Licenses and permits in Washington

Washington’s business license is the state’s master application. It covers the UBI, many endorsements, and a trade name. It does not replace a city rule the application does not list, and it does not replace a professional license.

What’s different in Washington

• One application, many reasons, different processing fees. Open the first location for $50. Do something else, such as hire or add a trade name, for $10. The endorsement fee is extra either way.
• You can need the license below any income test. Gross income of $12,000 is one trigger. A trade name, hiring, sales tax, or a city endorsement is another. Meeting one is enough.
• The application is not the whole list. More than 400 state and city endorsements can go on the application, and you may still need another local, state, or federal license.
• Contractor registration is a Labor and Industries filing, with a fine for skipping it. The minimum fine is $1,000. The renewal price is on the page. The first-term price is not.
• Seattle’s own license fee is not on these state pages. Higher city wages are, and two state pages name different cities.

Do this

1. Decide whether the state license applies. You need it if your business requires city and state endorsements, you use a name other than your full legal name, you plan to hire within 90 days, you must collect sales tax, you must pay the Department of Revenue, or you buy or process specialty wood. Gross income of $12,000 or more is the income test. The license FAQ has the full list.
2. File the application and read the cart. Use My DOR. Processing is $50 for a first location, no processing fee for another location, and $10 for another purpose. The processing fee is non-refundable. City and state endorsement fees are added on the form. Processing takes about 10 business days, plus another 2 to 3 weeks when a city or state endorsement needs approval.
3. Add a trade name on the same application if you use one. It is $5 per name, plus the processing fee for the reason you are filing. It does not protect the name. A business can register an unlimited number of trade names. It lasts indefinitely, until the owner cancels it. There is no charge to cancel.
4. Renew on the date printed on the license. A license with a state or city endorsement renews yearly. You can renew up to two months before the expiration date printed on the license The renewal processing fee is $5, plus endorsement fees. Miss the date and the penalty is half of the endorsement fee, or up to $150.
5. Run the licensing wizard for anything the application does not cover. More than 400 state and city endorsements can go on the application, and you may still need another local, state, or federal license. The FAQ points to the Business Licensing Wizard for the rest.
6. Register as a contractor before you bid, if the work is construction. Registration, bonding, and insurance are required. Marketing or bidding counts, even before the job starts. The minimum fine for doing the work unregistered is $1,000. Renewal costs $113.40 every two years. The guide does not state the fee for the first registration.* Check Labor and Industries before you pay. Some ordinary-looking services, such as certain landscaping or pressure washing, can fall into a contractor specialty. The guide lists examples and a minimum fine of $1,000 for those too.
7. Ask the specialist agency for food, alcohol, and care businesses. Contact the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board for the license that matches what you sell, serve, or produce. The page does not print a fee.* A restaurant or coffee stand starts with the county health department. A food manufacturer starts with the Department of Agriculture. Child care, lodging, and medical businesses have their own agencies in the same guide. This page does not quote those fees.*
8. Check the city separately. The state application can include a city endorsement, including a non-resident endorsement when you work inside a city but your shop is outside it. Adding a city non-resident endorsement to an existing location has no state processing fee. That is the state’s processing line, not a promise that the city charges nothing. A Seattle business-license fee is not printed on the state pages quoted here.* Seattle, SeaTac, and Tukwila have higher pay rates. The small-business guide instead names Seattle, Tacoma, or SeaTac, and tells you to check that city for its wage and its other employment rules. Use the city you operate in, not an average of the two lists.

What you get back

A business license and a UBI. You can use the number as soon as it is issued. Some licenses still have to be posted before you open to the public. The renewal date is printed on the license. Specialty licenses come from the agency that regulates the work, on that agency’s own timeline.