Registration, bond, insurance, and your first legal job — the exact order to do them in, with the real numbers and no guesswork. Built from real Washington contractor operating experience, not a marketing agency.
I have been through Washington's registration process from the inside, and I have watched it go sideways for people who did the work in the wrong order. Most guides online are written by companies selling bonds or by AI that has never pulled a permit here. This hub is the opposite: the actual sequence, the actual dollar amounts, and the traps that get new contractors fined or denied. Where a number matters, I link the L&I or Department of Revenue page it came from so you can verify it yourself.
This surprises people coming from other states. To work as a general or specialty contractor in Washington you register with the Department of Labor & Industries under Chapter 18.27 RCW — you do not sit a trade exam or prove years of experience the way you would for a contractor's license in California or Oregon. That is the good news. The catch is that registration is not "fill out a form and go." You need a bond, the right insurance, and a business on file with the state before L&I will issue your number, and you cannot legally advertise or bid until that number is active.
Do these out of order and you will pay for insurance you cannot use yet, or file an application that bounces because your UBI is not on record. Here is the sequence:
LLC or sole proprietor, then register with the Department of Revenue for your Unified Business Identifier.
$30,000 for a general contractor, $15,000 for a specialty contractor. You pay a small yearly premium, not the full amount.
$200,000 public liability + $50,000 property damage, or $250,000 combined single limit.
File Form F625-001 with your bond, insurance, and UBI. The fee is $150.20.
Open an L&I workers' comp account before your first employee swings a hammer.
Put your registration number on the bid, use written first-job paperwork, and review the deposit and lien rules that may apply.
The single most expensive mistake I see is doing work — even a favor for a neighbor — before the registration number is active. Washington treats contracting without registration as an infraction, and it kills your ability to file a lien or collect in court if the customer stiffs you. Get the number first. Everything else is recoverable; that one is not.
The bond amount is not what you pay out of pocket — it is the coverage. A new contractor with decent credit typically pays a modest annual premium for a $30,000 or $15,000 bond. Verify current figures on the L&I registration page before you buy anything.
Build, remodel, or manage other trades. $30,000 bond, no trade exam.
General path →$6,000 bond, $250k insurance, and a designated certified plumber on the license.
Plumbing path →$4,000 bond and a certified electrical administrator. Different from the 18.27 path.
Electrical path →The Washington Contractor Startup Roadmap turns everything on this page into a step-by-step sequence: which forms, which order, the bond and insurance language to ask for, and a first-job contract starter you can use.
Build My Free RoadmapPrimary Washington state agencies first, then supporting references. Figures verified July 2026 — always re-check current amounts before you file.