Nobody licenses gutter installers in Sioux Falls. Gutter-only work is not on the city’s building permit list either, so no one at City Hall checks a gutter company before the job starts. That check is yours, and it takes a few phone calls and two online lookups.
If you are ready for a quote now, tell us about the job and a local gutter contractor will set up a visit. Use the checks below when they come out.
The kinds of companies you will meet
Seamless gutter installers bring a machine that forms each run from a coil of aluminum at your house, so every run is one piece. This is the bulk of the trade here.
Roofing and siding companies often install gutters as part of a larger job. That work needs a city permit and a city license, so ask for the license number.
National gutter guard brands sell through a free in-home visit that ends with a price and a financing offer. Take the price home before you sign anything.
Home centers sell gutter installation and send a local contractor to do it. Ask who that contractor is, what the store’s labor warranty covers and whether they install in your ZIP code.
What Sioux Falls requires
The city licenses contractors by trade. The residential building license covers work that needs a building permit, and the roofing and repair license covers shingles, siding, windows and doors. Neither one covers gutters.
Re-shingling and re-siding do need a permit, so when gutters come with that kind of job, ask for the company’s city license number and confirm it is active with Building Services at 605-367-8672. The city publishes its list of licensed contractors.
Outside the city, each town sets its own rules. Harrisburg exempts gutters and downspouts from a building permit, and Hartford lists gutter replacement among jobs that need none. Every other nearby town sets its own rules.
What South Dakota requires
South Dakota does not license gutter contractors. Among the building trades, the state licenses electricians and plumbers.
Every contractor working in the state does need a contractor’s excise tax license from the Department of Revenue, whatever the size of the job. Ask to see it. The license is free and only means the company is registered to pay the state’s 2% tax on its receipts, so it says nothing about the quality of the work or whether the company will still be around next year.
If the company is an LLC or a corporation, look it up in the Secretary of State’s free business search.
Insurance is the check that matters
South Dakota does not require employers to carry workers’ compensation, so ask. A gutter company working on your house should carry general liability, workers’ compensation and property damage coverage.
Ask for current certificates and read the dates. Without that coverage, an injury or damage on your property can land on you. The state Department of Labor and Regulation offers an online check of workers’ compensation coverage, and its data can lag, so get the certificate as well.
References and reviews
Ask for three recent customers with jobs like yours, then call them. If you are still buying the house, check the gutters before closing instead. Ask how long ago the job was, whether it finished on time, whether costs appeared that were not in the quote, and whether the crew cleaned up.
Search the company name along with words like complaint and scam. The Better Business Bureau office covering Sioux Falls is BBB of the Midwest Plains, and a company profile there shows its rating and any complaints.
After a storm
Storms bring crews promising fast, cheap repairs. Get the work and the price in a written contract, avoid cash-only terms, and do not pay in full until the job is finished. Think twice before letting a company negotiate with your insurer on your behalf.
Anyone selling door to door in Sioux Falls needs a city permit, and they cannot knock between 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. unless you invited them.
If the job includes your roof, state law bars the contractor from paying or rebating your insurance deductible, and a contract that breaks that rule is void. You can also cancel a storm roofing contract within 72 hours of signing it, or of learning that your insurer denied the claim. Both rules are written for roofing work, so a gutter-only job may fall outside them.
Before you pay
Get a written contract. It should give the company’s name, address, phone number and any license number, the start and finish dates, the payment schedule, and who stands behind each warranty and for how long.
Keep the deposit small. Pay by check or card rather than cash, and tie each payment to a finished stage of the work.
Ask for a lien waiver, a signed release of lien rights, every time you pay. In South Dakota, anyone who supplied labor or materials for the job, including a subcontractor or a supplier, can claim a lien on your house, and they have 120 days after their last work to file it with the county.
If you signed at home, you can cancel a sale of $25 or more until midnight of the third business day, even if you invited the company over. Saturday counts as a business day. Sundays and holidays do not. Cancel in writing.
Comparing quotes
Get written estimates from several companies and line them up item by item, using the gutter quote checklist: gutter size and metal thickness, how many downspouts and where each one drains, removal of the old gutters, and the warranty. If the totals are far apart, ask each company why. How It Works lists what a quote should show, and there is a line-by-line checklist for new gutters. Guards belong on their own line.
Read the two warranties separately. The coil maker’s warranty covers manufacturing defects such as cracking, peeling and rust, and it can shrink with age and end when you sell. One major coil maker’s standard gutter warranty runs 20 years, prorated, does not transfer to a new owner, and excludes installation and any damage while the gutter is formed on site. That leaves the installer’s own workmanship warranty as the one to get in writing.
Questions about choosing a gutter company
Do gutter companies need a license in Sioux Falls?
Not for gutters alone. If the gutters come with a new roof or siding, the company needs the city’s roofing and repair license. Every contractor in South Dakota needs the state’s contractor’s excise tax license.
Do I need a permit for new gutters in Sioux Falls?
Gutter-only work is not on the Sioux Falls building permit list. Re-shingling and re-siding are. Harrisburg exempts gutters and downspouts, and Hartford lists gutter replacement among jobs that need no permit.
How many gutter quotes should I get?
Several, in writing. Do not pick the lowest by default, and ask each company why the prices differ.
How much should I pay up front?
As little as possible. Keep the deposit small, pay by check or card rather than cash, and tie each payment to finished work.
Can I cancel a gutter contract I signed at home?
Yes, on a sale of $25 or more. You have until midnight of the third business day, Saturday included, even if you invited the company over. Cancel in writing.
Get a quote
Tell us about the job and a local gutter contractor will call, text or email to set up a visit. The quote is free.