What to know about an annual report in Washington

Annual reports are documents that you must file each year with the Washington Secretary of State after you register an LLC in Washington. The report is designed to provide the state with updated information about your business, including it’s principal address, the management structure, and details about your registered agent. It confirms that your business is active and compliant with state records, and it serves as an important source of information for both the government and the general public about your business.

• For regular LLCs, the fee to file an annual report is $70.
• In Washington, annual reports are due on the last day of the month in which the business was originally formed.

How to file an annual report in Washington

Filing an annual report in Washington shouldn’t be complicated. Read below for a breakdown of steps that you’ll need to take.

Fill out the form with the required details

First, you’ll need to fill out the annual report form with various details that are required by the state. Here is the information that you’ll need to gather:

• Name: The name under which your business is registered.
• UBI number: This is a unique, nine-digit number that identifies businesses in Washington state, which businesses need to apply for when initially registering with the Washington Secretary of State.
• Principal street address: This is the physical address at which your business operates.
• Mailing address: This is the address at which your business receives mail.
• Phone number: The primary point of phone contact for your business.
• Email address: The primary email contact for your business.
• Governors: You can list up to four, each of whom should be current individuals or businesses responsible for governing this business. It’s important to note that an LLC cannot serve as its own governor.
• Nature of business: You’ll need to provide a brief description of the type of business your LLC conducts.
• Controlling interests: You’ll need to be prepared to answer a series of questions about real estate, business ownership, stocks, or financial interests related to the LLC.
• Registered agent: If any details about your LLC’s registered agent have changed within the past year, you’ll need to fill out a separate page that provides the agent’s name and contact information.

Choose one of the filing options

File online

You can file online via the Washington Secretary of State’s Corporations and Charities Filing System. Sign in using your user ID and password, or if you have not yet created an account, you can do so on the website. The cost to file online is the $70 standard filing fee. Commercial registered agents who need to register as a registered agent will need to pay a $30 registration fee.

File by mail

Washington also allows LLCs to file their annual reports by mail. To use this method, start by downloading the form and completing it. You can enclose a check or money order with the form to pay all fees due. The form must be mailed to the following address:

Washington Secretary of State
Corporations & Charities Division
PO Box 40234
Olympia, WA 98504-0234

File with a compliance service

To take the stress out of filing your annual report and to ensure that your report is filed accurately and meets all of Washington’s state requirements, you can use a compliance service like Tailor Brands. It will complete the paperwork for you, make sure that everything is up to date, and ensure that your form is filed in a timely fashion.

Pay the fee

The state of Washington charges a $70 fee for LLCs to file an annual report. If you need to file an amended annual report, this is an additional $10 fee.

Make sure you file on time

In the state of Washington, you’ll need to take extra care where due dates are concerned. Most states have an annual report filing window that aligns with tax season, but that is not the case here.

Instead, Washington annual reports are due on the last day of the month in which you initially registered the business. For example, if you initially registered your business on October 10, then in all subsequent years, your filing window will be within 180 days prior to the expiration date, which in our example would be October 31 of that year. 

It’s best to file early, particularly if you’re mailing your annual report. Washington does not consider postmark dates as receipt dates, so if you mail your annual report on the day that it is due, or if the postal service takes several days to deliver the report, it will be considered delinquent. 

What Happens if you fail to file on time (or at all)?

Filing late or failing to file on time can come with some serious consequences. Read below to learn what to expect.

Late fees and fines

If you’re filing at the very end of your filing window and need to make sure that your paperwork is submitted on time, you can pay an expedited service fee of $100. This generally ensures that your documents will be processed within three business days. Same-day processing costs $150, but due to service limitations, this option is not always available.

If you’re filing late, then you’ll need to pay a delinquency fee of $25, which brings the total cost of the annual report filing to $95.

Penalties

If you are late sending in your annual report, the Washington Secretary of State will provide you with a notice that your business will be administratively dissolved. You’ll then have 60 days to address any problems, and if you haven’t filed your report and paid all fees at the end of this timeframe, your business will face administrative dissolution.

Dissolution 

If your business undergoes administrative dissolution, you then have five years to reinstate the business with the Secretary of State. To do this, you’ll need to file a reinstatement form online, pay all past due filing fees, and pay a $140 penalty.

Final thoughts

Filing your Washington annual report accurately and on time each year is crucial to ensure that your LLC remains in good standing. Since inaccuracies or missed deadlines can lead to penalties or possibly even administrative dissolution, it’s wise to use a compliance service to handle this task for you.

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