One of the confusing things about running a business in Washington State is the lingo. One of the other confusing things, is all the different State agencies that govern you, and none of them actually call what they do anything that actually makes sense.
For instance, when you form your company with the Washington Secretary of State, you will have a report due each year on the last day of the anniversary month you initially filed in. Almost every other State in America calls this an annual report. This is basically all it is.
But in Washington the Secretary of State isn’t really that involved after you form your company. The “Annual report” is called a License renewal. But it’s not actually a license. Everywhere else in America, you would think of a license as something that a contractor would get, a plumber, a doctor, a lawyer, etc… Well they all still have to get a license, but that’s mostly governed by Washington Labor and Industries. Whoever came up with these government agencies names wasn’t really thinking this through. It’s almost comical when we stand in line at the government agencies and see the dumbfounded look on people’s faces as the government clerks try to explain to them what all the different agencies are called, and where they have to go or call to figure something out.
We will try to explain this in terms that 99% of America would use.
- You start your business with the Washington Secretary of State corporation division
- You’ll have an annual report due where you list your business address, the officers and directors if it’s a corporation or the members or managers if it’s a LLC. You can also update your contact information and Washington registered agent at this time.
This annual report is called a “License renewal” in Washington State.
You will have a license renewal due even if you don’t ever file the Washington Master business license application. The Master business license application is needed if you want to actually work with your business, report taxes, and hire employees. But even if you don’t do anything with your company. You’ll still have a license renewal with the Department of Licensing for your annual report that should be with the Secretary of State for your LLC or Corporation. If you blow off the license renewal, the Secretary of State will dissolve or revoke your company.
You could basically think of it as the Washington Secretary of State sub-contracts to the Washington Department of Licensing to handle the annual reports.
- The Master business license application is basically a Department of Revenue registration, but for some reason someone in Washington decided to call it this.
- 4. The Department of Revenue collects the taxes you owe. This agency is actually called the Washington Department of Revenue. Amazing. 2 out of 4 in normal terms. Not too bad right?
I won’t even get into why Employment Securities is the agency for Unemployment Insurance and Benefits, and Labor and Industries is the agency for workers compensation insurance and trade licenses.
If you would like help starting your business, or would like us to be your Washington Registered Agent, we would love the opportunity to serve you.