Short answer: As of September 2026, the five highest-scoring roofing contractors in the Lincoln, NE metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score are Murray Roofing LLC (81.0), Nelson Contracting LLC (80.8), Rafa Roofing (76.0), Apple Roofing LLC (74.0), Family Roofing LLC (71.2). All of them carry a verifiable manufacturer certification, every rating here was cross-checked against an independent record, and no money changed hands for any placement.
The Roofing Brief scored 10 certified roofing contractors serving the Lincoln metro on a published, reproducible formula, then researched each of the top five individually to confirm its record. Nebraska asks a roofer for almost nothing. The state Contractor Registration Act requires registration with the Department of Labor but, under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2105, no examination, no experience and no showing of competence of any kind, and anyone earning under $5,000 a year is exempt outright. Lincoln does license contractors itself, which sounds like the backstop until you read the list: demolition, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, signs, street use and fire protection. Roofing is not on it. So in a city that took a five inch hailstone through the roofs and walls of houses in May 2016, a roofer needs no licence, no exam and no bond. What Nebraska does regulate is the money, and that is where the useful protections are.
What a Lincoln roof is up against
Lancaster and Seward counties logged 168 hail reports across 2016 to 2025, 155 of them an inch or larger, against 188 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 15 tornado events, with $6.3 million in reported property damage. Counting hail reports alone, June leads with 57. The event that defines the decade is specific and brutal: on 9 May 2016 a 5.00 inch hailstone was measured near 96th and Pine in south-east Lincoln, and the National Weather Service narrative records that hail was noted to have come through roofs and walls of homes in the area. Five inch hail is beyond anything an asphalt shingle is built to survive, impact-rated or not, and hail that penetrates a wall is doing structural damage rather than cosmetic damage. That single event is the strongest argument for treating a Lincoln roof as a hail-exposure decision rather than a price decision.
The licensing position is the thinnest of any state in this programme, and it is worth setting out exactly. Nebraska’s Contractor Registration Act requires contractors and subcontractors to register with the Department of Labor, but Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2105 attaches no examination, no experience requirement, no bond and no competency test to that registration, and 48-2104 exempts anyone earning under $5,000 a year from construction. The City of Lincoln does operate its own contractor licensing, with apprentice hours, a standardised written test, $500,000 per occurrence insurance naming the city as additional insured and bonds for certain trades, but its Building and Safety contractor requirements cover demolition, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, signs, street use and fire protection only. A roofer needs none of it. The practical consequence is that the state registration number is the only public credential a Lincoln roofer holds, and only two of the five ranked below publish theirs.
Where Nebraska does have teeth is on insurance money, and these are the rules to quote back at anyone who knocks after a hailstorm. Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-8604 bars a contractor from promising to rebate any part of your insurance deductible. Section 44-8607 requires a signed notice, set out in capitals across fourteen points, before residential roofing work paid from insurance proceeds. And 44-8605 regulates post-loss assignment of benefits, permitting a contractor to be named only as a copayee and requiring notice to the insurer within five business days. So a Lincoln contractor offering to cover your deductible is offering something the legislature specifically prohibited, and one asking you to sign over your claim is operating inside a narrow statutory channel rather than a free one. Ask to see the 44-8607 notice; a firm that does not produce one is not following the statute.
Two more things about the local market. The median year built in Lancaster County is in the late 1970s, so a great many Lincoln roofs are on their second or third covering with decking and ventilation decided decades ago, and the University of Nebraska pushes the city’s rental share well above the county average, which means a meaningful proportion of roofs are bought by landlords between tenancies rather than by the people living under them. That is the situation in which ventilation, ice barrier and underlayment get quietly value-engineered out of a quote. Note also that several of the firms below are multi-state operations headquartered outside Nebraska, which is not a fault but does change who turns up: ask whether the crew is employed or subcontracted and who carries the workmanship warranty.
The 5 best roofers in Lincoln, NE
Scored 2026-09-30. The metro mean rating used as the Bayesian prior for Lincoln is 4.83, across a pool of 10 certified contractors.
