Washington compliance support for digital agencies

I conducted targeted searches and site extractions across Washington state official sources and reputable tax/industry analysis to compile comprehensive, actionable guidance for digital agencies and LLC founders operating in Washington. My research focused on business registration and ongoing maintenance, state tax changes affecting digital services (including the 2025 expansion of sales/B&O tax under ESSB 5814), data breach/consumer privacy notification requirements, digital accessibility expectations for state work and best practice for private businesses, and practical next steps (registration, tax registration, contract updates, accessibility, and employer obligations). Below I summarize the findings and provide a practical checklist and recommended language and resource links. Key takeaways and practical guidance for digital agencies in Washington 1) Forming and maintaining an LLC / registering to do business in Washington - Register domestic or foreign LLCs with the Washington Secretary of State. Maintain compliance by filing annual reports and keeping registered agent and business contact information current. The Secretary of State site provides filing pages, online filing, and instructions for LLCs and other entity types. - Action steps: create or confirm your SOS filing account; file/register your LLC (or foreign registration if you're headquartered outside WA but do business in WA); mark your annual report due date and update registered agent info promptly after changes. 2) State taxes: B&O tax and the October 1, 2025 expansion (ESSB 5814) - Washington taxes business receipts through the Business & Occupation (B&O) tax and levies retail sales tax. ESSB 5814 (effective Oct 1, 2025) materially broadened the retail sales tax and the retailing B&O tax to include many services commonly supplied by digital agencies: advertising services (including many forms of digital advertising), custom website development, many IT services, and more. The law and Department of Revenue interim guidance list examples and exclusions. - The law treats many advertising and web/IT services as retail sales taxable by Washington and local sales tax as of Oct 1, 2025. Custom website development and many IT services became taxable; web hosting and domain registration are generally excluded. Existing contracts signed and executed before Oct 1, 2025, may have temporary transitional treatment but can become taxable if altered. Washington also uses sourcing rules and has a Multiple-Points-of-Use (MPU) exception for some business purchases used both inside and outside WA. - Action steps: inventory your services and identify which offerings could be taxable under ESSB 5814 (advertising services, custom dev, IT services, temporary staffing, etc.); register for a DOR business tax account and sales tax permit; review and possibly amend pricing and invoicing to collect/remit sales tax where required; review customer contracts (and change-order language) to flag when a contract alteration will create tax exposure; consult DOR interim guidance or a tax specialist; implement automated tax tooling where possible to handle multi-jurisdictional sourcing and reporting. 3) Data privacy and breach notification (RCW 19.255) - Washington’s statute on personal information and notice of security breaches (Chapter 19.255 RCW) sets obligations for businesses and processors regarding consumer notice following security breaches and includes definitions and liability provisions. Digital agencies that store or process client or consumer personal information should be familiar with the statute and plan incident response accordingly. - Action steps: adopt a written incident response and breach notification process; inventory personal data you hold (client/customer PII or sensitive data); implement encryption and access controls; prepare breach notice templates and a timeline for required notifications; review vendor/processor liability and contract indemnities. 4) Digital accessibility (WCAG expectations and WaTech policy) - Washington state’s WaTech digital accessibility policy (USER-01) requires state agencies to meet WCAG standards (WCAG 2.1 AA at minimum, with state policy preparing for DOJ accessibility rules). While the state policy applies directly to state agencies, private-sector digital agencies providing services to WA state or receiving state contracts should anticipate accessibility requirements and adopt WCAG best practices. Making products accessible reduces risk and increases marketability. - Action steps: adopt WCAG 2.1 AA (or higher) accessibility standards in site/app development; include accessibility acceptance criteria in contracts; provide accessible deliverables (alt text, keyboard navigation, ARIA roles where needed); test with automated tools and manual auditing; document accessibility remediation plans and assign an accessibility coordinator for larger engagements. 5) Consumer protection, advertising, and federal rules - The Washington Attorney General’s Consumer Protection office enforces consumer protection laws; agencies should follow truthful advertising and disclosure rules and expect AG enforcement/complaints if practices are deceptive. At the federal level, FTC requirements (advertising substantiation and endorsements, CAN-SPAM for commercial email, and TCPA rules for telemarketing/automated calls) apply to marketing operations. - Action steps: ensure advertising claims are substantiated and not deceptive; maintain consent records for lists and communications; comply with CAN-SPAM (unsubscribe handling, sender identification) and TCPA (prior express written consent for certain autodialed calls/texts). For influencer or native advertising, ensure clear disclosures. 