Washington contractor license requirements
What you need before your first paid job in Washington, one page for each trade. The license, the least insurance you must carry, whether the state asks for a bond, when you charge sales tax, and the deadlines that protect your right to be paid.
Plumbing in Washington
- License you need
- Plumbing Contractor License Renew Every 2 years (the license expires 24 months after it is issued)
- Insurance you must carry
- $200,000 plus $50,000 for property damage
- Workers' comp
- Required as soon as you hire anyone
- Washington charges sales tax on your labor. On a normal job for a customer you collect retail sales tax on the whole bill, labor and materials, and buy the materials tax-free with a reseller permit. The rule is the same for a house and for a business.
- A plumbing business needs a plumbing contractor license from L&I, with a $6,000 bond. That is separate from the general contractor registration, which now needs a $30,000 bond. If you only do plumbing you need only the plumbing license.
HVAC in Washington
- License you need
- Specialty Contractor Registration, HVAC/R classification Renew Every 2 years
- Insurance you must carry
- $200,000 plus $50,000 for property damage
- Workers' comp
- Required as soon as you hire anyone
- Washington has no HVAC license. You register with L&I as a specialty contractor in the HVAC/R classification. No exam, no experience check, a bond and insurance are the whole test.
- The specialty contractor bond is $15,000 and the general contractor bond is $30,000. Many websites still show $6,000 and $12,000. Those are the old numbers.
Electrical in Washington
- License you need
- General Electrical Contractor License (01) Renew Every 2 years (the license expires 24 months after the day it is issued)
- Insurance you must carry
- None. L&I encourages an electrical contractor to carry liability insurance but does not require it and keeps no record of it liability, at least
- Workers' comp
- Required as soon as you hire anyone
- An electrical business does not have to register as a contractor as well. The contractor registration law exempts a certified electrician working inside the scope of that certificate, so most electrical-only companies hold the electrical license alone. Take on work outside electrical and you may need the registration too.
- L&I does not make an electrical contractor carry liability insurance and keeps no record of it. The $4,000 bond is the only money the state asks you to put up.
Across states
Sales tax on labor for plumbers and HVAC contractors by state. Which states tax the work itself, which tax only the parts, and how a repair differs from a new install.