| Rank | Company | TRB Score | Certification | Rating (reviews) | Adjusted | In business since | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murray Roofing LLC | 81.0 | Master Elite | 4.9 (102) | 4.877 | 2006 | Lincoln, NE |
| 2 | Nelson Contracting LLC | 80.8 | Master Elite | 4.8 (291) | 4.804 | 1998 | Lincoln, NE |
| 3 | Rafa Roofing | 76.0 | Master Elite | 4.9 (96) | 4.876 | 2019 | Crete, NE |
| 4 | Apple Roofing LLC | 74.0 | Master Elite | 4.6 (304) | 4.632 | 2011 | Lincoln, NE |
| 5 | Family Roofing LLC | 71.2 | Certified | 5.0 (91) | 4.94 | 2022 | Lincoln, NE |
1. Murray Roofing LLC — TRB Score 81.0
Murray Roofing LLC is based in Lincoln, NE, in business since 2006, led by Matt Murray, President, BBB accredited since 5 May 2020, A+ rating; BBB records a 2006 founding, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Master Elite (GAF), Carlisle SynTec Systems certified partner, IICRC water, fire and smoke restoration certification held by staff. Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 35.1 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 11.9 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 81.0 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 5 May 2020 with an A+ rating, a 2006 founding and Matt Murray as president, at 1631 Cushman Drive, Lincoln.. BBB business profile
- GAF lists Murray Roofing LLC of Lincoln, NE in its residential contractor directory at Master Elite level.. GAF contractor directory
What they actually do. Residential and commercial roofing, metal roofing, roof repair and maintenance, hail damage insurance claims, and water, fire and smoke restoration.
Why it ranks here. The top score in the metro on Master Elite certification and 4.9 across 102 reviews, based in Lincoln itself at an address that matches on both its own site and the BBB. Two credentials outside GAF are worth having in a hail market: a Carlisle SynTec partnership for single-ply low-slope work, and IICRC restoration certification held by staff, which is the relevant qualification when hail or wind has let water into the structure rather than merely bruised the covering.
Best fit for: The default first call in Lincoln, and the strongest choice where hail damage has let water inside.
What we would want clarified. It publishes no Nebraska contractor registration number, which in a state where that is the only public credential is the one thing worth asking for. Its 102 reviews are a modest record next to the 291 and 304 of the two firms below it. It is also a wider operation than it looks, with published work in Colorado, Texas and Louisiana alongside Nebraska and sister divisions in custom homes and inspections, so ask who will be on your roof. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (402) 802-7021, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
2. Nelson Contracting LLC — TRB Score 80.8
Nelson Contracting LLC is based in Lincoln, NE, in business since 1998, led by Toby Nelson and Aaron Nelson, brothers and owners, BBB accredited since 7 April 2003, A+ rating, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Master Elite (GAF), IBHS FORTIFIED certified contractor, National Roofing Contractors Association member, Nebraska Department of Labor contractor registration #26613 (self-published). Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 32.2 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 14.6 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 80.8 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 7 April 2003 with an A+ rating, around fifteen employees, with the Milford location as its address of record.. BBB business profile
- GAF lists Nelson Contracting LLC of Lincoln, NE in its residential contractor directory at Master Elite level.. GAF contractor directory
What they actually do. Roof replacement and repair, roof rejuvenation, siding, seamless gutters, windows and doors, from Lincoln, Omaha and Milford locations.
Why it ranks here. On credentials this is the strongest entry on the page. It is the only contractor in the metro certified to install an IBHS FORTIFIED roof, the independently inspected standard designed specifically for hail and high wind, which in a county that has had five inch hail through house walls is the most relevant credential available anywhere. It is also a National Roofing Contractors Association member, one of only two firms here publishing its Nebraska registration number, and the longest BBB-accredited business on the page, since April 2003. Twenty-seven years of trading, run by two brothers, with 4.8 across 291 reviews. Its Milford location sits in Seward County, the metro’s second county, so its coverage genuinely spans both.
Best fit for: A FORTIFIED roof, and the strongest overall credential set in the metro.
What we would want clarified. Its Nebraska registration number is self-published and we could not verify it independently, because the Department of Labor’s site refused every connection during our research, so no registration number on this page has been confirmed against the state record. Its BBB address of record is the Milford location rather than the Lincoln one, which makes the record slightly harder to follow, and it runs three locations across two metros. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (402) 641-5277, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
3. Rafa Roofing — TRB Score 76.0
Rafa Roofing is based in Crete, NE, in business since 2019, led by The company names Juan Rafael as president and Antonia Rafael as vice president; the BBB records Juan Tercero as owner, BBB accredited since 21 July 2021, A+ rating; founded 19 March 2019, two complaints closed in the last three years, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 35.0 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 11.8 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 5.2 | 10 |
| Total | 76.0 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 21 July 2021 with an A+ rating, founded 19 March 2019, with two complaints closed in the last three years.. BBB business profile
- GAF lists Rafa Roofing of Crete, NE in its residential contractor directory at Master Elite level.. GAF contractor directory
What they actually do. Residential and commercial roof repair and replacement, storm and hail damage restoration, metal roofing, gutters, siding, windows and insurance claims assistance, from Crete, Lincoln and Omaha offices.
