Washington Foreign Registration / Fees
What Washington charges to register a foreign LLC, and then each year
Washington takes $180 for the Foreign Registration Statement and $70 for each annual report afterward. Our own charge, $199, is billed on a line of its own at checkout.
The registration fee by entity type
| Entity | Fee |
|---|---|
| Limited liability company | $180 |
| Business corporation | $180 |
| Limited partnership | $180 |
| Limited liability partnership | $180 |
| Nonprofit entity | $30 |
All filing fees are non-refundable.
Other Washington charges
| Filing | Fee |
|---|---|
| Annual report, LLC | $70 |
| Annual report with delinquency fee | $95 |
| Amendment to a filing | $30 |
| Reinstatement, plus missed annual report fees | $140 |
| Reservation of name | $30 |
| Any other statement or report | $10 |
| Moving the agent or the office | No fee |
| An agent's resignation | No fee |
| Withdrawing an LLC | No fee |
Those last three carry no charge.
Totals, worked out
| Scenario | Total | Parts |
|---|---|---|
| A Delaware LLC at filing | $230 | $180 + $50 |
| Wyoming LLC registers | $180 | $180 + $0 |
| Delaware LLC and its first report | $300 | $230 + $70 |
| Wyoming LLC and its first report | $250 | $180 + $70 |
| Delaware LLC with Delaware's tax | $700 | $300 + $400 |
| Wyoming LLC with Wyoming's minimum | $310 | $250 + $60 |
| Any LLC, application and five reports | $530 | $180 + 5 x $70 |
| Register, then amend once | $210 | $180 + $30 |
| Reinstate after one missed report | $210 | $140 + $70 |
Totals for LLCs with a named home state count its certificate; the five-year total does not.
Why the certificate costs extra
Your home state issues the certificate and sets its price: $50 from Delaware, $0 from Wyoming. Washington requires a certificate of existence, or a document of similar import, issued no more than sixty days before the date of submission and duly authenticated by the Secretary of State or other official having custody of the entity's records in its jurisdiction of formation, so a certificate older than 60 days on filing day gets bought again.
How the payment works
The Secretary of State accepts cash, checks, money orders, Visa, MasterCard and American Express, in US dollars. On the mail route, checks or money orders payable to Secretary of State, not backdated more than 60 days from the day the check is received.
What a late report costs
A late annual report costs $95 in all: the $70 fee plus $25. A registration left in default can be terminated, after notice, if the ground is not cured in 60 days.
What operating first adds
Working in Washington first has a price: the fees the company would have paid by registering and reporting, together with penalties for not paying them. The penalty page has the rule.
The lines that matter most
The lines most useful to a foreign LLC are the original filing at $180, the annual report at $70, the amendment at $30 and the reinstatement at $140 plus missed reports. Registered agent changes and resignations carry no fee.
The fee for any other statement
A statement or report with no line of its own is $10.
Five years, one state
Register an LLC and file five annual reports and Washington collects $530: $180 to register plus five reports at $70. The reports account for $350 of it.
Banks and credit unions
Washington prices a foreign bank corporation, savings bank or savings and loan registration at $180 and a foreign credit union at $30, and takes those filings on paper only.
A filing Washington does not accept
Washington does not register a foreign social purpose corporation, which is a Washington-only entity type.
Restoring a terminated registration
If a registration is terminated over a missed report, restoring it costs $140 plus each missed report fee, so the report date is worth noting the day the registration is filed.
Fees that are not refunded
Filing fees are non-refundable and filed documents are public record, which is another reason to check the name and the dates before anything is sent.
Our charge
We charge $199 to gather the facts, order the certificate within the sixty-day limit, write the statement and file it. Anyone who would rather file alone can open the guide to filing it yourself.
Registered agent: first year included, then $149 a year
$199 plus the state fee, including your first year of registered agent service; after that the agent service renews at $149 a year.
Questions about Washington's charges
Does an LLC's size change the fee?
No. Every foreign LLC pays $180.
What does a nonprofit pay?
$30.
How is Washington's fee shown at checkout?
On its own line.
What recurs?
The annual report, $70.
Are fees refundable?
No. All filing fees are non-refundable.
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
- Washington SOS, instructions for the Foreign Registration Statement
- Washington SOS, filings, forms and information
- RCW 23.95.510, foreign registration statement
- Washington SOS, register a foreign LLC online
- Washington SOS, fee schedule and expedited service
- Delaware Division of Corporations fee schedule (PDF)
- Wyoming Secretary of State, Business Division fee schedule
- Delaware Division of Corporations, LLC/LP/GP annual tax
- RCW 23.95.550 and 23.95.555, termination of registration and action by attorney general
- RCW 23.95.505, registration to do business in this state
Operating in Washington?
Order now and the registration goes in before more unregistered years pile up.