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Washington Foreign LLC Registration

The fee, the form, what triggers registration in Washington, and how to file.

State filing fee $200 one-time
Registered agent $125/year based on Northwest RA
Total, all in $785
Washington data last reviewed Aug 22, 2026 · sos.wa.gov Totals include the $200 filing fee once, Northwest RA at $125/year, and Washington recurring state costs over the selected period.

Foreign Qualification

Filing fee
$200
Form
Foreign Registration Statement - Profit types
Annual obligation
$70/year
Processing time
Washington publishes no processing time for standard filings.
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It says only that documents are processed in the order received. The only turnaround it publishes is purchased: $100 for expedited service, generally processed within three working days, available online or by post if the envelope is labelled EXPEDITE, and $150 for same day service

Expedite
$100 per business entity for processing generally within three working days, or $150 for same day service.
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Both sit on top of the filing fee. To buy the $100 by post you must enclose the extra $100 and write EXPEDITE on the outside of the envelope; online it is added at checkout. Washington does not refund payments

Estimated year 1 cost
$270
Visit Washington Secretary of State ↗

Need to register your LLC in Washington?

Northwest files the foreign registration and serves as your registered agent in Washington, which the filing requires. Only need an agent? Northwest's registered agent service alone is $125/year.

Have Northwest register your LLC in Washington ↗
$225 + the state fee · One year of registered agent included

Filing it yourself? Go to the official Washington SOS portal ↗

Other registered agent options 2 alternatives
Registered Agents Inc
$200/year · Report filing included, state fees extra
Visit site ↗
Harbor Compliance
$99 first year, then $149/year · Full-service compliance option
Visit site ↗

What triggers foreign qualification in Washington?

  • Physical presence in Washington
  • Employees in Washington
  • Processing transactions in Washington

Important to know

  • $200 online filing fee (vs $180 by mail/in person)
What does NOT require registration in Washington 13 activities

Washington carves 13 activities out by statute. On their own, none of them requires a foreign LLC to register.

  • Bringing, defending, mediating, arbitrating, or settling a lawsuit, proceeding, or claim
  • Carrying on internal company affairs, including holding meetings of owners or managers
  • Maintaining bank accounts
  • Maintaining an office or agent to transfer, exchange, or register the company's own securities, or a trustee or depository for them
  • Selling through independent contractors
  • Taking orders that must be accepted out of state to become binding, where the only local work is delivery and installation
  • Creating or acquiring debts, mortgages, or security interests in property
  • Securing or collecting debts, or enforcing mortgages or security interests that secure them
  • Doing a one-off transaction finished within 30 days that is not part of repeated similar transactions
  • Owning property, and nothing more
  • Doing business in interstate commerce
  • Running an approved branch campus of an out-of-state degree-granting school under chapter 28B.90 RCW
  • Employing a remote worker who lives in Washington

Under RCW 23.95.520, all 13 items. MOST IMPORTANT: item (1)(m), "Employing a remote worker who resides in Washington state," was added by 2026 c 80 s 7 and is an express statutory safe harbor for remote employment. It is unqualified on its face, with no headcount cap and no role exclusion. Washington appears to be the first state to enact one. The amendment is current on the legislature's site but has not propagated to most secondary publishers, so many other sources still show the pre-2026 12-item list. Subsection (4) confirms the carve-out is registration-only and does not shelter the company from B&O tax, payroll tax, or service of process.

Forming a new LLC in Washington instead? $200 to form
Formation fee
$200
Annual cost
$70/year
State income tax
No personal income tax through tax year 2027; a 9.9 percent tax on individual income above a $1 million deduction begins with tax year 2028. Business and Occupation (B&O) tax applies to gross receipts.
Privacy
Moderate
Washington has no personal income tax today. A 2026 law taxes individual income above a $1 million standard deduction at 9.9 percent, first applying to tax year 2028 with returns from 2029. Washington also charges a business and occupation (B&O) tax on gross receipts, meaning total income with no deduction for wages, materials or other costs. You must register with the Department of Revenue once gross income reaches $12,000 a year.
Sources 1 link

More Washington guides

Already operating without registering?Civil penalty, back fees and court access in Washington, statute-cited ↗ Not sure Washington applies to you?What counts as doing business, and what does not ↗ Changing your registered agent?The form, the fee and the steps in Washington ↗ Operating in more than one state?Free 3-question check of where you must register ↗

This page provides general information based on publicly available state requirements. It is not legal advice. Verify with the Washington SOS before filing.