Why it ranks here. Master Elite certification with 4.9 across 96 reviews, the highest rating of the three Master Elite firms ranked above it on tier, and an A+ BBB rating. It runs three Nebraska offices including one in Lincoln itself at Yolanda Avenue, and its published service area is Lincoln, Crete and Omaha.
Best fit for: Homeowners in the southern and western parts of the metro, around Crete and Milford.
What we would want clarified. It is the youngest firm ranked here, founded in March 2019, and it carries two complaints closed with the BBB in the last three years, the only complaints recorded against any Lincoln contractor on this page. Its own site and the BBB name different people as the principal, which we could not reconcile. Its base in Crete is in Saline County, just outside the metro’s two counties, and it publishes no Nebraska registration number and no manufacturer credential outside GAF. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (866) 329-7232, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
4. Apple Roofing LLC — TRB Score 74.0
Apple Roofing LLC is based in Lincoln, NE, in business since 2011, led by The BBB names Sam Struthers as founder; press accounts credit Dustan Biegler and Marcus Kuhlmann with co-founding it in 2011, BBB accredited since 5 May 2025, A+ rating; founded 9 September 2011, seventeen complaints closed in the last three years, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 25.3 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 14.7 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 74.0 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 5 May 2025 with an A+ rating, founded 9 September 2011, with seventeen complaints closed in the last three years.. BBB business profile
- GAF lists Apple Roofing LLC of Lincoln, NE in its residential contractor directory at Master Elite level.. GAF contractor directory
What they actually do. Residential, commercial and multi-family roofing, roof inspections, storm damage restoration, emergency tarping, EPDM, TPO and flat roofing, roof coatings and siding.
Why it ranks here. The second-deepest customer record in the metro at 304 reviews, Master Elite certification, and the broadest commercial and multi-family capability on the page, including EPDM, TPO, coatings and emergency tarping. Founded in Nebraska in September 2011 and now a substantial multi-state operation.
Best fit for: Multi-family or flat-roof work, and emergency tarping, on the understanding set out below.
What we would want clarified. Two things weigh against it and you should see both. It carries seventeen complaints closed with the Better Business Bureau in the last three years, by a wide margin the highest count of any contractor ranked in this metro, alongside its A+ rating and an accreditation that dates only from May 2025. And it is no longer really a Lincoln business: its own site lists work in seventeen states and gives its headquarters as Plano, Texas, with regional operations centres in Lincoln, Missouri, Minneapolis and Florida, so Lincoln is one operations centre in a national firm. Its ownership is also unclear, with the BBB and press accounts naming different founders. Its 4.6 rating is the lowest of the five ranked here. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (855) 855-8742, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
5. Family Roofing LLC — TRB Score 71.2
Family Roofing LLC is based in Lincoln, NE, in business since 2022, led by Joel Lopez, Owner, BBB accredited since 18 April 2024, A+ rating; founded 10 July 2022, zero complaints closed in the last three years, and holds Certified standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Certified (GAF), Certified Master Shingle Applicators, as published by the company. Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 12 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 37.6 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 11.6 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 71.2 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Accredited since 18 April 2024 with an A+ rating, founded 10 July 2022, 22 customer reviews and zero complaints closed in the last three years.. BBB business profile
- GAF lists Family Roofing LLC of Lincoln, NE in its residential contractor directory.. GAF contractor directory
What they actually do. Roof replacement and repair, emergency roof repair, storm, hail and wind damage restoration, commercial roof maintenance, siding, gutters, fascia and soffit, and insurance claims.
Why it ranks here. A clean 5.0 across 91 reviews with zero complaints closed at the BBB in three years, owner-run by a named owner from a Lincoln address that matches on both its own site and the BBB record. Its published service area is the most specifically local on this page, naming Lincoln and Lancaster County plus Omaha, Seward, Milford, Crete, Waverly, Hickman, York, Beatrice and Nebraska City, so it covers both counties of the metro explicitly.
Best fit for: A Lincoln homeowner who wants a small owner-run firm with a clean record and explicit local coverage.
