What is the Washington ETPL?
The Washington Eligible Training Provider List is the set of programs that WIOA money can pay for in the state. It is Washington's ETPL, searched on Career Bridge and reviewed by the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board. Washington Employment Security Department (WorkSource), with the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board maintaining the ETPL keeps it. A program has to be on the list, and lead to a job the local board calls in demand, before a WorkSource center will issue an Individual Training Account for it. 4,995 Washington programs are on the federal index, including 135 CDL, 63 CNA, and 17 LPN programs.
Capstone Workforce's free navigator checks your WIOA eligibility door in two minutes, and the $4.99 apply guide lists the Washington programs in your field with the documents the state asks for, so you walk into intake with the program already picked.
What is on the Washington list
| Program type | Programs in Washington | What that means for funding |
|---|---|---|
| All listed programs | 4,995 | Every program the state reported to the federal index |
| CDL (Class A and B) | 135 | See the CDL guide for what boards pay |
| CNA | 63 | The most-funded short healthcare program |
| Phlebotomy | 28 | Four to twelve weeks, funded nearly everywhere |
| LPN or LVN | 17 | Funded where the program fits the board's length cap |
| RN (associate degree) | 47 | Funded by boards that allow two-year programs |
| BSN | 15 | Rarely funded; four years exceeds most caps |
Counts from the DOL ETA-9171 index at TrainingProviderResults.gov, counted by program name and credential in September 2026. The state's own list is the one a counselor funds from; the two usually match but the state list updates first.
Washington is the one state that hands a reader the actual bar. Every program on Career Bridge cleared 30 percent completion and 50 percent employment at or above minimum wage, measured against state wage records rather than the school's own survey. That also means the failures are informative: a program that disappeared from Career Bridge missed one of three specific numbers, and the school can tell you which.
How to search the Washington ETPL
- Use the state's own tool. Public on Career Bridge at careerbridge.wa.gov, with completion rates and employment outcomes searchable before you talk to a counselor. Start at careerbridge.wa.gov/get-help/eligible-training-provider-list.
- Cross-check the federal index. TrainingProviderResults.gov lists the same programs with the completion rate, employment rate, and median earnings each provider reported. Two schools teaching the same credential can differ by 30 points on completion.
- Ask your counselor which listed programs the board funds. The list is statewide; the money is local. No statewide cap; each local board sets its own. Ask your employment counselor for the board cap and whether funds remain this program year.
- Check the exact program, not just the school. A college can have four programs listed and six not. WIOA pays only for the listed one.
How WIOA pays for a program on the Washington list
- Find your center. The Washington WIOA guide covers intake, documents, and timing in the state.
- If you just lost your job, file for unemployment first; UI status drives both Dislocated Worker eligibility and the Training Benefits Program.
- Register on WorkSourceWA and find your center or affiliated site; any can start intake.
- Meet an employment counselor for eligibility and the assessment.
- Choose a program on Career Bridge, receive the ITA, and apply to ESD for Training Benefits if eligible.
WIOA is a grant. You do not pay it back if you finish the program. The national application guide covers the six steps in detail, and the occupation guides cover what boards typically pay for CDL, CNA, LPN, phlebotomy, and the trades.
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How a training provider gets on the Washington ETPL
Eligibility is set by the Workforce Board under WIOA Policy 5611, the Governor's procedure for determining training program eligibility. Schools send student data to the Workforce Board each year, and staff match those records against Employment Security Department files to work out what students earned after leaving. Local boards run a separate route for a local provider that does not qualify for initial state eligibility.
Initial eligibility asks for the program's credential, length, cost, and the occupation it leads to. Continued eligibility asks for outcomes. Every year, against published numbers. A program stays ETP-eligible from one year to the next only by meeting the Workforce Board's minimum standards: a 30 percent completion rate, a 50 percent employment rate, and earnings of $6,081 in a calendar quarter or $16.66 per hour, which is the state minimum wage. A higher local minimum wage applies in some places, and the Board resets the standards each year. Results go out to providers by mail; a provider has 30 days to state an intent to appeal and another 30 days to supply supplemental data, and keeps its eligibility while the appeal is pending.
Registered apprenticeship sponsors are listed automatically on request in every state; the apprenticeship guide covers that path.
Before your intake appointment
Rehearse your Washington WIOA intake appointment: $6.99 for 7 days
The counselor's first question is usually this one: "Why this training, and how will you get to class every day for the length of the program?" Your answer at that appointment decides your funding. Practice it and the rest of the visit out loud for 7 days. The AI plays the counselor and scores how clear you were. One payment, nothing renews.
New to intake? Read how to prepare for your WIOA appointment.
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What staying on the list requires: the reporting
Every listed program reports the same federal measures each year: how many participants completed, how many were employed in the second and fourth quarters after exit, their median earnings, and how many earned the credential. States pull employment and earnings from wage records; providers supply completions and credentials. A program that misses the state's minimum levels comes off the list, and a provider that misses the reporting deadline comes off with it.
The two numbers providers most often cannot produce on demand are credential attainment inside the one-year window and a verified placement record. The credential attainment guide and the six-indicator guide cover what each requires.