The appointment and maintenance of an in-state registered agent is required

Doing business in the state of Washington is more popular than ever -- 99% of the state's businesses are classified as small and they are thriving. Washington boasts a startup survival rate above the national average at more than 80%. Leading sectors include aerospace, agriculture/food manufacturing, clean technology, information, and communication. However, doing business in Washington requires compliance with many federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

CT Corporation's reliable, professional Registered Agent services ensure that you won’t miss a critical filing and endanger your business’ good standing and its right to defend itself in court. You'll benefit from monitoring tools and services that ensure insight into your business compliance so you’re always in control. With a professional Registered Agent, you can have the confidence of knowing that you’re aware of and on top of your compliance obligations.

I strongly recommend CT Corporation as a reliable corporate compliance partner.
Walters-Morgan Construction, Inc.
Responsive, great, and knowledgeable customer service.
Children International

Safeguard your business with America's most reliable registered agent service

Registered Agent package options:

Products

Registered agent services

Easily appoint your registered agent online within 10 minutes

Order Online - $337*

  • Registered agent services - includes a registered agent location within the state to receive legal and critical business communications and a dedicated team to receive and route all service of process legal notifications

  • Online portal - compliance portal to keep your business compliant 24/7

  • Name availability check - verification and reservation of desired business name within the state

    Not included

  • Incorporation services - completion and filing of all legal documents and Articles of Incorporation with the state

    Not included

  • Qualification services - preparation and filing of all qualification documents with the state

    Not included
Registered agent and incorporation filing

Our incorporation experts are here to help you start your business with a solid and smart foundation

Order Online - $788 +state fees*

  • Registered agent services - includes a registered agent location within the state to receive legal and critical business communications and a dedicated team to receive and route all service of process legal notifications

  • Online portal - compliance portal to keep your business compliant 24/7

  • Name availability check - verification and reservation of desired business name within the state

  • Incorporation services - completion and filing of all legal documents and Articles of Incorporation with the state

  • Qualification services - preparation and filing of all qualification documents with the state

    Not included
Registered agent and qualification filing

Legally register an existing business in another state

Order Online - $808 +state fees*

  • Registered agent services - includes a registered agent location within the state to receive legal and critical business communications and a dedicated team to receive and route all service of process legal notifications

  • Online portal - compliance portal to keep your business compliant 24/7

  • Name availability check - verification and reservation of desired business name within the state

  • Incorporation services - completion and filing of all legal documents and Articles of Incorporation with the state

    Not included

  • Qualification services - preparation and filing of all qualification documents with the state

Products

Roadmap to compliance
What to look for when choosing a Registered Agent in Washington state

A registered agent should be reliable, accurate, and consistent.  They must always be available and physically present at the registered office during normal business hours. This ensures any hand-delivered legal documents get proper attention. 

 

They must also know all business entity and compliance rules, have professionally trained staff with expert knowledge on how to properly handle and forward SOP papers, have state-of-the-art processes in place to deliver crucial documents to you, and to follow-up with you regarding delivery. 

 

It is also important to have a registered agent that has the coverage and expertise to support your business as it expands into other states where additional registration is often necessary.  
Select the best registered agent in your state
The importance of having a Registered Agent in Washington

Having a professional registered agent ensures that things such as personal emergencies, vacations, business trips, and meetings never leave your company without this physical presence. Keep in mind, a lawsuit can proceed against you, even if your registered agent is not available to receive service. You may lose the opportunity to defend yourself in court or incur extra legal fees.

