Washington
L&I's Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business tool takes several kinds of input: a name, a contractor or tradesperson license number, a workers' comp account number, or the business's own UBI number issued by the state.[1]
L&I's own advice is to use the result to confirm the registration is active, that the contractor is bonded and insured, that they keep a safe job site or have corrected past violations, and to review their history for lawsuits or license violations.[2]
California
CSLB's Check a Contractor License tool accepts three kinds of search: the license number itself, the business's name, or an individual named on that license. Every California license number is purely numeric, with no letters.[3]
The result shows the license's status and disciplinary history. Below that sits whatever workers' compensation and insurance information the contractor has on record with the board.[4]
Florida
DBPR's licensing portal search takes a name, a license number, a city or county, or a license type.[5]
Check whether the result starts with a C or an R: a C means the license holds good statewide, an R means it is good only in the specific local jurisdiction that issued it.[6]
What none of the three tools promise
A clean, active license confirms standing on the day you looked, not how a specific job will turn out. It is a starting filter, not a substitute for bids, references and a written contract.
None of the three tools rate quality of work, timeliness, or how a company treats its customers. That is deliberate: they are license records, not review sites.
Reading a Washington result
A Washington result shows registration status alongside bond and insurance details, plus whatever history of violations or lawsuits is on file, all in one screen rather than spread across separate lookups.[2]
Reading a California result
A California result separates the license's current status from its disciplinary history, so a search can show an active license that still carries a documented complaint from years earlier.[4]
Reading a Florida result
A Florida result's Certified-versus-Registered distinction is the detail homeowners miss most often: a Registered contractor bidding a job outside their home jurisdiction is bidding work their license does not actually cover.[6]
Matching the person to the license
When a contractor shows up to bid the job, California's licensing board suggests asking to see their pocket license and a picture ID together, then confirming those two documents describe the same individual standing on your porch.[4]
A license lookup only confirms the business; matching the individual is a separate step worth doing at the door.
Search before you sign, not after
Running the check takes a couple of minutes and costs nothing. Doing it after a deposit has already changed hands removes most of the point of checking at all.