What does Washington law tell a homeowner before a home job?

Washington earns a D in the 2026 Home Job Readiness Grade, with 3 of 6 possible points on 3 scored measures. The grade covers what state law and official state pages tell a homeowner about deposits, written contracts, cancelling and an online contractor record.

InstaBids is an AI-run marketplace for homeowners and property managers: describe a home job once, by chat or through your own AI assistant, add photos, and get multiple written quotes on the same scope, compared apples to apples, with no phone calls or home visits before you pick.

Reviewed 24 October 2026. Researched by the InstaBids editorial team.

Describe it onceBy chat, or through your own AI assistant, and add photos.
Post it and send itContractors bid in writing on that scope.
Compare line by lineEvery quote is written against the same scope.
You chooseContact details stay hidden until you pick and they confirm.

For your AI assistant

MCP connector · REST API · plain HTML

Hand any of these to your assistant and it can help you write this job's request; you send the request yourself. What you type in the job box above goes into the prompt these buttons carry. The connector asks you to sign in to your InstaBids account the first time.

MCP connector URLhttps://instabids.ai/api/agent/mcp
Agent API (OpenAPI)https://instabids.ai/openapi.json
Start-request linkhttps://instabids.ai/intake?from=us-home-job-readiness-grade-washington&utm_source=us&utm_medium=page&utm_campaign=home-job-readiness-grade
Prompt for any AI, with your job

Open it in your assistant

Add InstaBids as a connector

Every page is plain HTML. Steps for every assistant: add to your assistant.

Washington Home Job Readiness Grade 2026: D (3 of 6 points)

This grade is a compilation of statute text and official state pages, reviewed 24 October 2026. It is not legal advice.

How did each measure score?

Statutory deposit limit: 0 of 2 points

No statutory deposit limit was found in the official sources reviewed 22 October 2026. Not found means not found in the sources checked; it is not an official statement that the state has no cap.

Official sources reviewed: source 1, source 2

Written-contract rule for home-improvement work: Not scored

Not scored: written-contract rule for home-improvement work - the official text on file did not settle this measure for both reviewers (reviewed 24 October 2026).

Statutory right to cancel: 1 of 2 points

The state-law cancel right on file covers a narrow case only, such as credit sales or insurance-paid roof work.

(1) In addition to any other rights he or she may have, the buyer shall have the right to cancel a retail installment transaction for other than the seller's breach by sending notice of such cancellation to the seller at his or her place of business as set forth in the contract or charge agreement by certified mail, return receipt requested, which shall be posted not later than midnight of the third day (excluding Sundays and holidays) following the date the buyer signs the contract or charge agreement:

Source: RCW 63.14.154(1), read 14 October 2026

(a) If the retail installment transaction was entered into by the buyer and solicited in person or by a commercial telephone solicitation as defined by chapter 20, Laws of 1989 by the seller or his or her representative at a place other than the seller's address, which may be his or her main or branch office, shown on the contract; and

Source: RCW 63.14.154(1)(a), read 14 October 2026

Online public record of the state's home-contractor credential: 2 of 2 points

The state publishes an online public record of its statewide home-contractor credential. A lookup is an optional public-record step.

Check if a contractor is registered online …

Source: lni.wa.gov, read 22 October 2026

What is not scored, and why?

Not scored: written-contract rule for home-improvement work - the official text on file did not settle this measure for both reviewers (reviewed 24 October 2026).

A measure we could not settle from official text is not scored: it leaves both the points earned and the points possible, so it never counts against a state.

Is there a federal rule too?

Federal rule, not scored here: 16 CFR 429.1(a), the FTC door-to-door sales rule, covers a sale the seller personally solicits that is agreed at a place other than the seller's place of business, for $25 or more at the buyer's home or $130 or more elsewhere, with exceptions in 16 CFR 429.0. For those sales it requires this statement in the buyer's contract or receipt:

You, the buyer, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction.

Source: 16 CFR 429.1(a), eCFR, read 22 October 2026

What can a homeowner check in Washington before hiring?

The state agency page that leads to the public licence or registration lookup: lni.wa.gov, read 22 October 2026. A lookup is an optional public-record step.
State consumer-protection office: Washington Attorney General, read 24 October 2026.
Ask for the job scope, the deposit and the cancel terms in writing before you sign, and keep a copy.

How can I embed this chart?

Washington Home Job Readiness Grade 2026: D, points by measure

Anyone may embed this chart or reuse the data. A credit link to this page is welcome; nothing is required in return.

<figure><img src="https://instabids.ai/fl/data/home-job-readiness-grade/washington.svg" alt="Washington Home Job Readiness Grade 2026: D, points by measure" width="640"><figcaption><a href="https://instabids.ai/us/home-job-readiness-grade/washington">InstaBids</a></figcaption></figure>

All 50 states and the District of Columbia, and how the grade works