This research investigated the influence of vertical joint details on the cyclic lateral load behavior of precast concrete load-bearing walls. Four precast concrete load-bearing wall specimens were tested under lateral cyclic loading, including one single-panel wall and three two-panel walls with a vertical joint. All specimens were 1800 mm wide and 1140 mm high. The horizontal joint at the base of each specimen was a dowel bar connection embedded in a corrugated pipe. The vertical joints of the three two-panel specimens used looped bars. The test results showed that all specimens failed due to yielding of the dowel bars at the horizontal joint, the location of maximum bending moment and tensile stress. All specimens exhibited the desired ductile behavior for seismic resistance, with the wall movement primarily caused by rocking at the base. However, shear slipping of the vertical joints, if any, reduced the lateral load capacity of the two-panel specimens. The rotational freedom of the two wall panels led to a decrease in their flexural resistance.