Authority Network America: Why the Authority Network Model Exists

The authority network model addresses a structural gap in how American consumers and industry professionals locate qualified, verifiable service providers across licensed trades. This page describes what the model is, how it functions across 8 member properties, the scenarios in which it applies, and the boundaries that distinguish it from aggregator directories, lead-generation platforms, and general contractor referral services. The network operates at national scope across the home services and skilled trades verticals.

Definition and scope

Fragmentation is the defining problem in the American skilled trades marketplace. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook identifies plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians, roofers, and pool contractors as distinct licensed occupations — each governed by separate state licensing boards, continuing education mandates, and liability insurance thresholds. No single federal authority consolidates credential verification across these trades. The result is an information asymmetry: service seekers lack a neutral reference point for evaluating whether a provider meets the regulatory floor for their jurisdiction and specialty.

The authority network model addresses this by organizing trade-specific reference properties under a common quality and data integrity framework. Authority Network America functions as the hub entity. Eight member sites operate as vertical-specific references, each covering one defined trade or contractor category. The network membership criteria establish the standards a property must meet to participate. The authority designation explained page details how individual sites earn and maintain that designation.

How it works

The network operates through a hub-and-spoke architecture. The hub — this site — maintains the governance layer: quality benchmarks, data integrity policies, provider listing standards, and the cross-network referral protocol. Member sites operate independently within their vertical but conform to shared baseline requirements.

The mechanism functions in four stages:

1. Vertical assignment — Each member site is scoped to a defined trade category. Overlap between verticals is intentional only where trades share regulatory adjacency (e.g., HVAC and electrical both involve load calculations under the National Electrical Code).
2. Provider qualification — Providers listed on member sites must meet licensing and insurance thresholds verified against state licensing board records. The provider listing standards page defines the minimum threshold structure.
3. Reference delivery — Member sites surface licensing authority information, scope-of-work definitions, and qualification criteria — not sponsored placement. The network quality benchmarks govern how content is structured and updated.
4. Cross-network routing — When a service need spans verticals (e.g., a roofing project requiring both structural and electrical work), the cross-network referral protocol routes the inquiry to the appropriate member site without data handoff to commercial lead brokers.

The authority-network.org property supports the governance and standards layer of this architecture, providing a policy-level reference that operates above the individual vertical sites.

Common scenarios

Three scenarios account for the majority of network use cases:

Scenario 1 — Credential verification before hire. A property manager in a jurisdiction requiring licensed plumbers for any work involving supply lines above 1 inch in diameter needs to confirm that a vendor holds a current master plumber license. National Plumbing Authority indexes state licensing board structures, continuing education requirements, and scope-of-work definitions by trade class — reducing the research burden for professionals who manage multi-vendor relationships.

Scenario 2 — Trade-specific scope clarification. A homeowner receives conflicting quotes for HVAC replacement and needs to understand whether the quoted work falls within the licensed scope of an HVAC contractor or requires a separate electrical permit. National HVAC Authority and National Electrical Authority each define their respective trade boundaries, allowing side-by-side scope comparison without consulting a general contractor. The plumbing-hvac-electrical overview consolidates this comparison at the network level.

Scenario 3 — Multi-trade project coordination. A commercial property renovation involving roofing, pool equipment replacement, and interior electrical work spans three separate licensed trade categories. National Roof Authority covers roofing contractor licensing and material standards. National Pool Authority addresses pool and spa contractor certification requirements, which in 46 states are governed separately from general contractor licensing (APSP/PHTA industry standards define the certification baseline in most jurisdictions). National Contractor Authority addresses the general contractor licensing layer that may overlay individual trade permits depending on project scope and contract value thresholds.

Decision boundaries

The authority network model is not equivalent to a contractor marketplace, a lead-generation service, or a review aggregator. The distinctions matter operationally:

The authority network does not charge providers for placement priority. The provider listing standards prohibit paid ranking. The network data integrity policy requires that licensing status information be sourced from official state licensing boards or nationally recognized credentialing bodies, not from provider self-attestation.

The national-authority.org property operates at the broadest scope level, addressing the public policy context within which trade licensing and contractor regulation operate across the 50 states and U.S. territories.

For a complete map of which member site governs which trade category, the member site scope comparison and vertical coverage map pages provide structured breakdowns by trade, geography, and licensing authority type.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook — Construction and Extraction Occupations
• National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) — National Fire Protection Association
• Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) — Contractor Certification Standards
• National Conference of State Legislatures — Occupational Licensing Overview
• U.S. Department of Labor — Licensing Requirements by State