LicensebyState

Kentucky to Washington: general contractor license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 17, 2026· 15 sources

Kentucky does not issue a statewide general contractor license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Washington's standard path for out-of-state applicants.

Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.

Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.

Everyone registers the same way; an out-of-state contractor license transfers nothing

Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.

A commercial or general contractor licensed in another state gains nothing from that license in Washington and loses nothing by not having one. L&I does not evaluate out-of-state credentials for contractor registration, publishes no reciprocity or endorsement route, and has nothing to waive, because Washington holds no contractor examination and sets no experience requirement. Washington is not one of the state agencies that accept the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors, for the same reason. An arriving contractor therefore follows the ordinary route: file a Business License Application with the Department of Revenue for a UBI (after filing with the Secretary of State if the business is a corporation, LLP or LLC, including one formed in another state), file a continuous $30,000 contractor surety bond or an assigned savings account for that amount with the State of Washington as obligee, file a certificate of general liability insurance naming L&I as certificate holder, submit the notarized Application for Construction Contractor Registration (F625-001-000) with a notarized affidavit from every principal, and pay $150.20 for a two-year registration. The business name must match exactly across the application, the bond and the insurance certificate. Applications mailed to Olympia take about three to four weeks to process; applications completed at a local L&I office are handled at the counter, and the registration card arrives about two weeks later.

An out-of-state business should also contact L&I's extraterritorial specialists at [email protected] or 360-902-4817 about reporting hours worked in Washington: L&I has workers' compensation reciprocal agreements with several neighboring states, but those agreements are about industrial insurance rather than licensing, and the construction industry is carved out of some of them. The statutory bond is a consumer-protection device, not a measure of capacity, so a large commercial contractor may still need far higher bonds by contract or under the public works statutes; the figures here are only what registration requires. Public agencies may not contract with an unregistered contractor (RCW 18.27.111).

At a glance

Trade exam
Waived
Law / code exam
Not required
Out-of-state hours
Do not count
Typical processing
About 28 days

What you must already have

  • Every owner, member, partner and corporate officer must be at least 18 and provide a Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number, a government-issued photo ID number and a residential address, and must sign the application before a notary public.RCW 18.27.030(1)(a) and (g), with the age and notarization requirements stated in the instructions to form F625-001-000.
  • The application is denied if a principal has an unsatisfied final judgment for work subject to chapter 18.27 RCW or owes certain unpaid debts to L&I, or if the business is a successor operating with all or part of the assets of a previously registered entity under substantially common ownership, management or control that has such a judgment or debt.
  • No examination result, trade experience, education, apprenticeship or financial statement is asked for at any point, so an out-of-state license, a NASCLA examination transcript and documented years in business are all equally irrelevant to the decision.

