To look up a contractor in Washington, search the business name, 12-character registration number or UBI in the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business tool. Washington calls it a contractor registration rather than a license, and an “Active” status means the registration is current. L&I suspends a registration when its bond or liability insurance lapses.
Status is only the first line. In L&I’s public data for October 24, 2026, 68,517 construction contractors were active. About one in four is a specialty contractor limited to a single trade, and 10.6% had a liability policy on file that ends within 60 days. Checking those dates takes one more click in the same tool.
What L&I records show for Washington’s 68,517 active contractors
| Measure | Active construction contractors | Share |
|---|---|---|
| General contractors | 52,109 | 76% |
| Specialty contractors (61 specialties) | 16,408 | 24% |
| Liability policy of $1 million or more | 65,838 | 96% |
| Liability policy on file ends within 30 days | 3,653 | 5.3% |
| Liability policy on file ends within 60 days | 7,246 | 10.6% |
| Registration took effect in the past 12 months | 9,989 | 14.6% |
Electrical, plumbing and elevator contractors are registered separately and carry their own licensing: 5,580, 2,200 and 85 active businesses. The most common specialties among construction contractors are painting and wallcovering (2,317), floor covering and countertops (1,873) and landscaping (1,522).
General vs. specialty registration in Washington
L&I’s contractor registration page sets the line. A general contractor can do most construction work and hire subcontractors in several trades. A specialty contractor can work only in its registered specialty and cannot hire subcontractors. L&I regulates 63 specialties, from roofing to tree removal.
For a homeowner the practical test is the scope of the bid. A painting-specialty registration covers painting. A kitchen remodel that includes framing, cabinets and plumbing needs a general contractor, plus the plumbing and electrical licenses L&I lists for that work.
What the $30,000 contractor bond covers
Since July 1, 2024, a general contractor’s continuous surety bond is $30,000 and a specialty contractor’s is $15,000, up from $12,000 and $6,000 (L&I announcement). The data shows the change is complete: all but 31 active general contractors have a bond of $30,000 or more on file, and specialty contractors carry $15,000 (14,738) or $30,000 (1,489). The bond file lists no open-ended bond for 413 active contractors (0.6%); L&I accepts an assigned savings account in place of a bond, so check the Verify page for those.
The bond amount is fixed, so on a large remodel it may cover only part of a loss. L&I’s guide to filing suit against a construction contractor explains that a homeowner collects from the bond by naming the bond company and bond number in a lawsuit; L&I itself handles registration, not the dispute.
Liability insurance: the minimum and what contractors actually carry
The state minimum is $200,000 in public liability with $50,000 property damage, or a $250,000 combined single limit. In practice, 96% of active contractors file a policy of $1 million or more. The date matters as much as the amount. L&I suspends a registration when a bond or insurance policy is cancelled or expires, or when a judgment against the contractor goes unpaid, and notifies the contractor by certified mail within 2 days.
If the Verify page shows a policy ending before your project does, ask for the renewal certificate before work starts.
If the contractor also works south of the Columbia River, check its Oregon license separately; our Oregon CCB contractor lookup shows how, with the same insurance-date check.
How to check a Washington contractor before you sign
- Open L&I Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business and search by business name, registration number or UBI. The registration number must appear on the contractor’s bids, estimates and ads.
- Confirm the status reads Active and the specialty matches the job: General, or the one trade you are hiring for.
- Open the bond and insurance sections. Note the bond company and number, and the insurance expiration date.
- Check lawsuits against the bond, safety citations and infractions. L&I’s Verify guide lists these alongside the workers’ comp account status.
- For residential jobs of $1,000 or more, expect the contractor to give you L&I’s Model Disclosure Statement Notice to Customer.
- After the work, look up the permit at your city or county and match the contractor name on it to the business you hired.
Our contractor license lookup guide covers the same check in other states. For Seattle addresses, our Seattle permit search guide covers finding the permit itself, and our analysis of Seattle unpermitted construction complaints shows what happens when work skips the permit.
Counts are our calculations from L&I’s Contractor License Data on data.wa.gov: General, Bond and Insurance, pulled October 24, 2026. Each contractor’s current bond is its latest open-ended bond, and its insurance date is the latest policy expiration on file. L&I pages checked October 24, 2026. More analyses are on our permit data page.