7 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page.
What licenses do you need to open a business in Washington? 7, in the order to get them
These are the steps every business in Washington takes. A license specific to your kind of business comes from the agency that regulates it; if one of the twenty named businesses is close to yours, its page lists those too.
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 4Set up the business. Now: Certificate of formation (LLC) and the annual report
0 of 7 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Log in to save it to your account and pick it up anywhere.
1Set up the business0 of 3
File through the Corporations and Charities Filing System. The certificate names a registered agent with a Washington street address, and the initial report is free when filed with the certificate. Form the LLC before applying for the state business license, which asks for the Unified Business Identifier the filing creates.
Needed whenever the business trades under any name other than the owner’s full legal name or the LLC’s registered name. Washington registers trade names on the state business license, not with the county, so most owners add it on the same application.
One application does the state registration: it opens the Department of Revenue excise tax account for retail sales tax and the business and occupation tax on gross receipts, opens the unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation accounts when you say you will hire within 90 days, and carries the city endorsements. Required once gross income reaches $12,000 a year, you collect sales tax, hire, or use a trade name. Washington has no state income tax; the B&O tax is paid on the excise tax return, monthly, quarterly or yearly as the Department assigns.
Most Washington cities require their own general business license, and more than 200 of them issue it as an endorsement on the state license; Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and a few others license directly. Cities with a local B&O tax register the business for it at the same time. Unincorporated county areas usually need no general license.
Confirm the zoning allows your use before signing; a change of occupancy needs building permits, plan review and inspections, and the certificate of occupancy comes before the health permit and the liquor license. The local building official enforces the state building, fire and energy codes.
Every employer with any employee must carry workers’ compensation, and Washington sells it only through the state fund at Labor and Industries; private policies are not allowed and self-insurance is for very large employers. Paid Family and Medical Leave and WA Cares premiums are collected through the Employment Security Department on the same quarterly report. Report each new hire or rehire within 20 days. The wage base rises to $82,000 in 2027.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the businesses already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow a business at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The business check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State LLC filing resource page and filings, forms and information page (fee list); Department of Revenue business license application pages; WAC 458-02-200 (handling fees); IRS EIN page; WAC 458-02-200 (Business Licensing Service fees); Department of Revenue apply for a business license and tax registration pages; Department of Revenue city endorsements pages; city license ordinances; State Building Code Council; city and county development codes; Employment Security Department tax rate and taxable wage base pages (2026); Labor and Industries employers’ guide to workers’ compensation insurance (F101-002-000); DSHS new hire reporting page. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.
Questions about opening here.
7 items, in order: certificate of formation (llc) and the annual report, trade name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), state business license: department of revenue tax registration (sales tax and b&o) and employer accounts, city business license (city endorsement) and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 1 more.
Washington Secretary of State, Washington Department of Revenue, Internal Revenue Service, Your city, Your city or county planning and building departments and Washington Employment Security Department.
With certificate of formation (llc) and the annual report (Washington Secretary of State, Corporations and Charities Division), then trade name registration (dba). The steps run structure, tax, space, permits and employer, in that order.
Each item links to the agency's official page. The fee and renewal cycle are shown to members, as the agency published them on the date checked. Cities and counties add their own fees.
How to open a business in Washington (2026) | DoorWorthy
