Washington compliance progress monitoring

Research summary and recommended next steps for 'Washington compliance progress monitoring' (for US business owners / LLC founders) Summary of steps taken - Performed targeted searches across Washington state official sources and reputable guidance using terms such as: 'Washington Secretary of State annual report LLC', 'Washington LLC annual report', 'WA business licensing service renewal', 'Washington DOR B&O tax registration', 'Washington L&I employer requirements', 'Washington unemployment insurance ESD employer', 'WA registered agent requirements', and 'Washington good standing reinstatement'. - Prioritized authoritative government sources (WA Secretary of State, WA Department of Revenue, Business Licensing Service) and captured key guidance about filings, deadlines, fees, reinstatement rules, and state portals. Key findings (high-level) 1. Annual reports: All domestic and foreign business entities must file an annual report with the WA Secretary of State each year to maintain active status and keep the UBI in good standing. The annual report is due by the last day of the month in which the business was formed/registered; there is a filing window up to 180 days before the expiration date. (See SOS Annual Reports page.) 2. Formation and maintenance filings: LLC formation and filing resources (including online filing instructions) are maintained by the Secretary of State. The standard formation filing fee for LLC Certificate of Formation (online) is shown as $180 on the SOS resources. The SOS site also documents maintenance filing types (amendments, registered agent updates, annual reports) and provides online filing instructions. (See SOS LLC resource and Filings & Forms pages.) 3. Reinstatement (reactivation) and penalties: If a WA domestic LLC is administratively dissolved for failure to file, the entity has a 5-year window to reinstate. Reinstatement requires payment of annual report fees for each missed year plus a $140 penalty (per SOS language). Failure to reinstate within five years may require forming a new entity. (See SOS LLC resource page — Reinstatement section.) 4. Business licensing and UBI: Washington’s Business Licensing Wizard (Business Licensing Service via Dept. of Revenue) is used to apply for a business license and obtain a Unified Business Identifier (UBI). Businesses must register via the DOR Business Licensing Wizard / My DOR for tax accounts and state licensing. (See WA DOR apply for business license page.) 5. State tax and local licensing obligations: After formation and obtaining a UBI, businesses frequently must register for state tax accounts (B&O tax, sales & use tax where applicable) with DOR and comply with local city/county licensing via the Business Licensing Service; DOR provides the Business Licensing Wizard and My DOR portal to manage registrations and renewals. (See DOR resources.) 6. State employer obligations (next research steps recommended): Washington requires employer registration with Employment Security Department (unemployment insurance) and Department of Labor & Industries (workers’ compensation and workplace safety). These were identified as necessary areas to check and should be included in the final compliance checklist and guidance for payroll and employer reporting. (Authoritative UA pages will be pulled next when drafting final content.) Recommendations / Next steps for drafting the blog and newsletter - Build a WA-specific compliance checklist for LLC founders that includes: Secretary of State annual report due date monitoring, maintaining registered agent/contact info, Business Licensing Service application and UBI tracking, DOR tax registrations (B&O/sales tax), L&I and ESD employer registrations (if hiring), timely payroll tax filings, and steps for reinstatement if administratively dissolved. - Use the state portals for monitoring: SOS Corp/Charities online filing system (CorpOnline/annual report page), DOR Business Licensing Wizard/My DOR, and agency employer portals (L&I, ESD). Consider recommending calendar reminders and/or third-party compliance tools that integrate with these portals. - Include direct links to primary sources and verbatim citations in the blog to support readers. Authority and primary sources (verbatim excerpts below) (Full citations with excerpts provided so final content can cite them.)