2025 fees Washington Secretary of State Rank #37 of 51

LLC Costs in Washington (WA)

$385 all-in for your first year - $200 to file, $60 annual report, plus a registered agent. Washington is $2 (1%) more expensive than the national average for first-year LLC costs.

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Annual report is due on the last day of the month of the anniversary of formation. Washington has no personal income tax. Home to major companies like Amazon and Microsoft. Business & Occupation (B&O) tax applies to gross receipts.

Updated 2025 · Source: Washington Secretary of State

Higher Articles filing fee

Higher Articles filing fee. $200 one-time SOS filing sits in the top third of Articles/formation fees nationwide.Forming an LLC in Washington costs about $385 in the first year, top-third of the 51-row book, about 1% above the national average, ranking #37 of 51. Fees are those published by the Washington Secretary of State; registered agent is a $125/yr market-rate line, not a vendor quote.

According to the Washington Secretary of State fee schedule; registered agent normalized at $125/yr. See methodology. How we calculate →

$200
One-time filing fee
$60 /yr
Annual report
$385
First-year total
#37 of 51
Cost rank (1 = cheapest)

State LLC fee schedule strip

Fee strip WA · Washington SOS FY 2026 · rank #37

Washington · $385 · file $200 · no pub

  • EXPEDITE $200
  • PRIVILEGE $60
  • FILE $385
  • Y1 #37/51
  • PUB near Maine
  • ONLINE 1% above avg

Dear-third stack: stamps derive from this state's Secretary of State fee schedule, not a recommendation of where to form. Read with tax planning against a dear SOS stack → · All 51 SOS fee rows →

1. Illinois$3502. Washington$3853. Maine$3854. Florida$3895. Nebraska$4016. Alabama$425
First-year SOS-fee total for Washington and nearest-cost peers. Source: each Secretary of State + 51-row aggregate.

How the dear-third $385 stack breaks down

How your $385 first-year total breaks down State filing fee drives 52% of a top-third first-year total.
  • State filing fee $200
  • Annual Report (yr 1) $60
  • Registered agent $125
Cost Item Amount
State Filing Fee $200
Annual Report $60
Registered Agent $125/yr
Expedited Filing (optional) $50
Total, First Year $385

Ongoing tax burden after formation

Washington charges no corporate income tax at all, a real ongoing advantage that offsets some of the $385 one-time formation cost above over time.

Corporate income tax
0%
no corporate income tax, #5 of 51 lowest nationally
Effective property tax rate
0.81%
Of assessed property value, per year

Sources: Tax Foundation state corporate tax rates, Census ACS effective property tax rates.

Fee check: Dear-third first-year stack, verify current Washington SOS fees before filing at https://www.sos.wa.gov. Not legal or tax advice.

Washington SOS fee strip (high filing)

Filing Fee $200
Annual Report $60 /yr
Processing Time 2-3 weeks
Expedited $50 → 1-2 business days
Online Filing Available
First-Year Total $385
File with Washington SOS

Similar Cost States

North Dakota $310 Arkansas $320 Connecticut $325 New Hampshire $325

Lower-cost escapes

Jurisdictions with a lower first-year SOS-fee total than dear-third WA:

South Dakota $325 Kansas $340 Illinois $350

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified. Report a data error on this page.

Sources used on this page
  • Washington Secretary of State - LLC filing fee, annual-report requirement, and processing time. www.sos.wa.gov
  • Federation of Tax Administrators - cross-check of state fee and tax figures. taxadmin.org
LLC fees and requirements sourced from the Washington Secretary of State. See our methodology for details.

Verify with the Washington Secretary of State →