To check a garage door contractor, run its number through the Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB) license search, or through the Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) tool called Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson, or Business. Those two state lookups cover the whole Portland and Clark County market, and both work the same for a garage door company as for a roofer.
This guide shows how to run each search, what the results mean for a garage door job, and the paperwork each state requires before work starts. It applies to any company you are weighing for a new garage door, a spring replacement or panel repair.
Who needs a license or registration for garage door work
In Oregon, anyone who does, offers or bids contractor work needs a current CCB license with the right endorsement; in Washington, every construction contractor must register with L&I, and garage doors have a specialty of their own.
Oregon’s statute, ORS 701.021, covers anyone who “undertakes, offers to undertake or submits a bid” as a contractor, and ORS 701.005 reaches paid work to alter or repair a building or other improvement attached to real estate. A garage door is part of the building, so paid door work appears to fit, though no CCB page names garage doors; the CCB can confirm for a specific job.
Washington spells it out. Its rule WAC 296-200A-016 lists an “Overhead/garage doors” specialty for contractors who install wood, steel panel or steel roll-up doors with their rails and supports, including power or hand operated openers, and notes the work may also require an electrical license.
Small-job exemptions exist in both states, and they vanish for anyone who advertises. Oregon’s casual-work exemption covers jobs under $1,000 that need no permit and do not affect health or safety; Washington’s covers casual jobs under $500. A company with a website, ads or business cards can use neither one.
How to check an Oregon contractor on the CCB search
Get the contractor’s CCB number from its bid, website or business card, then search that number on the CCB’s Contractor/License Search, linked from the board’s home page.
Oregon’s advertising rule requires the number on all internet advertising, websites included, and on business cards, letterhead, written bids, inspection reports and contracts, so a missing number is the first thing to ask about.
With the number in hand, these seven checks walk down the record from the top, in roughly the order the answers matter:
- Search by number, not by name. Business names repeat and change, while the number points to one license.
- Match the name. The name on the record should match the bid, the truck and the website. The CCB tells owners to write the contractor’s full name and number into the contract exactly as they appear on its site.
- Confirm active status and a surety bond. The search shows whether the contractor is actively licensed and has a bond on file.
- Read the endorsement. The table below explains what each residential endorsement covers.
- Check insurance and workers’ compensation. The record shows whether proof of liability insurance was submitted at first licensing and at renewal, and whether the company carries workers’ compensation for its workers.
- Look for lead-safe status on an older home. It shows whether the contractor may work on pre-1978 homes that could contain lead-based paint.
- Read the complaint history. Complaints and disciplinary actions filed with the CCB in the past 10 years are listed.
What the Oregon endorsements mean
The endorsement tells you what size and kind of residential work the license covers, and each level carries its own bond and liability insurance minimum, set out in the CCB’s endorsement chart.
| Endorsement | Who holds it | What it covers (CCB chart, condensed) |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Specialty Contractor (RSC) | Companies working in one or two trades | One or two unrelated building trades on residential or small commercial projects |
| Residential General Contractor (RGC) | Companies that coordinate many trades | Any number of unrelated trades on residential or small commercial projects, with the highest residential bond and insurance minimums |
| Residential Limited Contractor (RLC) | Part-time contractors | Gross sales under $40,000 a year and no contract over $5,000 |
| Commercial (CSC, CGC) | Companies on large buildings | Structures beyond the small commercial limits |
Check that the scope fits the job in front of you. A straight door swap is one trade, while a project that also moves a header or reframes an opening pulls in carpentry. A bid above the limited endorsement’s contract cap falls outside it.
Older Portland homes and lead-safe work
If your house was built before 1978, the CCB requires Lead-Based Paint Renovation licensing for work that disturbs more than six square feet of painted surface per room inside, or 20 square feet outside.
Census Bureau estimates put nearly half of Portland’s housing units before 1960. Whether a door replacement crosses the line depends on how much painted jamb, trim or siding gets disturbed. The CCB also requires one owner or employee to hold an 8-hour EPA renovator certificate, and the license search shows the lead-safe status.
