Storm contractor rules in Washington: contractor registration names tree removal services
Washington's contractor registration law, chapter 18.27 of the Revised Code of Washington, names "performing tree removal services" in its definition of a contractor. This page restates the definition, the registration, bond, exemption and disclosure sections as the Legislature publishes them, read on October 9, 2026.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The wider picture is on the storm contractor rules page. Every row is statute text. The sections read do not mention storms or emergency pricing, and no official page on a Washington price gouging rule was read for this page on October 9, 2026.
The sections in one table
| Section | What it says |
|---|---|
| 18.27.010(1)(a), contractor | A contractor includes any person, firm or corporation who, in the pursuit of an independent business, undertakes, offers or bids to construct, alter, repair, add to, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building or other structure or improvement attached to real estate, including the installation or repair of roofing or siding, "performing tree removal services", or cabinet installation |
| 18.27.010, general and specialty | A general contractor uses more than one building trade on a single project or under a single permit. A specialty contractor is one whose operations do not fall within the general contractor definition, and may subcontract only work incidental to its own |
| 18.27.020, registration | Every contractor registers with the Department of Labor and Industries. It is a gross misdemeanor to advertise, offer to do work, bid or perform work as a contractor without registration, to use a false or expired registration number in an advertisement, to transfer a registration to an unregistered contractor, or to subcontract to one |
| 18.27.020(5) | After receiving a citation from the department, a person is guilty of a separate gross misdemeanor for each day worked while unregistered, and for each worksite on which the violation occurs |
| 18.27.040, bond | An applicant files a surety bond of US$30,000 for a general contractor or US$15,000 for a specialty contractor, naming the state as obligee. A cancelled bond automatically suspends the registration. A residential homeowner's action on the bond must be filed within two years of substantial completion or abandonment |
| 18.27.090, exemptions | Registration does not apply to, among others, government representatives, public utilities in their own work, a person whose work on one project totals under US$500 in aggregate (not available to a person who advertises as a contractor), clearing for fire prevention in rural districts, an owner working on the owner's own property, and an employee whose sole pay is wages |
| 18.27.114, disclosure | Before starting a project of US$1,000 or more on four or fewer residential units or accessory structures, a contractor gives the customer a written notice in 12-point type that states the registration number, the bond, a warning that the bond may not cover a claim, and the option to withhold a percentage. The contractor keeps the signed copy three years. Failure is an infraction |
What the definition says about tree work
Washington's definition names tree removal services in the same list as roofing and siding. The definition sets no minimum size for the job. The dollar lines in the sections read are the US$500 exemption in section 090 and the US$1,000 disclosure line in section 114. How the department applies the definition to a cleanup crew after a windstorm, or to pruning and other tree work the sentence does not list, is a question for the Department of Labor and Industries. Other tree-related credentials are covered on the page on state arborist licences.
Advertising and subcontracting
The prohibited acts in section 020 cover advertising as well as work, and the wording reaches a registration that is suspended or revoked, a transferred registration, and hiring an unregistered subcontractor. Section 020 also lets a registered contractor use a subcontractor who was registered when the contract was made, unless the department has written to say otherwise. For how other states treat tree work, see contractor licences for tree work.
Sources
- Washington State Legislature, RCW 18.27.010, Definitions, read October 9, 2026
- Washington State Legislature, RCW 18.27.020, Registration required, read October 9, 2026
- Washington State Legislature, RCW 18.27.040, Bond or other security required, read October 9, 2026
- Washington State Legislature, RCW 18.27.090, Exemptions, read October 9, 2026
- Washington State Legislature, RCW 18.27.114, Disclosure statement required, read October 9, 2026