What we would want clarified. It is by far the youngest business here, with a BBB start date of 10 July 2022, so three years of record supports the 5.0. It holds base-tier GAF Certified status rather than Master Elite, which is why it ranks fifth despite the highest rating on the page. It publishes no Nebraska registration number, and its Certified Master Shingle Applicator claim is self-published with no issuing body’s record we could check. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (800) 818-1354, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
The 155 hail reports behind a Lincoln roof
Aggregate hail counts tell you very little about a specific roof. These are the individual events: every severe-weather report logged by the National Weather Service across the 2 counties of the Lincoln, NE statistical area over ten years, with the dates, the stone sizes and the towns they landed on. Over that decade the metro logged 168 hail reports, 188 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 15 tornadoes. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $6.3 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
The biggest hail to fall on Lincoln in a decade
| Date | Stone size | Reported near | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 May 2016 | 5.0 in | Cheneys | Lancaster |
| 14 June 2022 | 3.5 in | Malcolm | Lancaster |
| 14 June 2022 | 3.0 in | Garland | Seward |
| 9 May 2016 | 2.75 in | Walton | Lancaster |
| 7 June 2022 | 2.5 in | Davey | Lancaster |
| 7 May 2023 | 2.5 in | Raymond | Lancaster |
The largest stone on record for this metro fell on 9 May 2016 near Cheneys, measured at 5.0 inches. That is grapefruit sized. Stones that big destroy asphalt shingles outright, dent metal, crack tile and routinely total roofs across whole neighbourhoods.
Wind. The strongest thunderstorm gust logged in the metro was 91 knots, about 105 mph, near Pleasant Dale on 5 May 2019. Asphalt shingles begin lifting at roughly 67 mph when they are correctly nailed, and considerably below that when they are not.
Tornadoes. 15 tornadoes touched down in these counties over the decade, the strongest rated EF3 near Havelock on 26 April 2024.
What the National Weather Service wrote about it
The NWS logs a written account of each severe-weather episode. This is its description of the 5 May 2019 event near Pleasant Dale, reproduced verbatim:
Trained spotters measured the wind with a handheld anemometer in the rear flank downdraft of a possibly tornadic thunderstorm.
That is the kind of damage a roof in this metro has to be specified against, described by the agency that recorded it rather than by a contractor selling the repair.
When it happens. Severe weather reports cluster in June (118), May (67), July (67). The worst years on record were 2020 (63), 2022 (57), 2023 (42). If you are scheduling non-urgent work in Lincoln, the months outside that window are when crews are least stretched and least likely to be triaging emergency callouts ahead of your job.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, county-level detail files 2016 to 2025, filtered to the counties of this statistical area by The Roofing Brief. Damage figures are as reported to the NWS and undercount insured losses.
What to do with this. Lincoln sees enough damaging hail that a Class 4 impact-rated shingle is worth pricing, though not automatically worth buying. Get both quotes and weigh the premium against any insurance discount.
How to check a Lincoln roofer in ten minutes
There is no state roofing licence in NE. Nebraska issues no roofing licence. The Contractor Registration Act requires contractors and subcontractors to register with the Department of Labor, but registration involves no exam, no proof of experience and no trade qualification whatsoever.
Registration requires only an application form, a workers compensation attachment where employees exist, and a small fee. Omaha and Lincoln both maintain their own municipal licensing systems with exams, bonds and insurance requirements that go substantially beyond the state registration.
That absence is the most important fact on this page. Where a state issues no credential, a manufacturer certification that can be revoked is the only quality signal a homeowner can actually check, which is why this ranking is built on certification rather than star ratings.
Check here: Nebraska Department of Labor contractor registration. State registration proves almost nothing: no exam, no experience, no trade qualification. Nebraska’s cities license contractors themselves, but not always this trade, so the useful question is whether roofing is a licensed trade in your jurisdiction at all, and if it is not, what the contractor offers in its place. Nebraska does regulate the money side: Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-8604 bars a contractor from promising to rebate any part of your insurance deductible, and 44-8607 requires a signed notice setting that out.
Four checks to run before you sign anything, in any state.
- Verify certification at the source. Use the GAF verification tool rather than trusting a badge image on a company website.
- Get the certificate of insurance from the insurer, not the contractor, and confirm general liability and workers compensation are both active on the day work starts.
- Confirm who pulls the permit. If a contractor asks you to pull it as the homeowner, that moves liability onto you. Decline.
- Get warranty terms in writing before any deposit, and check the manufacturer warranty being promised actually requires the certification tier the contractor holds.
How deep the Lincoln certified market really is
10 certified roofing contractors serve the principal cities of the Lincoln, NE statistical area, of which 0 hold the top President’s Club tier. The pool carries 1,614 customer reviews between them at a mean rating of 4.83. The statistical area had a 2024 population of 350,626, a change of 3.06% against the 2020 census base, per the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
How these Lincoln rankings were produced
Every contractor in the Lincoln, NE pool was scored out of 100 on four published components: certification tier, a Bayesian adjusted rating, review depth and distance from the metro centre. In this metro that meant scoring 10 certified contractors, of whom 0 hold President’s Club standing and 5 Master Elite, against a metro mean rating of 4.83. The top five were then researched individually against Better Business Bureau records, state licence registers and manufacturer directories. Good and bad findings are published together, and no contractor paid for a place here.
