Washington Registered Agent Service
The Fairest Price in WA
You may have noticed when you considered forming a Washington LLC or Washington corporation that you are required to appoint this thing called a Washington Registered Agent.
Wait. What is a Washington registered agent?
Don’t worry. If you’re a little confused, that’s normal. A Washington registered agent is simply an individual or business that you designate to accept service of process (notice of a lawsuit) on behalf of your business. A Washington registered agent maintains a physical address in the state where a process server can deliver official documents during regular business hours.
Basically, if your business gets sued, the State of Washington wants to make sure the court can reliably contact you. The law requires that you are properly notified.
$59 Per Year: A Fair Price for WA Registered Agent
Let’s be honest. You need a Washington registered agent. It’s the law. What you don’t need are ridiculous fees (or worse…hidden fees that kick in after you signed up). You don’t need a registered agent who charges you an annual fee and a per item fee for every piece of mail they accept on your behalf. You don’t need a Washington registered agent who charges you an “introduction price” only to jack up that price next year.
We charge one price for our registered agent service: $59 a year.
That’s it. It’s a fair price (at least we think so). Go ahead. Shop around. We think you’ll agree.
Our fees are low because we keep overhead down and operate with a small but efficient staff. We now own our Spokane, WA office building so we don’t have to worry about rent hikes and can offer consistently low rates.
Our business model is simple: excellent customer service leads to repeat business. If you stay with us year after year, then we do well. If we don’t meet your needs, you go somewhere else, and our business suffers.
That’s our price in a nutshell.
What You Get For $59:
- Total compliance monitoring year round
- Business domain, free for a year
- Business website, email and SSL, each free for 90 days
- Business phone service with a local WA number, free for 90 days
- Keep your private information off the public record
- Dependable Annual License Renewal reminders
- Fast and reliable business document forwarding
- Online account with digital document storage
- No hidden fees
- No additional fees for Secretary of State notices or legal Service of Process
- 3 free courtesy scans of other business mail
- Unlimited client support for your business. We know Washington business and we want to see yours succeed.
We Believe in Privacy
Some people don’t mind if their personal information is in the public record for everybody to see.
We mind.
Which is why we advocate for Washington business privacy. This is a very modern state with easy-to-use digital filings for all kinds of business. Unfortunately, that makes it that much easier for people to find your private information.
When you form a business in Washington, your information will be accessible through these different agencies:
- Washington Secretary of State
- Washington Department of Revenue
- Washington Department of Licensing
- Washington District Courts
As your Washington registered agent, we help keep your private information out of public records. We offer two unique options to help you accomplish just that. And, when you combine them—their super powers become even stronger!
Option 1: The Woodsman Private Washington LLC Package ($729)
- Built in Washington registered agent service
- Two Private LLCs
- Operating agreements and internal documents for both LLCs
- Automatic initial report filing
- Annual Renewal service
- Website, SSL certificate, email, and phone service free for 90 days
- Domain name free for one year
Option 2: Evergreen Mail Forwarding (Starting at $49 per year)
- Choice between 10 or 25 scans per year (or go unlimited with our full Virtual Office)
- Unique WA business address and suite number
- Personal online account with 24/7 access
- Address consistency. We own our building so we aren’t going anywhere and neither is your business address.
Get maximum privacy and an instant online presence!
When you order any of our business formation services, you get all the tools to create your online presence in minutes: a domain name, open-source website, and email. Plus, you also get our phone service, which includes a virtual phone number with your choice of area code and a full suite of features. All of this will separate your business and personal communications while helping you brand your company and look more professional to customers.
Why Do I Need a Washington Registered Agent?
Well, first of all it’s the law. You can’t form a Washington LLC or Washington corporation without one.
But it’s not just about checking off a box on your formation paperwork.
When you appoint a Washington registered agent, they are the primary monitors of your compliance with state law. If you hire Washington Commercial Registered Agent LLC, we track your compliance deadlines to ensure that your business stays in good standing (if you don’t, the state will pull your authority to do business).
