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Washington creates an LLC when the Secretary of State accepts your Certificate of Formation. The fee is $180. Online filing adds a $20 processing fee, so plan on $200 for a normal first filing. The office says standard online review is typically finished within five business days. Our Washington business guide covers the entity search and record lookups.
Which filing creates a Washington LLC?
The Certificate of Formation, governed by RCW 25.15, is the document that creates the company. The Secretary of State's LLC filing resource page lists the online route and the fillable PDF for mail or in-person filing. Online filing needs an account in the filing system. A professional LLC uses its own version of the certificate and has the same $180 fee.
What name can your Washington LLC use?
The name has to end with limited liability company, limited liability Co., L.L.C. or LLC. RCW 23.95.305 bans words such as cooperative, partnership, corporation and incorporated. When you search the state records, leave off plurals. The system works better without them.
If you want to hold a name while you prepare papers, a reservation costs $30 and lasts 180 days. You cannot renew it, and the form cannot be filed online. Our name reservation guide explains when it is worth paying for.
Who is your registered agent?
Washington wants a registered agent with a physical street address in the state. PO boxes and private mailboxes do not count, and the agent must consent in a record. If you live elsewhere, you need someone in Washington to act. The rules and the free change filing are on our Washington registered agent page. Owners who live in the state can read about being your own agent.
How do you file step by step?
- Search the name and check the ending.
- Pick a Washington street address for the agent and get the agent's consent.
- Open a filing system account and start the LLC filing, or fill in the PDF certificate.
- Pay $180, plus the $20 online fee if you file online.
- Add expedited service if you need it: $100 for about three working days, or $150 for same day.
- File the initial report with the certificate, which makes it free.
Keep the confirmation and the filed certificate with your company records.
What should you do after approval?
Write an operating agreement even though it is not filed with the state. Then get an EIN from the IRS; our EIN guide shows the free route. Open a bank account in the LLC's name once you have both.
Washington also runs a Business Licensing Service apart from the Secretary of State. The state's address guidance notes that a business license may bring extra location rules, so check your address with that service before you commit to one.
What does a Washington LLC owe each year?
An annual report costs $70. It is due by the last day of the month in which the business was first formed, and you can file up to 180 days early. A report filed late carries the delinquency fee and costs $95. Filing early does not move the expiration date.
Miss it and the state can administratively dissolve the LLC. You then have five years to reinstate, at $140 plus every missed annual report fee. The full calendar is in our annual report deadlines guide.
What is different about Washington?
Two things stand out. First, the $20 online fee sits on top of the filing fee, so the online price is higher than the number on the fee schedule. Second, the initial report is free only when you file it with the certificate. Waiting costs $10 and is one more thing to remember.
Owners outside the state can form here too. See LLC for non-residents and the state fee comparison before you choose. Neighbouring states have their own rules: Oregon and Idaho.
Ready to go? The start an LLC form takes you through it.
After approval, check the rules in our Washington business license guide.