Sarah Baird

Any work that impacts the value of real estate in Washington, requires a licensed contractor.

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries requires licensees to maintain a bond and liability insurance for the protection of consumers.

Licensed contractors in Washington are required to maintain general liability coverage that includes a $50,000 property damage policy and $200,000 public liability policy; or $250,000 combined single limit policy.

Licensed general contractors in Washington are required to maintain a $12,000 bond and specialty contractors are required to maintain a $6,000 bond. This provides consumers with financial recourse in case they perform defective work or violate license regulations.

The BuildZoom score is based on a number of factors including the contractor's license status, insurance status, verified work history, standing with local consumer interest groups, verified reviews from other BuildZoom users and self-reported feedback from the contractor.

When it comes to major construction work or even minor alterations to your home, hiring the wrong contractor could result in incomplete or defective work. You may even find yourself dealing with huge liability claims. BuildZoom does the homework for you and helps you hire the right contractor.

The standard board recommendation is to get at least three written bids before hiring a contractor. Do not automatically accept the lowest bid - an abnormally low bid may indicate the contractor made a mistake and is not including the same work quoted by their competitors. We've made the bid collection process extremely simple (and free). Just click here to get started.