How to Form an LLC in Washington
Washington charges $200 to form an LLC online and $180 by paper, then $70 a year for an Annual Report that older guides still price at $60. The bigger story sits outside the Secretary of State: most operating LLCs also need a state Business License through the Department of Revenue, and Washington taxes gross receipts, not income.
Washington at a glance
Filing fee: $200 for the Certificate of Formation, filed with the Washington Secretary of State. Recurring: An Annual Report every year, $70, due by the end of the anniversary month, plus a $25 delinquent fee if it is late. Most operating LLCs also renew a state Business License through the Department of Revenue, and Washington taxes gross receipts through the B&O tax rather than an income tax. Registered agent: required, with a physical address in Washington. Every figure on this page was checked against the Washington Secretary of State's, the Department of Revenue's, and the State Legislature's official sites on November 8, 2026.
The Washington filing steps
Check your name on the state's own search
Search the Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS) business search on the Secretary of State's site before you file. The name must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records from existing domestic entities that have not been administratively dissolved, registered foreign entities, reserved names, and registered names. Changing only the entity designator, articles or conjunctions, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, or plural forms does not by itself make a name distinguishable, and a name may not state or imply a purpose the formation record does not allow. A Washington LLC name must contain "limited liability company," the words "limited liability" plus the abbreviation "Co.," or the abbreviation "L.L.C." or "LLC." Words including "Cooperative," "partnership," "corporation," and "incorporated," and abbreviations including "Corp.," "Inc.," "LP," and "LLP," are prohibited. If you want to hold a name before filing, a name reservation costs $30.
Choose your registered agent
Every Washington LLC must designate and maintain a registered agent in the state. The agent is either a commercial registered agent, a business or individual whose business is receiving legal documents and who is listed with the Secretary of State, or a noncommercial agent, an individual or business that agrees to receive legal documents for the entity; a filing may also direct service to the holder of a named office or position in the entity. The filing must state a street address in Washington, which must be a physical address, with no PO Box or PMB, plus a mailing address in Washington if it is different. Washington has a consent rule many states skip: an agent may not be appointed without having given prior consent in a record, filed with or as part of the record that first appoints the agent, and a person appointed without consent can have the name removed by filing a notarized statement. Changing or designating an agent costs no state fee, and neither does an agent resignation. Do not let the post sit empty: going 30 consecutive days without a registered agent is itself a ground for administrative dissolution.
File the Certificate of Formation with the Secretary of State
File the Certificate of Formation online through CCFS, the Corporations and Charities Filing System, or by paper through the mail. Online filing costs $200 in total: an $180 base fee set in the state fee rule plus a $20 online processing fee. Paper filing costs the $180 base fee alone. The certificate must state the LLC name, the name and address of the registered agent, the principal office address, any specific dissolution date, and the name and address of each person executing it. The LLC is formed when the certificate is filed, unless you specify a delayed effective date. File the Initial Report as part of the same CCFS formation filing if the system offers it bundled, because that choice is free; the report is covered in the filing notes below.
Get an EIN from the IRS
Free, online, and takes minutes once your Washington filing is approved. Never pay a service for this. See EIN for an LLC for the walkthrough and the one IRS rule (a real person as responsible party) that surprises people.
Write your operating agreement
Washington calls the operating agreement a limited liability company agreement. It does not get filed with the state. Under RCW 25.15.018, the agreement governs relations among the members and the rights and duties of managers, and to the extent the agreement does not provide for a matter, the Washington LLC Act governs it instead, subject to the nonwaivable limits in that statute. An LLC with no agreement therefore runs entirely on the Act's default rules. Write the agreement at formation, while everyone still agrees on everything.
Open the business bank account and handle licenses
Bring your approved formation document and EIN letter. Then check your city and county for a general business license and your industry for state permits. Formation and licensing are split between two agencies in Washington. File with the Secretary of State first, then apply for the state Business License through the Department of Revenue's Business Licensing Service (BLS); DOR itself instructs LLCs to complete the Secretary of State filing before the license application. You need to register and get the license if any of these apply: the business requires city, county, or state endorsements; it does business under a name other than its full legal name; it plans to hire employees within the next 90 days; it sells a product or provides a service that requires collecting sales tax; its gross income is $12,000 per year or more; it is required to pay taxes or fees to DOR; it buys or processes specialty wood products; or it meets nexus threshold reporting requirements. In practice that captures most operating LLCs. The current processing fee to open or reopen a business is $50, the annual renewal processing fee is $5 per location plus each endorsement's own fee, and the Business License Application is also where the business uses its Unified Business Identifier (UBI) number. Operating under a name other than the LLC's registered name is handled in the same system as a trade name, covered in the filing notes.
