"Licensed, bonded and insured" sounds like a single credential. In Washington it can describe two different ones, issued by the same state agency under two different laws, and they cover different work. When a company is about to install your mini-split or rewire a cooktop, which of the two it holds decides whether that work is legally within its reach.
Construction contractor registration (RCW 18.27)
Any business that offers, for pay, to construct, alter, repair, improve, move or demolish a building or another improvement attached to real estate has to register with L&I as a contractor. The law sorts registrants into two kinds. A general contractor's work calls for two or more building trades or crafts; a specialty contractor is anyone whose work does not meet that definition, usually a single trade. People say "general contractor license," but the official term is registration.
Two protections stand behind every registration:
- A surety bond. The amount depends on the type: $30,000 when the business registers as general, $15,000 when it registers as a specialty (RCW 18.27.040). A residential homeowner suing for breach of contract gets two years to file, counted from when the job was substantially finished or abandoned. Other claimants together are capped at half the bond; that cap does not apply to homeowners.
- Liability insurance. The law sets floors of $50,000 in property-damage coverage, $100,000 where one person is hurt or killed, and $200,000 where several are (RCW 18.27.050). If the policy expires or is canceled, the registration is suspended automatically until new coverage is filed.
What a registration does not do is license electrical work. That is a separate credential.
Electrical contractor license (RCW 19.28)
L&I's rule fits in a sentence: to contract for electrical construction work, a business must hold an electrical contractor license. Getting one takes a UBI, a $4,000 electrical contractor bond or savings assignment, a workers' comp account if the business has employees, and a master electrician or administrator assigned to it who is qualified in its specialty. On the job, the wiring has to be done by electricians who hold the proper Washington certificate. L&I also notes the reverse case: an electrical contracting business that does non-electrical work may need a construction registration on top of its license. That is why a company doing both kinds of work around HVAC and appliances may hold both.
The specialty codes, in plain words
A general electrical contractor (01) may do every type of electrical and telecommunications installation. Everyone else holds a specialty defined in WAC 296-46B-920. The ones that come up in a house:
- 01 General. Any electrical work, including services, panels, feeders and new circuits.
- 02 Residential. Line-voltage, low-voltage and telecommunications wiring in one- and two-family homes and in multifamily buildings within set size limits.
- 06A HVAC/refrigeration. Wiring within HVAC and refrigeration equipment and its low-voltage controls, with no cap on voltage, phase or amperage. It may repair or replace a flexible supply whip up to six feet, and while replacing equipment it may swap a small surface-mounted disconnect with a 20-amp, 120-volt rating or less, like-in-kind. It may not run branch circuits or feeders, install controllers or disconnect switches outside the equipment, or work on panelboards.
- 07D Appliance repair. Servicing, repairing, maintaining and replacing household appliances and small equipment that connect as one unit to one single-phase supply within a 250-volt, 60-amp limit. Replacement must be in place, like-in-kind, on the same unmodified circuit. Heat pumps, air conditioners, furnaces and space heaters are named as excluded, along with plumbing, branch circuits and panels.
- Others you may see on a record: 03 pump and irrigation, 04 signs, 06 limited energy systems, 09 telecommunications, 10 door and gate systems.
Which credential covers which task
- Replacing a furnace or heat pump on its existing circuit, connecting the whip and the thermostat wiring: 06A, or 01 or 02, with an electrical permit.
- Wiring a mini-split's indoor and outdoor units and the communication cable between them: 06A. The refrigerant piping and equipment setting are mechanical work under the city's permit.
- A new 240-volt circuit and disconnect for a first heat pump or mini-split: 01 or 02. It is outside both 06A and 07D.
- A panel replacement or service upgrade before electrifying a home: an electrical contractor whose specialty includes services, such as 01.
- Swapping a hardwired dishwasher or wall oven for a like-in-kind model on the same circuit: 07D, or 01 or 02.
- Converting a hardwired disposal to cord and plug with a new outlet at the same spot: 07D.
- Building a platform, a closet for an air handler, or cutting and patching drywall: construction work, covered by the registration.
If a company shows only one of the two
A registration without any electrical license means someone else has to do the wiring. Ask who, and look that company up as well, because it needs its own license and its own permit. An electrical license without a registration is normal for an electrical-only shop; ask who will handle any building work the job needs. Both credentials, with their specialties, appear on the same L&I Verify record when you search the business's UBI.
Where we fit
Larch HVAC & Appliance carries all three credentials described here: electrical contractor licenses in 06A, for heating and cooling equipment, and in 07D, for appliances, plus a General-specialty construction registration. Branch circuits, panel work and disconnects mounted outside the equipment fall beyond both of our electrical specialties, so when a mini-split location has no circuit, that piece goes to an electrical contractor holding the general (01) license, on a separate quote. Each credential has its own page: the General registration, 06A HVAC/refrigeration and 07D appliance repair, all collected on licenses. If you are weighing a ductless system, our mini-split page covers installs, repair and cleaning; to set up a site visit, phone (425) 570-9520 or use the online booking form.