Kablay Verified
A licence badge is only worth what stands behind it
Washington already publishes contractor records. What a public lookup cannot tell you is which credential your specific job requires, whether it is still active today, and whether the person who shows up is actually attached to that business. Those three gaps are the product.
What we check, and when
Before a profile goes live
The business is matched to an active L&I record by UBI and legal name. Expired, suspended and out-of-business records never become a Kablay profile.
General contractors and specialty contractors carry different bond amounts. We show which one applies and when it was last confirmed.
Coverage is confirmed as active, not just claimed in a profile. High-liability trades such as tree work and roofing are re-checked more often.
The person answering the job is connected to the licensed business, so a licence number cannot be borrowed for someone else’s work.
On every single request
An EV charger needs an electrical contractor, a repipe needs a plumbing contractor, a drainfield needs county certification. We resolve the requirement from the request, then release it only to pros who hold it.
Matching runs on the point, ZIP and drive time — not the city name. A Camas contractor is not sent to Woodland because both say “Southwest Washington”.
Availability, job size and minimum ticket are part of matching, so a request does not sit with a contractor who is booked out for six weeks.
Continuously afterwards
Licences expire and get suspended. A profile is hidden as soon as its record stops being active, rather than at the next manual audit.
What we track after the job
Star ratings are easy to game and slow to change. These signals come from platform behaviour, they update after every job, and they decide who gets matched next.
How often this pro answers a matched request at all.
Minutes, not days — measured separately for urgent and planned work.
The ticket range and job types this pro actually accepts and completes.
How often homeowners pick this pro once they see the response.
Verified completions on the platform, with cancellations counted against them.
The clearest quality signal a marketplace can observe.
Only from homeowners whose job was completed through Kablay.
Every badge carries the date it was last confirmed.
Credential by trade
Requirements differ sharply by trade — this is the mapping Kablay uses to route a request.
- Active L&I plumbing contractor licence
- A designated certified plumber on staff
- Surety bond and general liability insurance on file
- Certified plumbers performing the regulated work
Plumbing
- Active L&I electrical contractor licence
- A designated administrator on the licence
- Surety bond and general liability insurance on file
- Properly certified electricians on the job
- Electrical permit and inspection where the work requires it
Electrical & EV charging
- Active L&I general contractor registration
- General contractor surety bond (currently $30,000)
- General liability insurance on file
- Valid UBI number and business identity match
- Building permits pulled where the scope requires them
Remodeling & general contracting · Decks, patios & outdoor living
- Active L&I specialty contractor registration
- Specialty contractor surety bond (currently $15,000)
- General liability insurance on file
- Valid UBI number and business identity match
Handyman & small repairs · Roofing, gutters & siding · Fencing & gates · Painting · Landscaping & yard care · Flooring · Drywall & texture · Gutters & downspouts · Pressure washing & moss removal · Tree service · Garage doors
- Active L&I contractor registration, bond and liability insurance
- Electrical portions performed under an electrical contractor licence
- Gas piping and venting handled by qualified trades
- Mechanical permit and inspection where required
HVAC & heat pumps
- Active L&I contractor registration, bond and liability insurance
- County certification for on-site sewage installation, pumping or inspection
- Permits and record drawings filed with the county health department
- Well and pump work handled by qualified specialists
Septic, wells & drainage
- Registered business with a valid UBI number
- General liability insurance on file
- Contractor registration whenever the job crosses into construction work
- Workers covered under an active workers’ compensation account
Appliance repair & installation · Junk removal & clean-outs · Cleaning & turnover
What we refuse to do
A request goes to a short list of pros who fit it, and each of them is told how many others received it. Homeowners get a real choice; contractors do not pay for a contact that six competitors already bought.
You describe the job once, with photos if you have them. Pros come to you — you are not the one leaving voicemails on a Saturday.
Public records make a lookup, not a marketplace. A pro appears here only after they claim the profile and agree to receive work — a homepage counter of thousands of imported records would be a lie.
Where supply is still thin we say we are checking availability instead of promising three quotes in fifteen minutes. Trust is easier to keep than to rebuild.
None of this replaces your own diligence. Confirm the licence, the bond and the insurance before you sign a contract or pay a deposit — the Washington L&I lookup is public and takes about a minute.
Open the Washington L&I contractor lookupPost a job to verified local pros
The credential check happens before anyone sees your request.
Free for homeowners