How to Check a Contractor License in Washington

Washington is one of the more consumer-friendly states when it comes to contractor records: almost every construction contractor must register with the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), and the core of that record is public. Checking it takes a couple of minutes, costs nothing, and is the single most effective step you can take before handing over a deposit.

This guide walks through the check in the order we recommend, explains what each field on the record means, and covers the trades where a basic registration is not the whole story.

What “Licensed” Means for a Washington Contractor

Homeowners usually ask whether a contractor is “licensed”. For most trades in Washington, the legal requirement is registration under RCW chapter 18.27. To register, a business files its identifying details with L&I, posts a surety bond and proves it carries liability insurance. The registration is valid for two years.

Registration is not a test of workmanship. It does, however, give you three practical protections: a bond you can claim against if the contract is breached, an insurance policy for property damage and injury, and a paper trail that ties the business to a real legal entity. Hiring an unregistered business removes all three.

Some trades sit under additional laws. Electrical contractors are licensed under RCW chapter 19.28, and plumbers need a certificate of competency under RCW chapter 18.106. We cover those below.

Step 1: Get the Exact Business Name and Registration Number

Ask for the registration number in writing before you compare bids. A legitimate contractor will give it without hesitation; Washington law requires the number on the disclosure statement given to residential customers for most jobs of $1,000 or more, and the number must appear in advertising.

Write down:

• the legal business name (not just the trade name on the truck),
• the registration number, which is usually a mix of letters and digits,
• the UBI number if they have it (the state business identifier).

Tip: If the name on the bid differs from the name on the registration, ask why. A franchise name, a “doing business as” name or a recent change of structure can all be legitimate, but you want the contract signed by the registered entity.

Step 2: Search the Registration Record

Enter the registration number, or a distinctive word from the business name, in our Washington contractor license lookup. It searches all 162,025 L&I registration records in the current state file, including expired and suspended ones, so you can see a business’s history rather than a blank result.

Searching by number is the most reliable. Name searches can return several similar businesses, and some contractors have held more than one registration over the years after changing from a sole proprietorship to an LLC.

Step 3: Confirm the Status Is ACTIVE

The status field is the headline. Only ACTIVE means the registration is currently valid. EXPIRED, SUSPENDED, OUT OF BUSINESS and RE-LICENSED each mean something different, and a few rare statuses also appear. Our guide to Washington contractor license statuses explained walks through each one.

If the status is anything other than ACTIVE, stop and ask the contractor to explain before going further. A business that has re-registered under a new number should be able to give you that new number straight away.

Step 4: Check the Expiry Date Against Your Project

Registrations last two years and must be renewed on or before the expiry date (RCW 18.27.060). If the expiry date falls in the middle of your project, ask the contractor to renew first, or at least to confirm in writing that renewal is under way. A lapse mid-job is a hassle for everyone and can complicate a later claim.

Step 5: Look at the Bond and Insurance on File

A registration is only as good as the security behind it. Washington requires a $30,000 bond for general contractors and $15,000 for specialty contractors, plus minimum liability insurance. If the bond is cancelled or the insurance lapses, the registration is automatically suspended until replacements are filed.

On each profile in our directory you will see the surety company, bond amount and effective date, and the insurer, coverage amount and expiry date, taken from the L&I bond and insurance datasets. For more detail, read Washington contractor bond requirements and Washington contractor insurance requirements.

Step 6: Confirm with the Official L&I Verify Tool

Our data is rebuilt from the state files, but records change daily. Before you sign, run the same search on L&I’s official Verify tool (linked in the sources). Verify also shows information we do not republish, including:

• lawsuits filed against the contractor’s bond,
• infractions and citations,
• whether the business has an active workers’ compensation account for its employees,
• individual trade certificates for electricians and plumbers.

Bond lawsuits are especially telling. Because the bond is shared among all claimants, several open suits can mean little is left for you.

Trades That Need More Than Registration

Electricians

Electrical contractors hold an electrical contractor license from L&I’s electrical program, and the people doing the work must hold individual electrician certificates. Check both. Our directory of licensed electricians in Washington shows the business record; ask each worker for their certificate number and look it up on Verify.

Plumbers

Plumbing businesses register as contractors, and individual plumbers must hold a certificate of competency or work as supervised trainees. Ask for both numbers.

Everyone Else

Painters, roofers, landscapers, concrete contractors and general contractors generally need registration rather than a separate trade license. That makes the registration check, plus bond and insurance, the core of your due diligence.

What to Do with the Result

Everything checks out. Keep a screenshot or printout of the record with the date. Ask for the disclosure statement and a written contract, and pull the record again the day you sign.

The status is not ACTIVE, or the bond or insurance is missing. Do not pay a deposit. Ask for an explanation in writing. Records sometimes lag a renewal by a few days, so a quick follow-up on Verify may resolve it; if not, keep looking.

There is no record at all. Try spelling variations and the number. “No record found” can be a typo or a different legal name, so do not conclude a business is unregistered from one search. If you still find nothing, ask for the number in writing and verify it with L&I.

A Two-minute Checklist

1. Registration number in writing.
2. Status ACTIVE.
3. Expiry date after your project ends.
4. Bond and insurance on file and current.
5. No unresolved bond lawsuits on L&I Verify.
6. Trade certificates for electrical and plumbing work.
7. Record saved with the date you checked.