How Do You Check a Roofing Contractor's Licence in Washington?

Who registers roofing contractors in Washington?

In Washington, construction contractors register with the Department of Labor & Industries, usually referred to as L&I. Registration is the state-level mechanism that identifies a contractor, records the bond and liability insurance they carry, and gives homeowners a public record to check before hiring. It is separate from any city business licence and separate from trade certifications. L&I maintains a free public contractor lookup on its website, where you can search by business name, by contractor registration number, or by the individuals associated with a business. That lookup is the authoritative source: not a directory site, not a review platform, not a badge on a company's own website, which can be reproduced by anyone with an image editor. Because the specific requirements attached to registration - what must be filed, in what amounts, and how it is maintained - are set by L&I and revised over time, treat this article as a map rather than a rulebook. For the current requirements and the current status of any contractor, L&I is the authority to ask.

What should you check on an L&I contractor lookup?

Start with status. A registration can be active, expired, suspended or revoked, and a company can hand you a business card with a number on it long after the registration behind that number has lapsed. Confirm the record says active on the day you are checking, and check it again before you sign if weeks have passed. Then look at what is filed against the registration. The lookup shows whether a bond is on file and whether liability insurance is recorded, together with the names of the carriers and the effective dates. What you are looking for is coverage that is current and continuous - not a policy that lapsed last spring and was replaced the week your quote arrived. Finally, read the history. The lookup shows when the registration was first issued, whether the business has been registered continuously, and whether there are other business names or related registrations tied to the same people. A contractor who has been continuously registered for many years under one name is telling you something a new registration cannot. So is a pattern of businesses that close and reopen under new names.

Why does a lapse or a gap in registration matter?

A lapse is not a paperwork detail. During any period when a registration is not active, the protections that come with it may not be available to you, and your ability to make a claim against a bond can depend on the contractor's standing at the relevant time. That is a question for L&I and, if a dispute is already live, for your own legal adviser - but the practical lesson is simple: check the status before work starts, not after a problem appears. Gaps also tell you about how a business is run. Registration is a recurring obligation with a renewal date. A company that lets it lapse is a company that let a known deadline pass, and roofing is a trade where deadlines and sequencing matter - the deck is open, the weather is coming, and the flashing order needed to be placed last week. Repeated new registrations under different business names, with the same people behind them, are worth a second look as well. There are legitimate reasons a business restructures. There are also contractors who close a company with unresolved complaints and start again. The lookup shows you enough to ask the question.

What does a contractor bond actually do for a homeowner?

A contractor bond is a financial instrument filed with the state that provides a limited source of recovery if a contractor fails to meet certain obligations. It is not insurance for the homeowner, and it is not a guarantee of workmanship. It is a bounded pool that claimants may be able to make a claim against, subject to process and to how many other claims exist against the same bond. We are deliberately not printing bond amounts or claim procedures here. Those figures and rules are set by the state, they are amended from time to time, and a number quoted in an article written today can be wrong by the time you read it. L&I publishes the current requirements and the current claim process, and that is where to confirm them. What is worth understanding is the difference between the three things people conflate. Registration says a business is recorded with the state. A bond is a limited recovery mechanism. General liability insurance covers damage the contractor causes. None of the three replaces a written contract with a defined scope, or the manufacturer's product warranty on what actually goes on your roof.

What should you ask a roofer beyond the licence check?

Ask for the registration number in writing and check it yourself rather than accepting a screenshot. Ask whether the crew on your roof will be the contractor's own employees or a subcontracted crew, and if subcontracted, whether those firms are separately registered. Ask for a certificate of insurance issued directly by the carrier rather than a copy forwarded by the contractor. Ask what the written scope covers: tear-off or overlay, what happens if the deck is found to be damaged once it is opened, who pulls the permit, who arranges inspection, and how change orders are priced. Roofing disputes are usually scope disputes, and the time to settle them is before anyone is on the roof. Then ask about the product, because the roof outlives the transaction. Ask which standards the system is tested to - for the panels we install, ICC-ES ESR-1790 for wind uplift to 177.5 psf, UL 2218 Class 4 for impact, ASTM B209 for the aluminum, AAMA 2605 for the coating - and ask for the warranty document in full rather than a summary.

What are Interlock's Washington credentials?

We are registered in Washington as #INTERMR75406, and that number is the one to check on the L&I lookup. The legal entity is Interlock Metal Roofing (PNW) Inc., the authorized installer of the Interlock Lifetime Roofing System in Washington; the system itself is engineered and manufactured by Interlock Roofing Ltd. We install and service it here, and we are clear about which of those two roles is ours. The record behind the registration is countable. We have served Pacific Northwest homeowners since 1997, with 3,223 completed installs recorded in Washington, 3,092 of those pinned on our live project map, more than 750 approved reviews and more than 200 gallery photographs. Seattle alone accounts for 394 installs since 1998. Those are export figures from our own job book, not estimates, and we would rather give you a number you can hold us to than an adjective. We work from three Washington offices - Seattle, Bellingham and Stanwood - covering King, Pierce and Kitsap; Whatcom and Skagit; and Snohomish and Island counties respectively. The warranty on the system is lifetime to the original owner, transferable once, with the second owner covered to 50 years from substantial completion.

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