Washington trade name filing guide

Washington calls this filing a trade name registration, though the Department of Revenue also uses the everyday phrase "doing business as," or DBA.

The governing law is Chapter 19.80 of the Revised Code of Washington, and the filing authority is the Washington State Department of Revenue's Business Licensing Service — not the Secretary of State, and not any county clerk.

Unlike states that split assumed-name filings between state and county offices, Washington routes every entity type to the same place: sole proprietors, general partnerships, corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability companies all register trade names with the department, as RCW 19.80.010 spells out entity type by entity type.

Registration is required for anyone carrying on, conducting, or transacting business in the state under a trade name.

The department's own definition is practical: a trade name is any name used in the course of business that does not include the full legal name of all the owners, and for a corporation, LLC, or limited partnership it is any name that differs in any respect from the name registered with the Secretary of State.

Registration is a notice filing, not name protection — the department states plainly that registering a trade name does not protect the name from use by others, and a business may register an unlimited number of trade names.

Trade names in Washington are registered through the Business License Application, the same form used to license a business with the state.

The fastest route is online: the Department of Revenue instructs filers to file a Business License Application through its My DOR system, where the "doing business as" name entered on the application defaults as a trade name registered in Washington State.

Online applications take approximately 10 business days to process.

Paper filers complete the Business License Application and mail it to the Business Licensing Service, P.O. Box 9034, Olympia, WA 98507-9034; the department says mailed applications can take up to six weeks.

The fee is $5 for each trade name registered, paid on top of the non-refundable Business License Application processing fee, which varies.

One sequencing rule matters for formed entities: corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships must file with the Washington Secretary of State before completing the Business License Application, because the trade name is measured against the name on file with that office.

Before filing, the department suggests searching its business lookup and the Secretary of State's corporations data to see whether a name is already in use.

Washington trade names do not expire on a fixed term.

The Department of Revenue states that a trade name remains registered indefinitely until the owner requests cancellation, and there is no charge for canceling a trade name.

RCW 19.80.080 gives the department authority to require renewals, but any renewal process may not require renewal more often than annually and must let registrants renew the trade name at the same time as their business license.

Changes are handled by statute: under RCW 19.80.025, a notice of change must be filed when the true and real name of a person conducting the business changes or when any mailing address on the registration changes, and a notice of cancellation must be filed when use of the trade name is discontinued.

If the persons conducting business under the name change, or the wording or spelling of the trade name itself changes, the statute requires a notice of cancellation together with a brand-new registration before business continues.

The department may also cancel a trade name when the associated business license account is inactive, after giving notice and a twenty-day window to object and pay any applicable renewal fee.

Start with the free official source.

Go to the Washington Department of Revenue's "Register trade names" page and file a Business License Application online through My DOR — the DBA you enter there is automatically registered as your trade name — or download the paper application and mail it to the Business Licensing Service in Olympia.

Budget the stated $5 per trade name plus the non-refundable application processing fee.

If you run a corporation, LLC, or limited partnership, confirm your Secretary of State filing is in place first, because that registration must come before the trade name application.

Before filing, search the department's business lookup and the Secretary of State's corporations database to see whether the name is already in use.

Remember that registration does not give you exclusive rights to the name; brand protection is a separate trademark question.

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