Quality of License Report
The government-records diligence that tells you whether the business survives the sale or transfer.
A Quality of Earnings tells you the earnings are real. It says nothing about whether the company is still licensed to earn them the day after you close. The Quality of License Report answers the question the QoE cannot: are the licenses that authorize the revenue real, active, continuous, and durable through a change of control.
- What it is
- A public-records diligence report on a target contractor's licenses, qualifiers, entity standing, liens, litigation, regulatory record, and permit activity.
- Who it is for
- Private equity sponsors, search funds, strategic acquirers, lenders, and the M&A advisors and brokers who serve them.
- Where it sits
- Beside a financial Quality of Earnings, not against it. Different question, different records, different risk.
- Sources
- Current accessible data from the Echelon Database and from government records. Historical license records are provided when available.
- Tiers
- Core, from $2,500, a pre-LOI screen. Full, $6,000, complete diligence.
- Turnaround
- Core, 7 business days. Full, 14 business days.
- The standard
- Every hard fact traces to a license number or a filing. Reads are labeled as reads.
What it is
The Quality of License Report is a diligence dossier built from government records. It takes a single acquisition target and answers one buyer question in full: if you close this deal, does the business remain legally able to operate, or does the license that carries the revenue walk out the door with the seller.
It is not a background check and it is not a legal opinion. It is the same kind of independent, source-verified diligence a buyer already commissions on earnings, applied to the layer that earnings work never touches: the licenses, the qualifiers who hold them, the entity that owns them, and the public record attached to all three.
Every hard fact in the report traces to a license number or a filing. Interpretive reads are labeled as reads. Enforcement history is stated neutrally as record. This is a dossier, not an expose.
The question a QoE cannot answer
A financial Quality of Earnings is built to confirm that the reported earnings are real and sustainable. It is essential, and it is not the whole picture. Earnings in a licensed trade depend on a license, and a license depends on a qualifying party, and both of those can change hands, lapse, or fall into a statutory clock the moment ownership changes.
| Quality of Earnings | Quality of License Report |
|---|---|
| Are the earnings real and sustainable | Is the business still licensed to earn them after the sale or transfer |
| Financial records, accounting, working capital | Government records: licenses, qualifiers, filings, permits |
| Confirms the number | Confirms the number survives the sale or transfer |
| Your CPA or diligence provider | Echelon Reports |
The two reports do not overlap. They resolve two different failure modes. A buyer who runs only the QoE can close a deal on real earnings and discover in week two that the license carrying those earnings has entered a replacement window because the qualifier was the seller.
How Echelon builds it
Echelon maintains a licensing database built for the residential and commercial trades, and pairs it with disciplined public-records research keyed to the exact target. Every report draws on current accessible data from the Echelon Database and from government records: the state licensing portal, the Secretary of State, lien and court records, disciplinary orders, and permit activity.
Where historical license records are available, the report shows the license’s movement over time and not just its present state. Where they are not, the report verifies and reports the current record. Either way, every hard fact traces to a license number or a filing, interpretive reads are labeled as reads, and flagged findings are re-verified on the live state portal before delivery.
That combination, a purpose-built licensing database and direct government-records research under one verification standard, is what lets a buyer see the license layer with the same rigor a QoE brings to the financials.
What is inside the report
The report opens with a one-page Risk Summary that rates the target across six government-records categories, each marked Pass, Flag, or Fail with a one-line reason. A private-equity reader understands the target in ninety seconds. The sections behind the summary carry the full findings, each traced to its source.
- License Integrity. Are the licenses that authorize the revenue real, active, and continuous, with no gap the seller has papered over.
- Qualifier Risk. The dependency on the qualifying party who holds the license, that person's tenure, the bench behind them, and the statutory clock that starts if they leave. This is the section a QoE cannot produce, and it is the one that closes or kills the most deals.
- Entity Hygiene. Does the legal entity that holds the licenses match the entity being bought, and does it stand in good order with the state.
- Liens and Encumbrances. What is attached to the entity's assets, and what survives the close.
- Litigation and Judgments. The entity's legal exposure of record, stated as record.
- Regulatory and Safety Record. The enforcement and discipline history, stated neutrally, including the license-side events the board's current page hides.
A seventh section, Permit Activity, cross-checks the operational picture against the claimed revenue. It supports the summary rather than scoring as a seventh tile.
Who it is for
- Acquirers running diligence on a licensed-trades target, from platform sponsors to first-time buyers.
- Lenders underwriting a deal who need to know the collateral business stays licensed.
- Search funds and independent sponsors who cannot carry a full diligence team and need the license layer covered cleanly.
- Brokers and M&A advisors who want a clean license picture in the data room before a buyer finds a surprise.
- Sellers preparing for a sale who would rather find and cure a qualifier gap on their own timeline than during a buyer’s diligence.
Tiers and pricing
Core
From $2,500
A pre-LOI screen. The Risk Summary and the license, qualifier, and entity findings, enough to decide whether a target is worth deeper work. Built to be commissioned early and often.
Full
$6,000
Complete diligence. All seven sections, the license and qualifier history where the record supports it, and every finding traced to a license number or filing. Built to sit in the data room beside the QoE.
How it works
- Request. You tell us the target, the deal stage, and whether you want a Core screening or a Full report.
- Payment. We send a payment link. Once payment is made, we get to work.
- Build. We draw the target's record from the Echelon Database and research the government filings that surround it. Database facts and researched facts are labeled separately throughout.
- Verify. Every flagged and failed item is re-verified on the live state portal before the report ships.
- Deliver. You receive the report as a source-verified PDF, ready to hand to your deal team.
The standard
Every hard fact traces to a license number or a filing number. Estimates and interpretive reads are labeled as reads. Enforcement history is stated neutrally as record. Flagged and failed items are re-verified on the live state portal before delivery.
The Quality of License Report is public-records intelligence. It is not accounting, legal, or investment advice. It gives a buyer the verifiable facts and the record needed to make an informed decision, and it labels the line between fact and read on every page.
Frequently asked questions
A public-records diligence report on a contractor acquisition target that verifies whether the target's licenses are real, active, continuous, and durable through a change of control. It covers license integrity, qualifier risk, entity standing, liens, litigation, regulatory record, and permit activity.
A Quality of Earnings confirms the target's earnings are real. A Quality of License Report confirms the business is still licensed to earn them after the deal closes. The two resolve different failure modes and do not overlap.
Core reports start at $2,500 and are built as a pre-LOI screen. Full reports are $6,000 and carry all seven sections.
Core reports are delivered in about 7 business days. Full reports are delivered in about 14 business days.
Each report uses current accessible data from the Echelon Database and from government records, including the state licensing portal, the Secretary of State, lien and court records, disciplinary orders, and permits. Historical license records are included when available. Every hard fact traces to a license number or a filing.
Yes. Reports are built nationwide from the Echelon Database and government records, with historical license records included when available.
No. The report is a standalone product.
No. It is public-records intelligence, not accounting, legal, or investment advice. Buyers use it alongside their legal and financial advisors.
You have a report that says the earnings are real. This is the report that says the business is still licensed to earn them the day after you close.
Public-records intelligence. Not accounting, legal, or investment advice. Estimates and reads are labeled as such.
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