A license lookup, state rules, and warning signs
Is your bathroom contractor actually licensed?
Run the check yourself, in a couple of minutes, with the same tool the state runs. Below it: what a real license looks like, and the signs that something is off before you hand over a deposit.
Quick answer
How do you check a bathroom remodeling contractor?
Look the license up where the bathroom work will happen. Washington Labor and Industries, California's Contractors State License Board, and Florida's licensing portal each show status, class, and expiration. A truck-door number is only a claim. Ask for the bond and insurance behind the registration, and get scope and payments in writing before a deposit.[1],[2],[3],[4]
Updated
Browse by state
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
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- Kentucky
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- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
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- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
One official lookup per state
Washington's L&I, California's CSLB and Florida's DBPR each run their own public search tool, and each one covers a different piece of information about a contractor's standing.[1],[2],[3]
Our guide below walks through what to search for and what the result actually tells you in each of the three.
A clean license is not the whole picture
A bond, liability insurance and, in two of the three states, a state recovery fund sit behind every license, with very different limits depending on where the work is happening.[4],[5],[6]
Our bonds and insurance guide breaks down what each one actually covers, and what it does not.
The warning signs repeat across state lines
A demand for cash, a discount that expires today, and a contractor who wants you to pull your own permit show up on consumer-protection warning lists again and again, regardless of which state is doing the warning.[7]
Check licenses by city
Active bath remodeling licenses, grouped by the city on the record; each state page lists the rest.
A city marked top-rated has no license file here to search, so it ranks contractors by Google rating; every other city stays searchable by name.
- Tampa, FL53 listings
- Seattle, WA108 listings
- San Diego, CA181 listings
- Columbus, OHtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Charlotte, NCtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Minneapolis, MN45 listings
- Pittsburgh, PAtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Philadelphia, PAtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Chicago, ILtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Houston, TXtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Dallas, TXtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Colorado Springs, COtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- San Jose, CA94 listings
- Las Vegas, NV33 listings
- Cincinnati, OHtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Los Angeles, CA109 listings
- Austin, TXtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Phoenix, AZtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- San Antonio, TXtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Jacksonville, FL38 listings
- Denver, COtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Sacramento, CA56 listings
- Kansas City, MOtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
- Atlanta, GAtop-rated10 top-rated businesses
Before you sign
- How to Check a Bathroom Contractor's License in Washington, California or FloridaThree states, three lookup tools, three different things the result actually shows you. Here is how to use each one.
- Warning Signs of an Unlicensed or Risky Bathroom RemodelerA handful of warning signs show up over and over in complaints against bad bathroom remodelers. None of them require a license lookup to catch.
- Contractor Bonds and Insurance: What Actually Protects YouA bond is not insurance, insurance is not a recovery fund, and none of the three works the same way in every state. Here is what each one covers.
- Deposit and Payment-Schedule Rules for Bathroom Remodels, by StateOnly one of the three states caps a deposit by law. All three have something to say about how the rest of the payments should go.
- What to Do If a Bathroom Contractor's License Check Turns Up a ProblemA search that turns up something wrong is more useful before you hire than after. Here is what different results mean and what recourse looks like.
Questions people ask
Does a license number on a truck door prove anything?
No. A number painted on a door is only a claim. Look it up with the state licensing agency to confirm it is active and that it matches the company you are dealing with.[5]
What if the contractor is licensed in a different state than the job?
A license from one state does not carry over to work performed in another. Check the license against the state where the job is actually happening.
Sources
- Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business, Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, accessed 2026-09-30
- Check a Contractor License or Home Improvement Salesperson (HIS) Registration, Contractors State License Board, accessed 2026-09-30
- Licensing Portal: License Search, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, accessed 2026-09-30
- Register as a Contractor, Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, accessed 2026-09-30
- How do I find the right licensed contractor?, Contractors State License Board, accessed 2026-09-30
- Florida Statutes 489.115: Renewal of certificates and registrations; requirement, Florida Legislature, accessed 2026-09-30
- Hire Smart Step-by-Step, Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, accessed 2026-09-30