How do I verify my Seattle contractor's L&I bond?

Verify any Seattle-area contractor through the Washington Department of Labor and Industries online portal before signing anything. Open secure.lni.wa.gov, choose Verify a Contractor or Tradesperson, and search by business name or by the eight-digit registration number that must appear on every estimate, contract, vehicle, and ad under RCW 18.27.200.

The public record will display five things you should confirm: (1) registration status — must read Active; suspended, expired, or revoked are dealbreakers; (2) the surety bond amount required by RCW 18.27.040 — currently $12,000 for general contractors and $6,000 for specialty contractors; (3) general liability insurance carried at the RCW 18.27.050 statutory floor of $50,000 property damage and $200,000 per-occurrence public liability (with a $100,000 per-person sub-limit); (4) any open infraction notices, lawsuits against the bond, or unpaid judgments; and (5) the named bond carrier and effective dates so you can confirm the bond is still in force and not exhausted by prior claims.

Washington-state bond limits are deliberately low, so on a project larger than roughly $40,000 you should treat the L&I bond as a procedural hygiene check, not real protection. Pair it with a contractor-specific certificate of insurance naming you as additional insured, and require lien releases from every subcontractor at each draw.

Also check the Contractor Training and Education tab — Washington requires 16 hours of continuing education every two years for general contractors. A lapsed CE record is an early warning that the registration itself may go dormant.

For electrical and plumbing work, run a separate verification: electricians are licensed under RCW 19.28 and plumbers under RCW 18.106, and those records live in different L&I databases. A general contractor's bond does not cover sub-trade defects.