What you'll do to get licensed in Washington

  1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($150.20). Contractor registration issuance fee (WAC 296-200A-900(1)). The registration is valid for two years from issuance and renews for the same $150.20; reinstatement after a suspension costs $70.90 and a duplicate certificate costs $16.50. L&I mails a renewal notice no more than 45 days before expiry, and it is the contractor's duty to notify the department in writing within ten days of any change of address..
  2. 2Surety bond. Post a surety bond ($30,000). Continuous Contractor's Surety Bond (F625-003-000) in the sum of $30,000 for a general contractor, issued by a surety insurer meeting chapter 48.28 RCW and naming the State of Washington as obligee. The original, uncorrected bond must be filed with L&I with the bonding company's seal, or filed electronically by the surety, and it must carry the exact business name on file. An assigned savings account for the same amount (form F625-008-000) held at a bank, savings and loan or credit union with a Washington branch may be posted instead. The bond answers claims by workers, the state for taxes and contributions, suppliers and customers; cancellation suspends the registration automatically, and a contractor that switches from a general to a specialty registration may not reduce the bond amount for two years..
  3. 3Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($250,000). General liability insurance of $200,000 public liability and $50,000 property damage, or a $250,000 combined single limit policy, written in the exact business name with L&I named as certificate holder. The statute states it as $50,000 for property damage, $100,000 for injury or death to any one person and $200,000 for injury or death to more than one person. Certificates reach L&I by mail, through the designated insurance agent portal or in person, never by email or fax, and an assigned account in the statutory amounts may be filed instead as proof of financial responsibility. Cancellation or expiry automatically suspends the registration..
  4. 4Business license. Obtain a business license. A Washington Business License Application filed with the Department of Revenue Business Licensing Service, producing the nine-digit Uniform Business Identifier (UBI) required on the registration application and required to stay active and valid throughout. A corporation, limited partnership, LLP or LLC formed in another state registers with the Washington Secretary of State first, and a copy of the Secretary of State certificate is filed with L&I. L&I will not process the registration until it verifies that the business license application has been filed and an excise tax account is open. The Department of Revenue's application fee varies with the endorsements the business needs and is not published as a single figure; see dor.wa.gov for the current processing fee..
  5. 5Other. Notarized Application for Construction Contractor Registration (F625-001-000), with an individually notarized affidavit of signature from each owner, member, partner and corporate officer. All signatures must be original, so a copy or an emailed application is not accepted; file it in person at a local L&I office or mail it to Contractor Registration, PO Box 44450, Olympia WA 98504-4450 with the bond, the insurance certificate and the fee..
  6. 6Other. Workers' compensation coverage and an employment security department number if the business will have employees in Washington; a business with no Washington employees may substitute its UBI account number. An applicant domiciled in a state or Canadian province covered by an extraterritorial workers' compensation agreement may file that jurisdiction's certificate of coverage instead of opening a Washington industrial insurance account (RCW 18.27.030(1)(c)(iii)). An employer identification number is needed from the IRS unless the applicant is a sole proprietor with no employees..
  7. 7Other. Model Disclosure Statement, Notice to Customer (F625-030-000), required on every residential job of $1,000 or more and on commercial projects of $1,000 to $60,000; failing to give it can cost the contractor its lien rights. The registration number must appear on all business communications, including advertising, bids, estimates and business cards, and a city, town or county may not issue a building permit without verifying that the contractor is registered..
  8. 8Other. Separate trade licensing where the work calls for it. Contractor registration does not authorize plumbing, electrical, elevator, boiler, asbestos or mobile home installation work; each carries its own education, examination and licensing requirements, and electrical contracting is licensed under chapter 19.28 RCW rather than as a registration specialty. A general contractor may meet these by subcontracting to, or employing, the appropriately licensed firm or certified tradesperson. (if applicable).

Published fees on this path total $150.20, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

What you'll need to buy or arrange

Surety bond

A license or contractor bond is bought from a surety, not the state. Price is a small percentage of the bond amount and depends on your credit.

  • Surety bond · $30,000

Liability insurance

Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.

  • Insurance · $250,000

Business registration

If you plan to contract in your own name, budget for a business license or entity registration on top of the trade license.

  • Business license

How Washington licenses general contractors

Washington general contractor · “General Contractor Registration”

Statewide license

Verified September 17, 2026· 7 sources

Issued by Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Contractor Registration

Washington's unlimited tier is the General contractor registration issued by the Department of Labor & Industries, and it is the same credential described at the residential level: one registration covers both house and commercial work, because Washington draws no residential/commercial line. A general contractor is defined by trade breadth rather than by market or contract value: it is a contractor 'whose business operations require the use of more than one building trade or craft upon a single job or project or under a single building permit', including anyone who superintends or consults on such work, while a specialty contractor is limited to one of 63 named trades and may subcontract only work incidental to that trade. There is no dollar cap, no classification letter and no project-size tier on a general registration. Washington does not examine contractors at all: chapter 18.27 RCW and chapter 296-200A WAC contain no trade exam, no business-and-law exam, no experience requirement, no net worth or financial statement test and no qualifying party, and L&I's application asks for none of them. What the state requires is a registered business with money behind it, which the department verifies rather than judges: a Uniform Business Identifier from the Department of Revenue, a continuous $30,000 surety bond (or an assigned savings account for the same amount), general liability insurance of $200,000 public liability and $50,000 property damage or $250,000 combined single limit, a notarized application signed by every owner, member, partner and officer, and $150.20 for two years. Registration is required of every contractor with almost no threshold: the only general exemption is work on a single project whose total price for labor, materials and everything else is under $500, and even that is lost if the person advertises as a contractor. Registration is statewide and exclusive; RCW 18.27.130 bars any city or county from issuing its own contractor registration, license or bond, though a city may still charge a general business license fee and a gross receipts tax, and a building department must verify a contractor's registration before it issues a permit.