Filing details that trip people up
- The $200 online price is two fees added together. The fee rule sets the Certificate of Formation at $180, and a separate rule adds a $20 online processing fee; Annual Reports are exempt from that processing fee, but formation filings are not. Paper filing by mail is $180 total. If you are in a hurry, expedited service costs $100 and is completed within three working days, and same day service at the division front counter costs $150 on top of the filing fee.
- The Initial Report is free only if you file it with the formation. Every new LLC owes an Initial Report within 120 days of the date its Certificate of Formation became effective, covering the agent, principal office, governors, a brief description of the business, and the UBI number. Filed with the Certificate of Formation in CCFS, it costs $0. Filed separately later, the base fee is $10, and online processing charges may also apply to that separate filing. File it bundled and the question never comes up.
- No publication requirement. The formation statute lists the complete required contents of the Certificate of Formation and makes the LLC formed when the certificate is filed. No newspaper notice, publication step, or affidavit of publication appears anywhere in the formation requirements or the Secretary of State's LLC filing materials.
- Foreign LLCs pay the same two part price. Registering an out-of-state LLC takes a Foreign Registration Statement at a $180 base fee, $200 online with the processing fee, plus any applicable back fees if the entity did business in Washington before registering. The registration must come with a certificate of existence from the home jurisdiction issued no more than 60 days before submission, and a registered foreign LLC owes the same $70 Annual Report as a domestic one.
- Closing a Washington LLC costs $0 in state filing fees. The closing filing, called a Certificate of Dissolution in the LLC Act and listed as articles of dissolution or voluntary termination in the fee rule, carries no fee. If you change your mind, revoking a voluntary dissolution costs $30. The $0 is the base fee: the fee rule does not say outright whether the $20 online processing fee also applies to an online dissolution filing, so this page prints no online total for it.
After your Washington LLC is approved
Get the EIN, open the business bank account, and then finish the Department of Revenue side before you start operating: file the Business License Application through BLS if any of the triggers in step 6 apply, and set up your excise tax reporting in MyDOR, because the B&O tax described on the cost page is reported and paid there. Mark the last day of your formation month on the calendar every year; that is your Annual Report expiration date, and you may file the report up to 180 days before it. Keep the registered agent's consent and street address current with the Secretary of State, since a change costs nothing and 30 days without an agent puts the entity itself at risk.
The full recurring picture for Washington, with fees and due dates, is on the Washington annual report and compliance page, and the money view is on the Washington LLC cost page.
Washington LLC questions
Why does Washington charge $200 online but $180 on paper?
Two separate rules. The Certificate of Formation base fee is $180, and online filings carry a $20 processing fee set in a different rule. Annual Reports are on the processing fee exemption list, which is why the $70 Annual Report costs $70 online with nothing added.
Is the Washington annual report $60 or $70?
$70. That is the figure in the current fee rule, and it is the full online cost. Older guides quoting $60 are out of date. Filing late adds a $25 delinquent fee, for a $95 total. See the Washington report page.
Do I need a separate Washington business license for my LLC?
Most operating LLCs do. The state Business License runs through the Department of Revenue's Business Licensing Service, not the Secretary of State, and the triggers include gross income of $12,000 a year or more, hiring employees, collecting sales tax, needing endorsements, or using a trade name. Opening a business costs a $50 processing fee.
Does a Washington LLC file a BOI report?
No. US-formed companies are exempt under the federal final rule of August 14, 2026. See the BOI tracker.
General Information Only
LLCForming publishes general information about forming and running an LLC. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice, and it does not create an attorney or advisor relationship. Rules vary by state and by your situation. For a decision that matters, talk to a licensed attorney or tax professional in your state.