Independent contractor requirements in washington state

Laws and rules about contractor registration can be found in the:

• Washington Administrative Code (WAC) Chapter 296-200A .
• Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Chapter 18.27 .

The laws and rules are maintained and updated by the State Office of the Code Reviser .

2023 rulemaking

L&I has adopted changes to the state’s contractor registration rules. The changes affect the definitions, penalty and bond amounts, and fees for general and specialty contractors. The changes are necessary due to the passage of legislation and the need to support operating expenses for the Contractor Registration program.

The agency filed a CR-103 Adoption Order on April 30, 2024, for changes under Chapter 296-200A WAC. The new rules take effect July1.

About the new laws

2023’s Second Substitute House Bill 1534 (2SHB 1534) (Chapter 213, Laws of 2023) helps to strengthen protections for consumers in the construction industry. Provisions of the bill increase fines, penalties, and bond amounts for contractors. These provisions take effect July 1, 2024.

2019’s Senate Bill 5795 (SB 5795) (Chapter 155, Laws of 2019) increases bond requirements for contractors. The law gives L&I the authority to require up to three times the normal bond amount if there has been one court judgment against a contractor involving a residential single-family dwelling. The law took effect July 28, 2019.

The adopted rules include:

• Increasing fees by the fiscal growth factor of 6.4% to support operating expenses.
• Amendments for consistency with the statutory amendments under 2SHB 1534. This includes:
  • Defining the meaning of “due diligence” related to a successor of an entity verifying the entity is in good standing related to unsatisfied final judgment against it for work performed under chapter 18.27 RCW or owes money to L&I for assessed penalties or fees as a result of a final judgment.
  • Increasing surety bond amounts for general and specialty contractors.
  • Increasing the monetary penalty amounts for infractions by contractors.
  • Amending the number of final judgments and single family dwelling structures involved for when a bond or savings account can be increased.
  • Clarifying the existing filing fee for summons and complaints against a contractor.
  • Clarifying the requirements to collect penalties from a contractor and restitution payments.

  Rulemaking Documents

  • CR-101 Preproposal Statement of Inquiry.
  • Draft Rule Language – Version 1.
  • CR-102 Proposed Rulemaking.
  • CR-102 Proposed Rule Language.
  • Public Hearing Information Packet.
  • CR-103 Adoption.
  • CR-103 Adoption Language.
  • Concise Explanatory Statement (CES).