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What does Rhode Island law tell a homeowner before a home job?

Rhode Island earns a C in the 2026 Home Job Readiness Grade, with 4 of 6 possible points on 3 scored measures. The grade covers what state law and official state pages tell a homeowner about deposits, written contracts, cancelling and an online contractor record.

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Rhode Island Home Job Readiness Grade 2026: C (4 of 6 points)

This grade is a compilation of statute text and official state pages, reviewed 24 October 2026. It is not legal advice.

How did each measure score?

Statutory deposit limit: 0 of 2 points

No statutory deposit limit was found in the official sources reviewed 22 October 2026. Not found means not found in the sources checked; it is not an official statement that the state has no cap.

Official sources reviewed: source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4, source 5

Written-contract rule for home-improvement work: 2 of 2 points

A state statute or regulation requires a written contract for home-improvement or residential work within its scope, and lists what it must contain. The scope, including any dollar threshold or licence condition, is in the quoted words below.

(o) All work performed, including labor and materials, in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000) shall be accompanied by a contract in writing.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-65-3(o), read 14 October 2026

Contracts required pursuant to this subsection shall include consumer disclosures and information required pursuant to regulations promulgated by the board and the following notice by the contractor to the homeowner: NOTICE OF POSSIBLE MECHANIC’S LIEN

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-65-3(o), read 14 October 2026

(p) Contracts entered into must contain notice of right of rescission as stipulated in all pertinent Rhode Island consumer protection laws and/or § 5-65-27, if applicable. The contractor must stipulate whether or not all the proper insurances are in effect for each job contracted.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-65-3(p), read 14 October 2026

Statutory right to cancel: 2 of 2 points

A state statute gives a right to cancel that reaches home-improvement contracts or sales made at the home within the scope and dollar limits in the quoted words below.

In addition to any right otherwise to revoke an offer, the buyer may cancel a door-to-door sale or lease of merchandise by posting written notice of cancellation to the seller at the address specified for notice of cancellation provided by the seller not later than midnight three (3) days following the buyer’s signing the agreement, excluding Sunday and any holiday on which regular mail deliveries are not made. The notice of cancellation shall be sent by registered or certified mail.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-28-3, read 14 October 2026

(b) In addition to all other methods of consumer protection provided by federal or state law, any contract that originates from an in-home solicitation of an elderly person for the purposes of performing work as a contractor pursuant to this chapter, as well as other disciplines governed by the board pursuant to statutory law, shall provide that any consumer who is an elderly person shall, in the absence of an emergency as defined herein, have three (3) days within which to cancel the in-home solicitation contract for contractor services.

Source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-65-27(b), read 14 October 2026

Online public record of the state's home-contractor credential: Not scored

Not scored: online public record of the state's home-contractor credential - official text not captured as of 24 October 2026.

What is not scored, and why?

A measure we could not settle from official text is not scored: it leaves both the points earned and the points possible, so it never counts against a state.

Is there a federal rule too?

Federal rule, not scored here: 16 CFR 429.1(a), the FTC door-to-door sales rule, covers a sale the seller personally solicits that is agreed at a place other than the seller's place of business, for $25 or more at the buyer's home or $130 or more elsewhere, with exceptions in 16 CFR 429.0. For those sales it requires this statement in the buyer's contract or receipt:

You, the buyer, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction.

Source: 16 CFR 429.1(a), eCFR, read 22 October 2026

What can a homeowner check in Rhode Island before hiring?

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Rhode Island Home Job Readiness Grade 2026: C, points by measure

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<figure><img src="https://instabids.ai/fl/data/home-job-readiness-grade/rhode-island.svg" alt="Rhode Island Home Job Readiness Grade 2026: C, points by measure" width="640"><figcaption><a href="https://instabids.ai/us/home-job-readiness-grade/rhode-island">InstaBids</a></figcaption></figure>

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