Washington LLC Registration

How to form an LLC in Washington:

You form Washington LLCs by filing articles of organization with the WA SOS.

What is required to file Washington LLC Articles of Organization?

To form a Washington LLC, you file Washington LLC articles of organization. The Washington articles of organization cost $180 to the Washington Secretary of State. These LLC articles can be basic or complicated. We custom draft your Washington LLC articles of organization when you hire Northwest to do your Washington LLC registration, but if you'd like to save some money, you could just hire us as your WA registered agent, and then we supply you all the correct forms to file and filing instructions in your online account immediately. The basic requirements are:

• The business name must have a limited liability company ending or variation of it.
• A New Washington LLCs name must be different than already registered Washington companies.
• The duration of the Washington LLC.
• The principal office address of the LLC.
• The Washington registered agent, registered office address, and registered agent signature.
• The names and addresses of the initial organizer.
• If the limited liability company is to be managed by managers or members.
• The Washington executor/organizer has to sign the articles.

Washington does not require original signatures on filings. We recommend filing online because it is auto expedited for only $20 extra. The filed articles are sent to the Washington Registered Agent unless you request to have them sent elsewhere.

What's the actual process to start a Washington LLC?

1. Washington LLC registration is started when you file the articles of organization for a Washington LLC with the Secretary of State. This is how you get your Washington UBI number.
2. You obtain a federal tax ID number with the IRS after you have confirmation from Washington that the LLC is completely filed.
3. You should be able to open a LLC banking account with the articles and the FEIN.
4. Get your Washington Master Business License – this process notifies the Department of Revenue, Department of Labor and Industries, and the Employment Security Department that you are doing business in Washington.
5. You obtain a trade license, if you actually need one (Most businesses don't).
6. You obtain a local city or county license, if you need one.
7. If you're going to have an office or shop, you might need an approval from the city zoning for your type of business in that location.

Are you a do-it-yourselfer? You can save some money:

If you want to form a Washington limited liability company yourself, you can just hire us as your Washington registered agent, and you'll instantly have the Washington LLC forms to file and filing instructions on the quickest, cheapest, and most efficient way to file a Washington LLCs. You'll get the ongoing support of our online tools, compliance reminders and the support of a professional Washington LLC agent service.