Registration and Insurance is not Optional

What is required by law?
  • In Washington, all contractors who perform work or who advertise or submit bids in this state must be registered with the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), post a bond and carry general liability insurance coverage.
  • A general contractor must maintain a $12,000 bond. A specialty contractor, such as a painter, must maintain a $6,000 bond. An electrical contractor must maintain a $4,000 bond. Dissatisfied consumers may pursue restitution by taking civil action in Superior Court against a contractor’s bond.
  • All registered contractors must carry general liability insurance coverage in the amount of $50,000 property damage and $200,000 public liability or $250,000 combined single limit. (Note: This requirement does not pertain to electrical contractors. Telecommunications contractors must carry $170,000 in general liability insurance.)
  • A contractor must have a current business license, and if the contractor has employees, he or she must have workers’ compensation coverage.
  • A contractor must provide a “Notice to Customer” disclosure statement to you for any residential project with a projected cost of $1,000 or more, and any commercial project of $1,000 to $60,000.
Get answers

Visit L&I’s Contractor Web site at www.HiringaContractor.Lni.wa.gov, contact your local L&I office or call the toll-free contractor registration hotline at 1-800-647-0982 to learn:

  • If a contractor is currently registered and for how long.
  • If a contractor has workers’compensation insurance for his or her employees.
  • If there is any pending or past action against a contractor’s bond.
  • Other business names a contractor may have operated under in the past.
  • If a contractor has ever been cited for infractions.