature's statute page or the state's administrative code. Each sheet lists those pages. Where we could not read a fact on a state page, the sheet prints "not confirmed in this build" and nothing else.
Roster rows
Rows come only from the state's own list, gathered into one registry file (scp_registry_rows.json) with the list's own date, the source address and the date we pulled it. A sheet prints the rows in alphabetical order by the name as the state printed it. We do not add a row, merge two rows or correct a spelling. Duplicate rows that repeat the same name, license type and license number are printed once.
Order
Alphabetical only. A roster sheet ranks nobody, and position on it means nothing.
What a roster says
That a company filed with the state as of the list's date. Registration is not a quality rating. It says nothing about claims paid, repair times or disputes.
Mixed lists
New York and Nevada keep vehicle and home companies on one list. We print every name and say the list is mixed, because the state does not mark which product each company sells.
Lists not reproduced
Florida's home warranty associations (52 as of October 15, 2026) are in a search that shows ten at a time with no export, so the Florida sheet links the search and prints the count. California's home protection companies are licensed by the Department of Insurance and are not in the consumer affairs bureau file we hold. Utah's licensee search and Oregon's form-generated obligor report are linked from their sheets and not reproduced.
The sources and their dates
| List | Kept by | The list's own date | Names | Pulled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered home service contract providers | Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services | December 30, 2025 | 28 | October 16, 2026 |
| Residential service contracts, dataset 721 | Iowa Insurance Division | updated June 4, 2026 | 68 | October 16, 2026 |
| Service contract providers | New York Department of Financial Services | cycle March 1, 2025 to February 28, 2027 | 297 | October 16, 2026 |
| Service contract provider map | Nevada Division of Insurance | July 2025 | 185 | October 16, 2026 |
| Service contract provider licenses | Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation | updated September 19, 2026 | 582 | October 16, 2026 |
| Company search, home warranty associations | Florida Office of Insurance Regulation | October 15, 2026 | 52 | October 16, 2026 |
The one ranked list, and its arithmetic
One list on this site ranks companies: the home warranty companies on all three of the Virginia, Iowa and New York registers. It uses the network's home rubric, 100 points, scored by a script from each company's own pages and the state registers. Every point traces to a page and a date.
| Bucket | Field | Points |
|---|---|---|
| A. Transparency (30) | Sample contract online | 15 |
| Online quote | 10 | |
| Service fee and waiting period both printed | 5 | |
| B. Consumer terms (35) | Money-back period: 30 days or more 12, under 30 days 6, none 0 | 12 |
| Waiting period: 30 days or less 8, 31 to 60 days 4, over 60 days 0, no waiting period 8 | 8 | |
| Annual cap published | 5 | |
| Service fee printed | 5 | |
| Transferable, or cancel any time | 5 | |
| C. Standing (25) | State registers (Virginia, Iowa, New York, Nevada, Texas): 4 or more 12, three 9, two 6, one 3, none 0 | 12 |
| Legal entity printed | 5 | |
| Obligor named | 8 | |
| D. Public record (10) | Regulator actions in five years, .gov sources only: none 10, one 5, two or more 0 | 10 |
Worked example of the arithmetic. A company that posts a sample contract (15), quotes online (10), prints both its service fee and waiting period (5), offers 30 days money back (12), has a 30-day waiting period (8), prints its service fee (5), allows transfer (5), but publishes no annual cap (0), appears on one of the five registers (3), prints its legal entity (5), does not name an obligor (0) and has no regulator action on record (10) scores 78, or 3.9 out of 5. That example is arithmetic, not a company.
Ties break alphabetically by company name. The gate: a ranked list is published only when at least six companies qualify; below that, it waits.
What is not scored
No reviews, no cost, no customer service. Star ratings and complaint-site figures are not used for any number on this site, and neither are prices, because a price depends on the house and the plan and no company publishes one that applies to everyone. Customer service is not scored because nothing a company prints can measure it fairly.
How this site is paid
OwnersFirm publishes this site. Click 4 Coverage, a client of OwnersFirm, pays for the card labeled Paid placement and pays when a reader who arrives from this site buys coverage. Every link to the client runs through this site's own address (a path beginning /go/) and is marked sponsored. The card never sits inside a roster table, and it appears on a roster sheet only once the client is on that roster; today it is on none. On the ranked list the client is scored by the same rubric as every other company and qualifies only if it meets the same cut. No other company paid to appear anywhere on this site.
Corrections
If a state list has changed, or we printed a row differently from the state, the state's own list wins. Write to the publisher, OwnersFirm, with the sheet, the row and the state page that shows the difference. A correction is made by pulling the list again, and the sheet then carries the new list date. We do not edit a single row by hand.