Washington Foreign Registration / Delaware filers

Taking a Delaware LLC into Washington

A Delaware LLC spends $180 on the Washington statement and $50 on its Delaware certificate, $230 together. Add Washington's first annual report and the total is $300. Delaware's $400 tax is a separate bill.

Delaware and Washington compared

Point	Delaware (home)	Washington
Certificate	$50	Dated within 60 days before the filing
Registration	Not applicable, since the LLC was formed there	$180
Recurring	$400 tax	$70 report
Agent	A Delaware agent	A Washington agent

Filling the statement in for a Delaware LLC

Put Delaware down as the jurisdiction of formation. List as principal office the place the company is really run from, name its managers or members as governors, and give a registered agent with a Washington street address.

The Delaware certificate

Delaware prices its certificate of good standing at $50. Washington needs it issued no more than 60 days before submission. Order it when the statement is ready to send.

Two separate clocks

Delaware's $400 tax falls on June 1, with $200 added if late. Washington sends a renewal notice 30 to 90 days before its report is due. Neither state's date moves the other.

Five years, two states

Over five years the Washington side comes to $580: the registration, the Delaware certificate and five reports. Add Delaware's tax of $2,000 and the two states take $2,580.

The nine items, filled in for a Delaware LLC

The name is the LLC's Delaware name, with its Delaware ending. The type is an LLC. The jurisdiction is Delaware. For offices, list the principal office and any office Delaware law demands. The agent needs a Washington street address, the governors are the managers or members, and the formation date and duration are taken from the certificate of formation. The business description says what the LLC does in Washington, and the start date comes last.

Example: software from Tacoma

A Delaware LLC with a single member sells software and opens a Tacoma office. It names a Tacoma agent, buys the Delaware certificate for $50 and files for $180. A year on, Washington's report costs $70 and Delaware's tax is $400: $700 in year one.

Delaware companies with only a remote worker here

The statutory exceptions include a remote worker living in Washington. A Delaware LLC whose only Washington link is such a hire may not need to register; the Employment Security Department has its own rules for employers. A Washington business lawyer can say whether your hire fits.

Delaware's tax and Washington's fee

Delaware's $400 annual tax is due regardless of what happens in Washington, while Washington's $70 report is due only as long as the registration stands.

Delaware agent versus Washington agent

The Delaware agent is a Delaware matter. Washington asks for its own agent, with a Washington street address, on the statement.

A Delaware rename

If the LLC renames itself in Delaware, Washington gets an amendment accompanied by the name-change paper, at $30. The Delaware amendment is a separate filing at Delaware's own fee.

Delaware LLCs that merge

A registered foreign entity that merges into an unregistered foreign entity, or converts into a foreign entity that must register, delivers an application for transfer of registration, and the registration passes without interruption to the surviving or converted entity.

The Delaware LLC and the start date

The statement asks for the date on which the entity first did, or intends to do, business in this state. A Delaware LLC that has not begun gives the date it plans to.

Year one in numbers

The Washington side is $180 to register, $50 for the certificate and $70 for the first report, which is $300. With Delaware's tax added the first year reaches $700.

If Washington terminates the registration

If a missed report gets the Delaware LLC's registration terminated, the way back costs $140 plus each report fee missed: $210 for one missed report and $280 for two, so the report date is worth a calendar entry on registration day.

Leaving

When the LLC is done in Washington it files a Statement of Withdrawal; the withdrawal page has the detail. Dissolving or leaving Delaware is a different process.

How a Delaware LLC gets Washington registered

Find a Washington agent
A person or office holder with a Washington street address.
Run the name check
An alternate name is available if the Delaware name fails.
Get the Delaware certificate last
Its price is $50.
File the statement
With the $180 fee.

Delaware LLC questions

Will Washington take Delaware's good standing certificate?

Yes, when dated inside sixty days of submission.

Does the Delaware LLC need a Washington agent?

Yes.

Is a start date required for a Delaware LLC?

Yes. A date is asked for, whether the work has begun or is planned.

Does Washington charge a Delaware LLC every year?

Yes, $70.

Does Delaware add a late charge to its tax?

Yes, $200.

How much is Delaware's certificate?

$50.

What you pay

Register in Washington

$199

+ $180 Washington fee

$180 is Washington's fee for an LLC and for any profit entity. A nonprofit pays $30. $199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.

The Foreign Registration Statement, written from your answers
A home certificate of existence ordered so it is under sixty days old at filing
A Washington registered agent, ours or one you name
The filed registration, passed on to you
Renewal: after the first year, the agent service renews at $149 a year

Sources

Operating in Washington?

Order now and the registration goes in before more unregistered years pile up.