Moving to WashingtonLeaving Washington

Why Kentucky has nothing to transfer

Kentucky general contractor · “General or commercial building contractor license or registration (city- or county-issued)”

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 17, 2026· 13 sources

Issued by No state authority; cities and counties license or register commercial building contractors

Kentucky has no statewide general, commercial or unlimited building contractor license, so there is nothing at state level for an out-of-state general contractor's license to transfer into, no qualifying party to designate with the state and no NASCLA route to take. The Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction licenses the trades instead - its home page says it "licenses/certifies plumbers, electricians, boiler contractors, sprinkler and/or fire alarm contractors and building inspectors", and 815 KAR adds HVAC licensing, elevator safety, boilers and pressure vessels, manufactured homes and home inspectors, with no chapter for building contractors anywhere in the title. Commercial building is controlled through local permitting, and the requirements are administrative rather than technical. Louisville Metro issues a Building Type A - Commercial license for $125 a year on a liability certificate, a workers' compensation filing and a Jefferson County occupational license number, with no exam and no bond. Lexington-Fayette registers a general contractor who "performs commercial, industrial, public works, and/or residential construction of larger than four-family homes" under its Contractors Registration Ordinance, and unregistered contractors cannot obtain building permits there. Bowling Green and Warren County run a joint Contractors Licensing Board whose $250 General Contractors License covers construction management and permit pulling, while telling applicants plainly that the license does not warrant that they are qualified. Owensboro and Covington require only an occupational business license and insurance. A commercial builder arriving in Kentucky therefore registers jurisdiction by jurisdiction and makes sure the plumbing, electrical, HVAC, boiler and fire-protection scope is performed under the correct HBC state licenses.

How local licensing works in Kentucky

How local licensing works. Kentucky has no state general contractor board, no state business-and-law exam for builders and no statewide reciprocity for commercial construction. Every rule that binds a general contractor is either a trade license from the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, the Kentucky Building Code in 815 KAR Chapter 007, or a local ordinance. Find the building department with jurisdiction over the site first, then register there before bidding. A registration in one Kentucky jurisdiction is worth nothing in the next, and an out-of-state general contractor license is worth nothing in any of them.

Louisville Metro (Jefferson County). The Office of Construction Review licenses building contractors for the merged city-county. License A covers "one or more permitted projects during a calendar year" and License B a single permitted project; the work scopes are Building A-Residential, Building A-Residential/Commercial, Building A-Commercial and Building B. Building Type A is "for building contractors seeking to obtain multiple permits within Louisville Jefferson County" at $125 a year on a term running 1 January to 31 December; Building Type B is $50 and is limited to one permit per person or company per renewal year. The filing is a certificate of liability insurance with the Office of Construction Review as certificate holder, workers' compensation and unemployment insurance or a notarized affidavit where the contractor has no covered employees, an Occupational License Number from the Revenue Commission of Jefferson County, and the application through the Metro business portal. The six-hour continuing education requirement attaches to the scopes that include housing - Building A-R, Building A-RC and Building B - so a contractor registered purely as Building A-Commercial is the one building class without it. Renewals must include a subcontractor list. There is no exam, experience review, bond or financial statement on any building class. 444 S. 5th St., Suite 100, (502) 574-3321.

Lexington-Fayette Urban County. The Division of Building Inspection registers every contractor under the Contractors Registration Ordinance, and "unregistered contractors cannot obtain building permits." The commercial class, under Ordinance 5-90(a)(1), is the general contractor, who "performs commercial, industrial, public works, and/or residential construction of larger than four-family homes (4-plex); and may supervise, arrange, and/or perform wholly or partly more than two building trades or crafts." A firm that concentrates on one or two trades registers as a specialty contractor instead. The filing is a Home Office Certificate ($10) or Certificate of Occupancy ($25) where the business address is in Fayette County, an occupational business license from Revenue, general liability and workers' compensation insurance with LFUCG named as certificate holder, and the online Contractor Registration Application with those two documents uploaded. No exam, experience or bond is required. The published Building Inspection fee schedule covers permits and lists no contractor registration fee, so confirm the amount with the division. 101 E. Vine St., (859) 258-3770.

Bowling Green and Warren County. One joint Contractors Licensing Board serves the city and the county under Ordinance 91-58 WC and Ordinance 91-25 BG. The General Contractors License, $250 and non-refundable, is required of anyone "doing any type of general contract work in Bowling Green / Warren County including pulling permits for building or remodeling, construction management, or if you would have two or more subcontractors per job." The Specialty Contractors License is $100 and covers subcontract work or a job with at most one subcontractor. Insurance is the substantive test: a certificate naming the board as certificate holder with general liability of at least $100,000 per occurrence, workers' compensation shown on the certificate or a notarized Affidavit of Exemption, and a notarized Partnership Agreement for partnerships. Licenses are non-transferable, renewals are annual and pro-rated mid-year, and a change of ownership voids the license. There is no exam or experience requirement; the board states that it "does not warrant that you are otherwise qualified to perform your trade or specialty by the issuance of its license." A city occupational license is needed for work inside Bowling Green and a county one for work outside it. 1141 State Street, Suite 200, 270-781-3530.