 

In addition to the registered agent’s statutory responsibilities of receiving and forwarding documents, professional service companies often provide a full range of services for LLCs, corporations, and other types of business entities to help them with their compliance needs. The right professional services company can help you stay in compliance and make sure all of your documents are handled correctly.
Foreign qualification requires expert support
You can rely on CT Corporation to:
  • Record your registered agent information with the state—essential to keep your business in good standing
  • Receive state documents and legal notices, including Service of Process and wage garnishment notices, and promptly relay them to your designated contacts—so nothing gets overlooked
  • Monitor laws and regulations—to make sure you aren’t caught off guard by changes
  • Designate a specific team to serve as your go-to resource for answers to your questions—you won’t get the round around
  • Customize your registered agent services if you wish to include alerts of upcoming deadlines and forwarding of business documents—so you’ll have less to manage

Legislative updates

Senate Bill 5489, June 9, 2022, amends the following: (A) the business corporation law regarding definitions; record dates of shareholders; special meetings of shareholders; list of shareholders; merger; share exchange; and shareholder dissenter rights; (B) the LP law regarding definitions; transactions with partners; distributions; partner transferable interests; conversion; and merger; and (C) the LLC law regarding professional services LLCs; admission of members; member voting; member dissociation; and conversion.

Senate Bill 5034, effective January 1, 2022 except as noted in the Bill, enacts a new Washington Nonprofit Corporation Act which will apply to all domestic and qualified foreign nonprofit corporations as of the effective date. The new law includes changes covering a number of topics including electronic transmission of meeting notices and meeting procedures; governance of members, officers and directors; record keeping; filing requirements and new entity transaction types; charitable corporations and property held for charitable purposes; and Attorney General powers.

Senate Bill 5355, effective January 1, 2022, enacts provisions regarding the creation and recording of wage liens.

Senate Bill 5347, effective July 25, 2021, authorizes electronic voting by members of cooperative associations.

Senate Bill 5019, effective July 25, 2021, authorizes the Secretary of State to make reasonable rules in accordance with federal and state laws and to provide for the uniform recording of documents in cooperation with the Recording Standards Commission. The Secretary of State may make rules governing, among other things, recording duties of county recorders and county auditors; recording standards for the creation of certified copies for use as evidence; recording standards for documents related to liens; and recording standards for documents related to the uniform commercial code.

Senate Bill 5005, effective July 25, 2021, amends the Business Corporation Act regarding electronic notices and consents.

Senate Bill 6028, effective June 11, 2020, adopts the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act with authorization for electronic signatures and notarizations with conforming amendments to the business entity laws and enacts certain further amendments to the business corporation law.

Senate Bill 6037, effective June 11, 2020, amends the Business Corporation Act regarding gender diversity on the boards of directors of public companies; contents of Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws; dependency of plans or filed records on external ascertainable facts; capital shares; share options; business opportunities; conversion, merger and share exchange; domestic amendment; voting shares; and shareholder action without a meeting.

Case summaries

Member Request for LLC Records
Lott v. Lott, No. 38712-7-III, decided March 2, 2023. The Washington Court of Appeals held that an LLC did not violate Washington’s LLC law by denying a member access to records. The member requested that the LLC provide him with financial statements on an ongoing basis. The court noted that the member failed to comply with the requirements of the LLC law by not requesting the opportunity to inspect or copy the records, by not providing notice, and by requesting records that did not already exist.

Entity Status
Green v. Pierce County, No. 98768-8, decided May 27, 2021. The Washington Supreme Court held that for the purposes of the state’s Public Records Act the definition of “news media” requires an entity with a legal identity separate from an individual. Therefore, a YouTube channel owned by an individual did not meet the definition of “news media”.

PLLC Immunity
Leishman v. Wallace, No. 97734-8, decided January 28, 2021. The Washington Supreme Court held that a PLLC, retained by the Washington Attorney General to investigate an employee’s discrimination complaint was a “person” under Washington’s Anti-Slapp statute. That statute’s immunity unambiguously applies to organizations and individuals, and there is no language in the statute limiting its application when an organization or individual communicates under a contract with a government entity. The court reversed the lower court’s holding that the statute did not apply to an organization that was acting as a government contractor.

Other notices

April 2022 — The Washington Secretary of State issued a consumer alert regarding new versions of what the alert states are “old and misleading solicitations” circulating to recently registered businesses. The alert describes the solicitations and contains examples. It also includes a link to tips for preventing business identity theft. The consumer alert can be read from the Secretary of State’s website here.

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*State fees are mandatory fees imposed by the state. Price includes online discount automatically applied at checkout. Discount is for new customers only.
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