A roofing certificate of completion is a one-page statement, signed by you and the homeowner, that the work on the insurance estimate is finished. On a replacement cost claim it goes to the carrier with your final invoice, so the carrier releases the depreciation it held back from the first check. The template is below, and the two lines to get exactly right are the claim number and a total that matches your invoice.
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) tells homeowners the insurer pays the depreciation it kept “after it gets the bill for the finished job,” and that guide never mentions a certificate. The invoice is the paper that moves the check, so the certificate rides along with it.
The certificate only matters on a replacement cost policy
An actual cash value policy pays the replacement cost minus depreciation, and there is no second check to release. A certificate of completion does nothing on that claim.
With replacement cost coverage, TDI’s roof page says the company pays with two checks. The first is a partial payment, and the company “will send the rest of your claim amount after you’ve started repairs.” TDI’s home insurance guide says that first check is the estimated repair cost minus depreciation and the deductible.
Before you fill one in, ask the homeowner for the policy and read the loss settlement clause. If it pays replacement cost, the second check is waiting on your paperwork.
Copy this template onto your letterhead
Ask the adjuster whether the carrier wants a completion form of its own, and use that one if so. Otherwise paste this into a Word or Google doc with your logo at the top, fill it in for each job and save it as a PDF.
ROOFING CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
Contractor: _______________________________
Address: __________________________________
Phone: _____________ Email: ______________
License no. (where your state or city
issues one): ______________________________
Homeowner: ________________________________
Property address: _________________________
Insurance carrier: ________________________
Claim no.: ________________________________
Policy no.: _______________________________
Date of loss: _____________________________
Work started: ___________
Work completed: _________
Scope completed, per carrier estimate
dated ___________:
[ ] Roof replacement [ ] Roof repair
Squares installed: ________
Shingle or panel (maker, line, color):
___________________________________________
Other line items (gutters, vents, decking):
___________________________________________
Supplements approved (date and amount):
___________________________________________
Final contract amount: $___________
Deductible (from the
declarations page): $___________
Paid by homeowner to date: $___________
Balance due: $___________
CONTRACTOR STATEMENT
I certify that the work listed above is
complete at the property address, matches
the scope approved by the carrier, and that
the final contract amount is the price the
homeowner agreed to pay.
Signature: __________________ Date: _______
Printed name and title: ___________________
HOMEOWNER STATEMENT
I confirm the work listed above was
completed at my property on the date shown.
Signature: __________________ Date: _______
ATTACHED
[ ] Final invoice
[ ] Photos of the finished roof (count: __)
[ ] Proof of payment
[ ] Proof the deductible was paid
Four of the lines need care:
- Claim number and carrier name: copy them from the carrier’s estimate, character for character, so the packet lands on the right file.
- Deductible: TDI tells homeowners to ask their agent whether the wind and hail deductible differs from the one for other damage. Copy the amount from the declarations page instead of from memory.
- Final contract amount: the same number as your final invoice, covering the estimate’s scope plus any supplements the carrier approved.
- Work completed: the day the roof was finished, and the same date that sits on the invoice and the photos, so the whole packet shows one date.
Send it with the invoice, photos and proof of payment
The release packet roofers commonly list has four papers: a final invoice at or above the replacement cost value on the carrier’s estimate, a certificate of completion if the carrier uses one, photos of the finished roof, and proof of payment such as a receipt, paid invoice or lien waiver. Ask the adjuster what their desk wants before the packet goes out.
Send all four together in one email or upload, with the claim number in the subject line and in each file name. Roofing Invoice Template, Including the Invoice an Insurance Carrier Expects covers the invoice itself.
The policy sets a deadline for claiming the depreciation
Contractor sources say policies set a window for finishing the work and claiming depreciation, and that a missed deadline forfeits the holdback. Read the loss settlement clause on the homeowner’s own policy for the window, and write the deadline on your job board the day the claim settles.
Send the packet the week the roof is finished instead of batching it with other jobs. If a job stalls on materials or weather, tell the homeowner early, since the deadline sits in their policy. Roofing Cash Flow: Depreciation Checks, Final Payments and Liens covers chasing the check once it is late.
In Texas, the carrier can hold the second check until the deductible is paid
Since September 1, 2019, Texas Insurance Code 707.002 has said a policyholder “shall pay any deductible applicable to a first-party claim made under the policy.” Section 707.004 lets an insurer with replacement cost coverage refuse to pay withheld depreciation until it gets reasonable proof the homeowner paid the deductible.
The statute names the proof it accepts: a canceled check, a money order receipt, a credit card statement, or a copy of a signed installment plan or financing contract requiring full payment of the deductible over time. A certificate of completion is not on that list, so attach the deductible proof as its own paper. Other states set their own rules, so check your state’s insurance department before you rely on the Texas list.
TDI says it is illegal for a contractor to waive a deductible or help a homeowner avoid paying it, and it bans rebates or credits equal to the deductible. It names inflating a repair estimate so the payout covers the deductible as one way contractors break that rule, and calls sending false repair cost information to an insurer fraud. Contractors who illegally waive deductibles “could be fined or go to jail,” according to TDI.
The total on your certificate and invoice is the repair cost you are reporting to the insurer, so it has to be the price the homeowner agreed to pay with the deductible inside it. Keep the deductible as its own line on both papers and never show a discount that equals it. What a Roofer Can Legally Do on an Insurance Claim, From Deductibles to Contingency Agreements goes further into what Texas and other states allow.
Check these before the packet goes to the carrier
- The policy pays replacement cost, so there is a second check to release.
- You asked the adjuster whether the carrier has its own completion form.
- The claim number and carrier name match the estimate exactly.
- The total matches the final invoice and covers the estimate plus approved supplements.
- The deductible comes from the declarations page and sits on its own line.
- The deadline from the loss settlement clause is on your job board.
- Photos of the finished roof and proof of payment are attached.
- In Texas, proof the deductible was paid is attached, from the statute’s list.
- You and the homeowner have both signed.
Every packet like this starts with a homeowner who found your company and called. To see where you show up when they search, run the free Google Maps heatmap: pick your Google profile and a search, and in a few minutes you’ll see your rank at 49 points around your office.