Washington — statewide
Washington State Department of Revenue, Business Licensing Service
In short
Washington State Department of Revenue, Business Licensing Service issues 2 permits we publish for Washington — statewide, last verified 2026-09-03. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reseller Permitonly if it applies to you | Washington State Department of Revenue, Business Licensing Service | No fee | 4 years, or 2 in defined circumstances | 2026-09-03 |
| Washington State Business License | Washington State Department of Revenue, Business Licensing Service | $50 to open, plus each endorsement's own fee; $5 a year to renew | annual — one expiration date governs every endorsement on the license | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Reseller Permit
No fee — the department answers the question in one word. The permit is generally good for four years but only two if you are a contractor, have been open under twelve months, have reported no gross income in the last twelve months, were on non-reporting status when you applied, or have missed a return in the last year. Many renew automatically; where they will not you get about ninety days' notice. It does not transfer when a business is sold, and a seller must keep a copy or an electronic verification for five years. Separately, Washington's main business tax is the business and occupation tax on gross receipts; no separate registration fee applies to it, and it is banded for services — 1.5 per cent under a million dollars of prior-year revenue, 1.75 to five million and 2.1 above, against 0.471 per cent retailing and 0.484 per cent manufacturing and wholesaling.
Washington State Business License
This is a real statewide business license, which almost no other state has, and the $50 is only the handling fee — each endorsement carries its own charge on top, though state tax registration itself is free and a trade name is $5. Adding a location or a partner city's non-resident endorsement costs nothing; anything else is $10; renewal is $5 a year with a late penalty of half the endorsement fee up to $150. The statute allows up to $90 to open, so do not publish the cap as the price. The important limit is geographic: 223 cities have partnered with the department so their license can be bought on the same form, but Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue, Everett, Kent and Renton have not, and a business in those cities files separately — Seattle's own certificate runs from $73 to $3,210 by revenue band. Spokane and Vancouver are partners. Registration is required if you use a trading name, hire within ninety days, collect sales tax, need any endorsement, or gross $12,000 a year or more. Form the entity with the Secretary of State first.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Washington — statewide
- Phone
- (360) 705-6705
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- RCW 19.02.075 — statutory ceiling on business license handling feesWashington State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Washington Department of Revenue — business and occupation tax classificationsWashington State Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Washington Department of Revenue — business license application processing feesWashington State Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Washington Department of Revenue — reseller permit questions answeredWashington State Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Other Washington statewide offices
- Washington Secretary of State, Corporations and Charities Division
- Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
- Washington State Department of Health, Food Safety Program
- Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families
- Washington State Department of Health, Veterinary Board of Governors
- Washington State Department of Licensing, Cosmetology Program
- Washington State Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
Washington jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.