How to check a Washington contractor with L&I Verify
Find the contractor’s Washington registration number, then look it up in L&I’s Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson, or Business tool, which the agency links from its contractor registration page.
Washington requires the number on all advertising that shows the contractor’s name or address and on materials used to solicit homeowners directly. Vehicle signs, signs at the business premises and radio or TV ads are excepted, so a truck with no number proves nothing either way; check the website, bid or card instead.
On the record itself, look for these four things, which line up with what L&I tells homeowners to confirm before they hire:
- Active registration. L&I advises verifying that the contractor’s license is active, so read the status line first.
- General or specialty. Specialty contractors may work only in the specialty they registered in and cannot hire subcontractors; general contractors can. “Overhead/garage doors” is the specialty written for this trade.
- Bond and insurance. Washington requires both, and general contractors post a larger bond than specialty contractors; the bond amounts rose on July 1, 2024, and L&I’s registration page lists the current minimums.
- History. L&I suggests reviewing the license history for previous lawsuits or license violations.
Electrical work splits in two. Washington’s electrical rule exempts home garage door operators from electrical licensing and permits if they draw from a listed Class 2 supply, which covers the low-voltage wall button and photo eye wiring, while a new outlet or other line-voltage work goes to an electrician.
One state’s credential does not cover the other
Each state requires its own credential, so a Portland company working in Vancouver needs Washington registration, and a Vancouver company working in Portland needs a CCB license.
The two statutes, ORS 701.021 and RCW 18.27.020, stand on their own. If a company works in both states, ask for both numbers and run both searches. Watch the labels as well: a Washington number presented as a CCB number, or the reverse, deserves a follow-up question.
Paperwork each state requires before work starts
Oregon requires a written contract and consumer notices on residential jobs over $2,000, and Washington requires a signed disclosure statement on residential jobs of $1,000 or more, delivered before work begins.
| State | When it applies | What you should receive | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | Residential job over $2,000 | A written contract (ORS 701.305) | At signing; a missing contract does not void the deal |
| Oregon | Residential job over $2,000 | Consumer Protection Notice, Notice of Procedure, and the Information Notice to Owner About Construction Liens when required | On or before the day the contract is entered into |
| Oregon | A job that starts below $2,000 and grows past it | The same notices | Within five working days of knowing the price passed $2,000 |
| Washington | Four or fewer residential units or their accessory structures, $1,000 or more | A disclosure statement covering the registration number, the bond and its limits, retainage, lien risk and lien releases, with your signature line | Before work starts (RCW 18.27.114) |
Oregon also gives you time to change your mind. The CCB says owners can cancel a residential construction contract with written notice before midnight of the next business day, with exceptions such as work already substantially begun, and a home solicitation contract carries a three-day right to cancel.
Red flags worth a second look
The plainest red flags are a missing number, a record that is expired, suspended or under another name, and ad wording that misuses bonds, insurance or the small-job exemptions.
- No number on the website, card or bid, even though both states require it.
- A number that comes back under a different business name, or a record that is expired or suspended. In Oregon, using someone else’s license number, or using one with intent to deceive, is a Class A misdemeanor.
- An Oregon ad that claims a license, a bond or insurance from a company without a current license, which the CCB’s advertising rule forbids.
- A Washington ad that touts the state-required bond and insurance as if they were a credential, which RCW 18.27.100 bars.
- A “small job, no license needed” pitch from a business that advertises, which neither state’s exemption allows.
If a job goes wrong
In Oregon, the CCB can mediate a dispute only if the contractor was licensed during the project, and the owner of an existing home has one year after the work was substantially completed to file.
Before filing, the CCB requires a 30-day Pre-Complaint Notice sent to the contractor by certified mail at the address on record. The board also warns that hiring someone without a license can cost you the ability to recover damages through a bond.
Washington backs registration from the other direction: an unregistered contractor cannot bring a court action to collect payment for the work. If the job follows a car backing into the door, the guide to collision damage and who pays covers the claim side.