How to search and claim an LLC name in Washington
- Search Washington's official entity records at no cost, leaving “LLC” off the name.
- Make sure the name ends with one of Washington's accepted endings, such as “Limited Liability Company” or “Limited Liability Co.”
- Hold the name with a $30 reservation for 180 days (not renewable) if you need time before filing.
- File the Certificate of Formation with the Washington Secretary of State for $200 online ($180 by mail).
- Note the recurring report so the LLC stays in good standing: $70 each year (due by the end of the month the LLC was formed).
What a Washington LLC name must include
Washington accepts these endings for a limited liability company:
- Limited Liability Company
- Limited Liability Co.
- L.L.C.
- LLC
Washington bars other entity labels from an LLC's name: cooperative, partnership, corporation and incorporated, and abbreviations like Corp., Inc., LP, LLP and LLLP (RCW 23.95.305(5)). The filing instructions add bank, banking, banker and trust, “industrial” combined with “loan”, and pairs drawn from building, savings, loan, home, association and society. LLCs can't do banking or insurance. The accepted endings include “limited liability company”, “limited liability co.”, “L.L.C.” and “LLC”.
How Washington decides two names are the same
Your LLC's name has to be distinguishable from every non-dissolved Washington entity of any type, every foreign entity registered there and every reserved or registered name (RCW 23.95.300). Washington lists what won't do it: changing the entity words, adding or dropping “the” or “and”, punctuation, capitalization, symbols, an abbreviation or a plural. The holder's consent with an undertaking to rename, a certified court judgment, or a merger or reorganization can still clear a conflict. Trade names don't enter the comparison.
Where the rules are written. RCW 23.95.300 (permitted names / distinguishability); RCW 23.95.305 (required words by entity type); RCW 23.95.310 (reservation); RCW 23.95.315 (foreign name registration); WAC 434-112-028 (name reservation procedure).
Searching for an LLC name in Washington
The Corporation Search is free and searches by name or UBI number. Enter names in the singular, as the Secretary of State advises, and note that records of entities inactive for over ten years now sit in the state's Digital Archives rather than the online system.
Open the official Washington entity search
Leave the ending off when you search, so every version of the name shows up, then compare each result word by word. If one matches apart from spacing, punctuation or a plural, change a real word in your name.
Holding the name: Washington LLC name reservation
Washington holds a reserved LLC name for 180 days for $30. You can't renew it, but you can file a fresh reservation once it expires. It's filed on paper, by mail or in person, since the LLC resource page says it isn't available online.
File a Washington name reservation
Forming the LLC in Washington
The Certificate of Formation costs $180 on paper or $200 online, including a $20 online processing fee; expedited handling, generally within three working days, adds $100. File the Initial Report with it and it's free, or later within 120 days for $10.
File the Certificate of Formation online
The annual report is due by the last day of the LLC's formation month every year, at $70 ($95 with the $25 delinquency fee); it can be filed up to 180 days early. The fee rose from $60 to $70 in October 2023. Washington's B&O tax, a gross receipts tax from the Department of Revenue, reaches most businesses (rates not researched here). No newspaper notice is needed. A Certificate of Existence is $20 as an emailed PDF.
When the LLC trades under another name
An LLC that operates under any name besides its filed one registers that trade name with the Department of Revenue's Business Licensing Service: $5 per name plus the $10 or $50 license application fee. It doesn't stop others from using the name.
Sources
- Fee schedules priority services, sos.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Limited liability company llc professional llc pllc filing resource page, sos.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Start domestic wa limited liability company llc online, sos.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Corporations charities filing system tools resources, sos.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Certificates certified copies, sos.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- app.leg.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- app.leg.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- app.leg.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- app.leg.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- app.leg.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- app.leg.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- app.leg.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- app.leg.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Register trade names, dor.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Variable business license processing fees, dor.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Apply business license, dor.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
- Business occupation tax, dor.wa.gov, checked 2026-10-07
These are the official pages behind every fact above. If one of them now says something different, it's right and this page is out of date.
Common questions
Can two LLCs in Washington have the same name?
No. Washington accepts a new LLC name only if it can be told apart from every name on its record. Adding or changing an ending such as “LLC” doesn't make a name different.
How long can I hold an LLC name in Washington?
180 days (not renewable), for $30.
Does a new Washington LLC have to publish a notice?
No. Washington has no newspaper publication requirement for LLCs.
How much is the Washington LLC filing fee?
$200 online ($180 by mail), paid when you file the Certificate of Formation.