Paste the bid or estimate a contractor sent you. In a few seconds you see what Washington law requires on it, what a complete bid usually spells out and is missing here, how much is asked before work starts, and, if the bid shows a registration number, whether L&I lists it as active. Free, no account, no email.
The bid stays in your browser; we never receive it. Only a registration number found in it is sent to Washington's open data site to read the license.
What it checks
- Washington law: the contractor's registration number on materials that solicit homeowners (RCW 18.27.100); on a home job of $1,000 or more, the signed "Notice to Customer" disclosure before work starts (RCW 18.27.114); and, with a registration number, whether the registered name appears on the bid.
- Common practice: a total price, a payment schedule, dates, an itemized scope, permits, written change orders, a warranty, lien releases, insurance, cleanup and signatures. Missing ones are questions to ask, not proof of anything.
- Open-ended wording: "as needed", "TBD", "allowance", "misc" and the like, worth pinning down.
It reads the document, not the contractor: not a rating, not legal advice. For the contractor's own record, look them up free; for the full picture before you pay, the Contractor Due Diligence Report.
How to vet a contractor before you sign, every state.