We accept service of process (notice of a lawsuit), but also official notifications from the state (such as tax notices), and other business mail. All of these documents are accepted and uploaded into a digital account for you to access.
Local Washington Registered Agent or National Corporation?
Choices, choices. When it comes to hiring a Washington registered agent, you really have two options: a local agency like ours, or a conglomerate national corporation.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with a big corporation. You’ll likely pay a lot more (because they have more employees and overhead and they are the Big Kid on the Block), and you’ll get treated like a number (because when you have a million clients how can you possibly treat them all like real people?), but there’s nothing wrong with being huge.
But let us make a case for why you should go local:
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We Know Washington Business
We don’t know New York business. We don’t know Florida business. California? Nope. Texas? Sorry. But we do know Washington. In the Evergreen State, we know everything there is to know about corporate filings, business licensing, UBIs, municipality permits, MBLs, entity taxes, Annual Renewals, and business compliance. Washington compliance is complicated. We help steer you through.
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We Are Dedicated
Truth is, we have to be. We succeed when we can help you maintain your business and stick with us. It’s that simple. We build relationships with all of our customers because for us, and that’s a win-win.
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We Are Business Privacy Experts
One of the advantages of all this Washington business knowledge is that we understand all the ways your private information ends up in the public record. Many of our clients are bombarded by telemarketers, hounded by advertisers, and understandably concerned about identity theft. We have made it a priority to help maintain your business privacy and keep your information out of the public record.
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We Are a Local, Small Business
If you’re on our site, ready to start a new business and doing research and price comparisons, chances are you are also a Washington small business. We’ve been on the same journey and it matters to us that other local small businesses succeed. We don’t just want to add another name to our endless client list. We want to partner with you, share what we’ve learned in our decade-ish of business, and see your company flourish.
Can I Appoint a Washington Registered Agent Without Consent?
No, sorry. That’s not allowed. But really, why would you want to? When you appoint a Washington registered agent, we work on your behalf. Our job is to accept service of process and official business documents for you. We keep you informed so that you can maintain good standing in the state.
If you appoint a Washington registered agent without their consent, they would never know that you’re a client. If they got service of process on your behalf, they wouldn’t sign for it because they don’t know who you are.
What are the Duties of a Washington Registered Agent?
RCW 23.95.455 lays out the duties of a Washington registered agent:
- Maintain a registered office within the State with a physical address (not a PO box)
- Keep regular business hours throughout the year
- Accept service of process and legal notices on behalf of clients
- Contact clients when documents are accepted
- Forward documents to clients in a timely manner
What is a Washington Commercial Registered Agent?
A Washington commercial registered agent is a professional registered agent service that has registered with the Secretary of State’s office. Basically, the Secretary of State wants to make a distinction between professional agencies offering Washington commercial registered agent service and smaller outfits that only offer registered agent service as a side business.
In addition, an individual may serve as a registered agent for only a few clients (a lawyer, example) but this isn’t their area of expertise. These folks aren’t offering commercial registered agent service.
We are a Washington commercial registered agent.
What If I Don’t Hire a Washington Registered Agent?
Failing to maintain a Washington registered agent is a pretty serious deal in the eyes of the Secretary of State. This is why the Secretary of State will dissolve your LLC or corporation if you fail to maintain a registered agent for more than 30 consecutive days.
It’s important not to let your registered agent status lapse. If your company is administratively dissolved, you will have to file new paperwork with the State and pay new fees and fines to get your business up and running again.
What If My Washington Registered Agent Resigns?
This can happen. Sometimes a Washington registered agent goes out of business and must resign. If this has happened to your business, it is important that you find a new Washington registered agent as soon as possible. You have 30 days to do so. If you do not have a new agent and file the proper paperwork with the Secretary of State within 30 days, your company will be administratively dissolved.
How Do I Change My Washington Registered Agent?
You can change a Washington registered agent at any time by filing a Statement of Change for Registered Agent/Office with the Secretary of State. There is no filing fee, and the document can be submitted either online or through the mail.