references

Look for providers who are newbie friendly. The screening is just a bit more thorough.

Have fun!

Give the provider you want to see enough information about yourself  so that she is comfortable.
Name, age,current work and phone numbers. I suggest you see a provider with plenty of reviews, someone who you can trust with your personal information. You can also join screening sites like Preferred411.
Some of my screening is common sense and intuition. If a 60 year old gent contacts me with no refs and is retired, me asking questions and having conversations with him  will help to screen him.
Good luck and happy hobbying!

than in most regions of the country. I base this on all the discussions on the Newbie Board, where the consensus is that you'd surely be facing an onerous process to establish yourself.

For that matter, you should search the Newbie Board for "references" and "screening" to see all the advice that has been posted. It's probably the most frequently discussed topic there.