The full method, the weightings, what the GAF certification tiers actually mean, who is eligible to be ranked and what we do not claim are all set out on our roofer ranking methodology page. Last updated: September 2026. Scoring run: 2026-09-30. Corrections go to the editor and are actioned on verification.
The questions that come up most in Lincoln
Who is the best roofer in Lincoln, NE?
Murray Roofing LLC of Lincoln, NE scores highest in the Lincoln metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score, at 81.0 out of 100 as of September 2026. It holds Master Elite certification with a 4.9 rating across 102 reviews. Highest-scoring is not the same as best fit for your specific job, and the four companies behind it score within 9.8 points.
How many certified roofing contractors serve Lincoln?
10 contractors on the GAF certification registry serve the principal cities of the Lincoln, NE statistical area as of September 2026, of which 0 hold President’s Club status.
How much damaging hail does Lincoln get?
The Lincoln, NE statistical area recorded 155 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 21 of 2 inches or larger between 2016 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Events Database. The largest hailstone reported measured 5.0 inches.
Did any contractor pay to appear on this list?
No. The Roofing Brief takes no placement fees, no lead fees and no affiliate commission from any roofing contractor. Ranking comes entirely from the published formula applied to public registry data, followed by an individual research pass on the top five.
What was the worst hailstorm in Lincoln in the last ten years?
The largest hailstone logged by the National Weather Service in the Lincoln, NE statistical area between 2016 and 2025 measured 5.0 inches, reported near Cheneys on 9 May 2016. That is grapefruit sized. Stones that big destroy asphalt shingles outright, dent metal, crack tile and routinely total roofs across whole neighbourhoods. Across the decade the metro recorded 168 hail reports. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $6.3 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
When is the worst time of year for roof damage in Lincoln?
Severe-weather reports in the Lincoln, NE statistical area cluster in June, May, July, on the NOAA record for 2016 to 2025. Scheduling discretionary work away from that window tends to get you a better crew and a faster start, because nobody is juggling emergency callouts.
Do roofers need a licence in NE?
Nebraska issues no roofing licence. The Contractor Registration Act requires contractors and subcontractors to register with the Department of Labor, but registration involves no exam, no proof of experience and no trade qualification whatsoever. Registration requires only an application form, a workers compensation attachment where employees exist, and a small fee. Omaha and Lincoln both maintain their own municipal licensing systems with exams, bonds and insurance requirements that go substantially beyond the state registration.
What should I check before hiring a roofer in Lincoln?
State registration proves almost nothing: no exam, no experience, no trade qualification. Nebraska’s cities license contractors themselves, but not always this trade, so the useful question is whether roofing is a licensed trade in your jurisdiction at all, and if it is not, what the contractor offers in its place. Nebraska does regulate the money side: Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-8604 bars a contractor from promising to rebate any part of your insurance deductible, and 44-8607 requires a signed notice setting that out.
Is Lincoln a hard market to find a good roofer in?
Nebraska asks a roofer for almost nothing. The state Contractor Registration Act requires registration with the Department of Labor but, under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2105, no examination, no experience and no showing of competence of any kind, and anyone earning under $5,000 a year is exempt outright. Lincoln does license contractors itself, which sounds like the backstop until you read the list: demolition, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, signs, street use and fire protection. Roofing is not on it. So in a city that took a five inch hailstone through the roofs and walls of houses in May 2016, a roofer needs no licence, no exam and no bond. What Nebraska does regulate is the money, and that is where the useful protections are.
Roofer rankings for other metros
The Roofing Brief scores certified roofing contractors in the 400 largest U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan areas on the same formula.
- Best roofers in Omaha, NE, about 45 miles from Lincoln
- Best roofers in Clarksville, TN, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Gainesville, FL, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Topeka, KS, also scored, about 133 miles away
- Best roofers in Des Moines, IA, also scored, about 168 miles away
- Best roofers in Sioux Falls, SD, also scored, about 189 miles away
See the full index of all 400 metro roofer rankings, or read how to find and vet a roofing contractor anywhere in the country.
Cite this analysis
The Roofing Brief. “Best Roofers in Lincoln, NE: The Roofing Brief Contractor Score.” Published September 2026. Inputs: GAF certification registry; NOAA Storm Events Database 2016-2025; U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 population estimates; Better Business Bureau and independent review-platform records for each ranked contractor.