Washington contractor insurance and bond requirements

Last reviewed Oct 11, 2026. General information from official state sources, not legal or insurance advice.

Washington doesn't "license" most building contractors. It registers them through the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). Registration is the state's way of making sure a contractor carries a bond and liability insurance before taking on work. If either one lapses, the registration is suspended automatically. Here is what the law requires and how to check it.

The registration bond

Every registered contractor must carry a surety bond. Under RCW 18.27.040, the amount is:

$30,000 for a general contractor
$15,000 for a specialty contractor (for example a roofer, painter or flooring installer)

These amounts took effect July 1, 2024; before that they were lower. Contractors with recent court judgments involving single-family homes must carry a bigger bond, up to three times the normal amount (WAC 296-200A-030).

The bond isn't insurance for the contractor. It's a fund that people the contractor harms can claim against. It can pay for unpaid workers, unpaid suppliers, taxes owed, and amounts a court awards because of breach of contract, including improper work.

Liability insurance

RCW 18.27.050 requires general liability insurance of at least:

$50,000 for damage to property
$100,000 for injury or death of one person
$200,000 for injury or death of more than one person

L&I describes this as $200,000 public liability plus $50,000 property damage, or a $250,000 combined single limit. L&I must be listed as a certificate holder on the policy. That's how the state learns when a policy is canceled.

These are legal minimums. A contractor can carry more, and for a large project you can ask the contractor what their policy limits are.

Workers' compensation: a state-run system

Washington is one of the few states where you can't buy workers' comp from a private insurer. Employers buy it from L&I, unless they're certified to self-insure. If a contractor has workers, it generally needs an L&I workers' comp account and pays premiums quarterly based on the hours its workers put in.

Workers' comp and general liability are separate. Liability insurance covers damage or injuries the contractor causes to you or your property. Workers' comp covers the contractor's own workers if they get hurt on your job. A contractor can have one without the other, so check both.

What happens when coverage lapses

The law is strict here:

If the liability policy expires, is canceled or revoked, the contractor's registration is automatically suspended (RCW 18.27.050).
If the bond is canceled or used up by unpaid judgments, the registration is automatically suspended (RCW 18.27.040).
Insurers and bonding companies must send cancellation notices to L&I. The suspension starts on the date the coverage ends (WAC 296-200A-040 and -060).
Unpaid workers' comp premiums are also grounds for suspension.

A suspended contractor can't legally work until the coverage is back on file. That's why a registration that says "active" today is worth re-checking right before work starts.

If something goes wrong: claims against the bond

A homeowner with a claim against a contractor can sue the contractor and the bond in superior court in the county where the work was done. Key rules from RCW 18.27.040:

You must file within two years of when the work was substantially completed or abandoned.
The bond pays no more than its face amount in total, no matter how many people claim.
Half the bond is reserved for residential homeowners.
A homeowner who wins can recover court costs, interest and reasonable attorney fees.

L&I also runs a Homeowner Recovery Fund that can pay up to $25,000, depending on available funds, beyond what the bond covers, for qualifying judgments entered after July 1, 2026. You must apply within 90 days.

Working unregistered

Advertising, bidding or doing contracting work without registering is a gross misdemeanor in Washington (RCW 18.27.020). Fines for failing to register run from $1,200 to $10,000 per infraction (RCW 18.27.340). An unregistered contractor generally can't sue to collect payment for the work (RCW 18.27.080). That also tells you something: a contractor who skips registration is skipping the bond and insurance that protect you.

How to check a Washington contractor

Search the contractor on L&I's Verify a Contractor tool by name, registration number or UBI number.
Confirm the registration is active and the business name matches your contract.
Look at the bond and insurance information, and at the license history for lawsuits against the bond or violations.
Ask for a certificate of insurance and confirm it with the insurer (see our guide to verifying a certificate of insurance).
If they have employees, ask for their L&I workers' comp account number.

You can also look up any Washington contractor's registration, insurance and bond on our Washington lookup, which we check against L&I's public data every day.