Registered, and what that does and does not mean
Rhode Island requires residential contractors to be registered with the state, and the registration number is meant to be given to you. It is a genuinely useful check — as long as you know what it is checking.
What registration is
It is a filing with the state: the business identifies itself, and it is expected to carry the insurance the state requires and to give its number to the people it works for. It creates a record, and a place where complaints against that business can be seen.
That record is the point. An outfit that has been the subject of repeated complaints leaves a trail, and a homeowner who checks the number before signing gets to see it.
What it is not
It is not a test of skill. Nobody watched this crew flash a chimney before issuing the number, and a clean record means only that nobody has complained yet.
It also says nothing about whether the people who will actually be on your roof work for the business you signed with. Ask that separately.
The checks worth doing, in order
Ask for the registration number in writing and check it against the state’s own record rather than a screenshot. A business that hesitates here has told you something.
Ask for a certificate of insurance sent directly by the insurer rather than forwarded by the contractor, and check that the dates cover your job.
Ask who pulls the permit. If the answer is that you do, understand that you have become the responsible party for the work.
And ask for two addresses of jobs done in the last year within a few miles. On a market this small, that is an easy request for a real local business and an awkward one for anyone else.
Next step: Compare the quotes you already have
Requirements change, and this page describes the shape of the system rather than the current letter of it. Check the state’s own record, which is the thing that matters anyway.