Until the Expiration Date, a Washington LLC Annual Report Costs $70

The $70 Filing Fee Already Includes the Online Processing Charge

Washington’s fee rule, WAC 434-112-085, lists the annual report at $70 and a separate delinquent fee of $25. CCFS filings carry a $20 online processing fee under WAC 434-112-075, but annual reports are on its list of exceptions, which is why the Secretary of State’s online filing instructions say the $70 “includes an online processing fee.”

WAC 434-112-085 has no $60 or $71 line. A professional limited liability company (PLLC) pays the same amounts, and the $70 report is the only annual fee the Secretary of State charges an LLC.

CCFS takes Visa, Mastercard and American Express, and fees are not refunded once paid.

The Expiration Date and the 180 Days Before It

Under WAC 434-112-060, the due date is the final calendar day of the LLC’s formation month (its anniversary month); for an LLC from another state, it is its Washington registration month. Filing early never moves that date: the expiration stays tied to the original month as long as the LLC remains Active or Delinquent.

When the expiration date falls on a weekend or a holiday under RCW 1.16.050 (Memorial Day on Monday, May 31, 2027; observed New Year’s Day on Friday, December 31, 2027), the office says a filing received the next business day “may be considered timely,” while an online filing goes through until midnight on the date itself.

The rule allows filing as early as 180 days ahead. The office’s published chart rounds that to the first day of a month, so the window always opens on a 1st:

• Jan 31opens Aug 1
• Feb 28 or 29opens Sep 1
• Mar 31opens Oct 1
• Apr 30opens Nov 1
• May 31opens Dec 1
• Jun 30opens Jan 1
• Jul 31opens Feb 1
• Aug 31opens Mar 1
• Sep 30opens Apr 1
• Oct 31opens May 1
• Nov 30opens Jun 1
• Dec 31opens Jul 1

The Initial Report Is a Separate Filing, Due Within 120 Days

The first annual report comes due when the formation month closes one year later. Before that, RCW 23.95.255 asks for an initial report within 120 days, not 90. It is free when filed with the certificate of formation during Washington LLC formation; a deferred one costs $10 plus the online processing fee.

A missed initial report is not on the list of grounds for administrative dissolution in RCW 23.95.605. That list covers unpaid fees, an annual report more than 120 days late, 30 days without a registered agent and an expired period of duration.

CCFS Annual Report Filing and the Fields That Send a Report Back

1. Log in at ccfs.sos.wa.gov, open Business Maintenance Filings, then Annual Report.

2. Search with the LLC’s 9-digit UBI number or its name, then continue with the right record.

3. Review each section: registered agent, principal office, governors, nature of business, controlling interest.

4. Leave the effective date on “Date of Filing,” sign with the authorized person’s full name, then add the report to the cart (five items at most) and pay.

The Secretary of State also accepts the paper annual report form by mail, where processing takes up to 15 business days under WAC 434-112-080. Online filings show a confirmation at once, and expedited handling cuts processing times to three working days.

The Secretary of State counts a report as on time when it is received, not postmarked. Online, that means submitted before midnight on the expiration date, and CCFS shows a submission confirmation right away. On paper, the report must be received by close of business that day, and the office receives mail Monday to Friday only.

The report’s requirements, and the fields that can send it back:

Email addresses

Required for both the registered agent and the principal office (WAC 434-112-045). Notices and the confirmation go there.

Addresses

Physical street addresses only, no P.O. box or PMB. The agent’s address must be in Washington; the principal office can be anywhere.

Governors

The members or managers who run the LLC, added as individuals or as entities.

Controlling interest

Questions asked for the Department of Revenue, all preset to “No.” Under RCW 43.07.390, an LLC that owns real property in Washington discloses a transfer of a controlling interest (or of at least one-third of it) here, which can trigger the real estate excise tax return.

Effective date

A future date keeps the report off the public record until then. If that date is after the expiration date, the automated system issues a delinquency notice, and it lets the same report be submitted again, with fees that are not refunded.

Uploads

Attaching documents sends the report to in-office review and delays acceptance. Operating agreements and minutes are removed.

“Washington Annual Reports” Is a Private Mailer; the DOR Renewal Is a Separate Filing

The Secretary of State publishes the mailers it receives complaints about, and two of them carry state-like names. Neither is the state:

• “Washington Annual Reports”
• “Washington Annual Reporting Corporations & Charities Filing System”

The official reminder comes by email about 60 days before expiration, or by mail 45 to 60 days before, and the Corporations and Charities Division sends no text messages.

A city or Washington state business license endorsement is a different obligation. The Department of Revenue renews endorsements separately, with a notice the month before they expire, and points LLCs to the Secretary of State for the annual report itself.

The Notices Between a Missed Expiration Date and a Dissolved LLC

1. 1st of the month before

   Due-date notice by email or mail. Not receiving it changes nothing: RCW 23.95.255(7) keeps the duty to file.

2. Expiration date

   Last day to file at $70. A report submitted by then is honored even if processing comes later.

3. Day after

   Status turns Delinquent and the fee is $95. A delinquency notice follows on the 1st of the next month.

4. 120 days late

   Grounds for administrative dissolution exist under RCW 23.95.605. The dissolution notice goes out around then.

5. Sixty days after service

   If nothing is cured within that period, RCW 23.95.610 requires administrative dissolution. Filing the late Washington annual report with $95 before then is the cure.

The office’s “Return to Active Status” page counts its 120 days starting at the notice date rather than the due date, so the date printed on the notice and the status the Washington business entity search returns are what to go by. Read together, the statute’s two periods mean no dissolution before about 180 days after the expiration date.

An LLC from another state is not dissolved here; its Washington registration is terminated instead. The office sends its termination notice 90 days after the expiration date, and under RCW 23.95.550 the registration ends only if the report is still missing 60 days after that notice.

Once terminated, it files a requalification with a home-state certificate of existence dated within 60 days: WAC 434-112-085 sets $180 plus every delinquent annual report fee, while the online instructions word it as $180 per year missed, so the CCFS cart total is the figure that counts.

What RCW 23.95.615 Charges to Undo an Administrative Dissolution

A reinstatement application is accepted for up to five years after the dissolution takes effect. Under RCW 23.95.615 it pays every renewal fee it would have owed while dissolved, a $140 penalty fee and the fee for the year of reinstatement.

In CCFS this runs under Reactivate a Business. A pop-up shows the dissolution date and the last day to reinstate. When the next expiration date is less than six months away, it also asks whether to pay the current year now; answering “No” leaves an annual report due within those six months.

The name is checked again first. If another business registered it during the dissolution, an amendment changing the LLC’s name has to be filed before the reinstatement goes through.