Owensboro and Daviess County. There is no contractor license here. The Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission's Building & Electrical Division issues building, electrical, HVAC, sign and parking lot permits and certificates of occupancy for Owensboro-Daviess County under the Kentucky Building Code and the National Electrical Code, and issues no contractor credential; demolition permits come from City of Owensboro Public Works. A commercial builder registers with the city's Occupational License Division before doing business inside the city limits, with a minimum license fee of $75 at registration. 101 East 4th Street, 270-687-5600.

Covington and Kenton County (Northern Kentucky). Planning and Development Services of Kenton County is the building department, and it requires that "all contractors must obtain and maintain a Kenton County occupational license and provide proof of Kentucky workers' compensation insurance coverage", plus the HBC state license "for electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and fire suppression work", with copies of all of it on file "before any permits can be issued." There is no general contractor license, exam or bond. In Covington a zoning permit precedes the building permit, and a certificate of appropriateness is needed first inside a historic preservation overlay. PDS, 1840 Simon Kenton Way, Suite 3400, Covington, 859-331-8980.

What does and does not travel. An out-of-state general contractor license, a NASCLA Accredited Examination and out-of-state project experience carry no weight in any Kentucky jurisdiction, because none of them tests or qualifies commercial builders. Kentucky is not a NASCLA participating state, and no Kentucky city on this page accepts an examination in place of its own filing. What does matter is holding, or employing someone who holds, the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction license for each state-licensed trade in scope - plumbing, electrical, HVAC, boilers, fire sprinklers and fire alarms - because those licenses are statewide, are the only Kentucky construction credentials with reciprocity rules of their own, and are separately demanded by several of the local building departments above.

Moving to KentuckyLeaving Kentucky

Common questions

Do I have to take the Washington general contractor exam if I'm licensed in Kentucky?
No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
What does it cost to get a Washington general contractor license from Kentucky?
Published fees on this path total $150.20, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Kentucky work hours count in Washington?
No. Washington does not credit out-of-state hours on this path.
How long does the application take?
The board's published or typical processing time is about 28 days.
Does it work the other way, from Washington to Kentucky?
Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Washington to Kentucky, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

  1. NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors · National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  2. NASCLA Commercial Exam - Participating State Agencies · National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  3. Washington Department of Revenue - Apply for a business license (UBI number) · Washington State Department of Revenue, Business Licensing Service · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  4. L&I Form F625-001-000 - Application for Construction Contractor Registration (rev. 07-2026) · Washington State Department of Labor & Industries · Form · verified September 17, 2026
  5. L&I - Register as a Contractor · Washington State Department of Labor & Industries · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  6. RCW 18.27.010 - Definitions (contractor, general contractor, specialty contractor) · RCW 18.27.010 · Washington State Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  7. RCW 18.27.030 - Application for registration - Grounds for denial and suspension · RCW 18.27.030 · Washington State Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  8. RCW 18.27.040 - Bond or other security required · RCW 18.27.040 · Washington State Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  9. RCW 18.27.050 - Insurance or financial responsibility required · RCW 18.27.050 · Washington State Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  10. RCW 18.27.060 - Certificate of registration - Issuance, duration, renewal - Suspension · RCW 18.27.060 · Washington State Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  11. Chapter 18.27 RCW - Registration of Contractors (full chapter text) · Chapter 18.27 RCW · Washington State Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
  12. WAC 296-200A-016 - Definitions of the specialty contractor classifications for the purpose of contractor registration only · WAC 296-200A-016; WAC 296-200A-015 · Washington State Legislature · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
  13. WAC 296-200A-025 - How does a contractor register, renew, reregister or reinstate its registration? · WAC 296-200A-025 · Washington State Legislature · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
  14. WAC 296-200A-030 - How much are the surety bond or savings account amounts? · WAC 296-200A-030 · Washington State Legislature · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
  15. WAC 296-200A-900 - What fees does the department charge contractors for issuance, renewal, reregistration, and reinstatement of certificates of registration? · WAC 296-200A-900 · Washington State Legislature · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026

Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.

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