Pierce County contractor license lookup: L&I registration, electrical licenses and the county permit record

Which license each job needs in Pierce County

L&I's registration page says "Washington State requires all construction contractors to register with L&I" and to be "bonded and insured", and that contractors working with plumbing or electrical "have additional requirements for education, examination, and licensing" (read 26 October 2026). For wiring, L&I's electrical contractor page says "All work performed must be done by properly certified electricians." L&I's city permits page adds that Tacoma Power issues electrical permits for properties it serves in "unincorporated Pierce County as far south as Roy", so check which applies before your electrician files.

How to run the lookup in five minutes

1. Get the L&I registration number or exact business name from the bid.
2. Search it on L&I Verify, which shows "an active contractor registration; an active and paid-to-date workers' comp account covering any employees" and safety violations.
3. Electrician: confirm an L&I electrical contractor license on the same tool, and ask whether the permit will come from L&I or Tacoma Power.
4. Look up the parcel in PALS Online to see what was permitted before, as the Pierce County building permit search guide shows.

Doing the work yourself

Washington's registration law does not apply to "Any person working on his or her own property, whether occupied by him or her or not", but that exemption "shall not apply to any person who performs the activities of a contractor on his or her own property for the purpose of selling, demolishing, or leasing the property" (RCW 18.27.090(12)). It also exempts "An owner who contracts for a project with a registered contractor" (subsection 11). So an owner can build or remodel their own house, but someone fixing up houses to sell or rent is a contractor and must register. County rules: HVAC and new home permits.

What our Pierce County pages add

L&I answers "is this firm registered". Our Pierce County page shows what the county permitted and how fast it signed jobs off: 89% of the 15,087 permits were on homes, 69% of those issued October 2024 to September 2025 were finished, and the usual one took 74 days from issue to final (how long a permit takes). Additions, garages and sheds, solar and demolition have their own pages, and the permit statistics page has the months. Statewide rules and penalties: How to check a contractor's license in Washington.

What this lookup does not tell you

The county's file names no contractor, so we cannot show who did a job or match firms to L&I records. It covers unincorporated Pierce County only: Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup and the other cities permit their own work. Electrical permits are not in it. A registration says the firm is bonded and insured today, not how its last job went.