6) Employer obligations (high-level recommendations) - Washington employers must comply with state employment obligations: workers’ compensation (L&I), unemployment insurance contributions, Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) administration through ESD, state minimum wage and sick leave, and correct classification of independent contractors. Digital agencies that hire employees or classify contractors should review WA-specific rules and contribution requirements. - Action steps: confirm worker classification policies; register for L&I and ESD accounts as employer if hiring; set up PFML and payroll withholding per ESD guidance; purchase workers' comp insurance where required; keep payroll records and required posters in place. 7) Local business licenses and city requirements (example: Seattle) - Cities may require local business licenses (e.g., Seattle business license/registration). Confirm local registration and permit requirements for cities where you have a physical location, employees, or meaningful business activity. - Action steps: check city business licensing (Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, etc.); obtain local permits and renewal reminders. Practical compliance checklist for Washington digital agencies (immediate priorities) - Register and maintain entity filings with the WA Secretary of State; set calendar reminders for annual reports and agent updates. (SOS filing resources) - Register with WA Department of Revenue: obtain business tax account and sales tax permit; analyze services for ESSB 5814 taxability; update invoicing and accounting systems to collect/remit sales tax and B&O reporting. (DOR & ESSB 5814 guidance) - Conduct privacy/data mapping and implement breach response templates to comply with RCW 19.255. - Adopt WCAG accessibility baseline for client deliverables and include accessibility language in statements of work. - Review employment and contractor practices; register for ESD and L&I accounts if employing staff; put PFML processes in place. - Ensure advertising and marketing practices comply with WA AG consumer protection norms and federal FTC/CAN-SPAM/TCPA rules. - Update client contracts and terms of service: allocate tax responsibilities, state scope and acceptance criteria, accessibility requirements, data handling and breach notification responsibilities, IP and license terms, and vendor/processor indemnities. Recommended contract clauses (short examples) - Tax clause: "To the extent any services provided hereunder are subject to Washington state sales or use tax (including taxes imposed under ESSB 5814 effective October 1, 2025), Client shall reimburse Agency for any such taxes or the parties shall mutually agree to revise pricing." - Accessibility clause: "Agency will deliver work that conforms to WCAG 2.1 AA standards where feasible and will provide remediation estimates for legacy content. Client acceptance testing will include an accessibility review." - Data breach clause: "Agency shall notify Client within 72 hours of discovering a security incident affecting Client personal data and cooperate in breach notification as required by applicable law (including RCW 19.255)." - Contract alteration/tax change clause: "If changes to law (including tax law) materially affect the cost or performance of the services, the parties will negotiate in good faith to reasonably allocate new tax burdens or amend pricing." Resources and next steps (primary links to read and bookmark) - WA Secretary of State — Corporations & Charities (register LLCs, annual reports, filings): https://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/ - WA Department of Revenue — business & tax topics and service tax guidance (DOR home and interim guidance on ESSB 5814): https://dor.wa.gov/ and DOR interim guidance pages referenced in the DOR materials - Washington RCW Chapter 19.255 — Personal information — Notice of security breaches: https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=19.255 - WaTech digital accessibility policy and guidance (WCAG expectations and state policy): https://watech.wa.gov/accessibility - Washington Attorney General — Consumer Protection resources and complaint filings: https://www.atg.wa.gov/consumer-protection - Practical analysis and summaries of ESSB 5814 and Washington digital/advertising tax (useful practitioner write-ups): Avalara blog summary of ESSB 5814 and tax implications: https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america/2025/07/washington-digital-ad-tech-tax.html If you want, I can now: - Draft the full blog post (800–1,400 words) tailored to US business owners and LLC founders in Washington, optimized for the provided slug, meta description, keywords and tags; and include a short newsletter summary and subject line content (draft email) based on the 'default' template. - Or I can produce a shorter actionable checklist + downloadable resources and sample contract clause pack tailored for digital agencies. Tell me which deliverable you'd like next (full blog post + newsletter content, or a shorter checklist + contract clauses), and I will generate the content using the research above and the exact SEO/meta inputs you provided.