How to check a contractor's license in Washington

Which license does the contractor need in Washington?

Washington does not have a single "contractor's license". It has registration, plus trade licenses for two trades.

A specialty contractor "can work only in their registered specialty and cannot hire subcontractors" (L&I). So a specialty roofer who offers to redo your kitchen is outside their registration.

How to look a contractor up, step by step

1. Open lni.wa.gov/Verify.
2. Search by business name, license number, or the UBI number on their card. The name on the permit is often shortened, so try the first word or two.
3. Open the record. The page is split into sections: License, Bond, Insurance, Lawsuits against the bond or savings, License Violations, Workers' Comp, Workplace Safety & Health and Certifications & Endorsements.
4. Read the License block first: "License specialties", "Effective — expiration" and, if present, "Suspend date".
5. Scroll to Lawsuits against the bond. A bond claim means a customer or supplier went to court and won against the bond.
6. Check Workers' Comp for an "Active account" if the firm has employees.
7. Write down the license number. Check it again the week work starts; bonds get cancelled.

What "active", "expired" and "suspended" mean on L&I's page

• Active: the registration or license is in force; bond and insurance are on file.
• Expired: the registration ran out and was not renewed. An expired contractor cannot legally advertise or bid for work in Washington (RCW 18.27).
• Suspended (a "Suspend date" shows): the registration is not in force. Ask why before you sign, and do not let the firm start work until Verify shows Active again.
• Lawsuits against the bond: the bond is the money you can claim if the work is bad or unpaid. If claims have used it up, there is nothing left for you.

Penalties for unlicensed contracting in Washington

An unregistered contractor "shall be assessed a fine of not less than $1,200, nor more than $10,000" (RCW 18.27.340). The director can cut a first offence to $600 if the contractor registers within 10 days of the notice. The chapter that sets the whole scheme, including the bond and the rule that an unregistered contractor cannot sue you for payment, is Chapter 18.27 RCW.

What the license does not tell you

L&I says whether the firm is bonded and insured today. It says nothing about whether their last twenty jobs were permitted, inspected and finished. That is a city record. We read it: in Seattle, 94.6% of electrical permits reached final and the usual job took 44 days; for furnace and heating, 86.2% finished and 66 days. In Bellevue, 85.4% of HVAC firms match an Active L&I license and 73.8% of their permits finished; in Bellingham, 77.9% and 92.6%. Each firm page links to its L&I record, so you can do both checks from one place.

Red flags on a Washington license record

• "Suspend date" filled in, or status anything other than Active.
• A specialty registration (say, "Roofing") on a firm bidding general remodel work.
• One or more entries under Lawsuits against the bond, especially recent ones.
• Entries under License Violations or Workplace Safety & Health citations.
• No active workers' comp account on a firm that plainly has a crew.
• Registration effective date in the last few months on a firm that says it has been in business for years. It may be a new entity after an old one folded; ask.
• Electrical work offered by a firm that has contractor registration but no electrical contractor license.

See every Seattle electrician by their permit record →