Plate Nº 48 of 51 — WA
Washington
Washington keeps the national pattern with its own hand on the chart: the role here is called the registered agent, and the filings live with the Secretary of State — Corporations and Charities Division.
The requirement in Washington
Every LLC, corporation, and — in most cases — limited partnership or registered nonprofit formed in Washington must continuously maintain a registered agent and a registered office in Washington, from the day the formation is filed until the day the entity is dissolved. The duty also attaches to out-of-state companies that qualify to do business in Washington: foreign qualification and the appointment of a registered agent are filed together, and neither works without the other.
The registered office must be a physical street address in Washington where the agent can be found during normal business hours. It is published in the state's business record — which is why whose address it is becomes a privacy decision as much as a legal one.
Who may serve in Washington
Two kinds of agent are recognized: an individual — an adult resident of Washington with a physical address there — and a business entity authorized to do business in Washington whose office is the registered office. You, a co-owner, or an employee can serve if you meet the individual test. A commercial agent meets the entity test and sells the standing. In a growing number of states the agent must formally consent to the appointment; everywhere, an agent who has not agreed to serve is a coverage failure waiting for its first lawsuit.
Changing course in Washington
Agents are changed by filing a change of registered agent / registered office with the Secretary of State — Corporations and Charities Division — the office publishes the current form and any fee on its own schedule. The safe sequence never changes: the new appointment takes effect first, the old agent's resignation follows, and you confirm the change in the public record before you consider it done.
An agent may also resign on their own initiative. How a resignation takes effect, and how long you then have to name a successor, are set by Washington law and differ from state to state — what does not differ is that the seat cannot sit empty on paper while the company trades. Treat a resignation letter as a deadline, and file the change immediately.
Reports and the agent in Washington
Washington's annual report, filed with the Secretary of State (usually through the business licensing system), restates the registered agent every year.
Verify the agent of record
Do not take any plate's word for your own record — check it. Search your entity by name in the Secretary of State — Corporations and Charities Division's official business database and read the agent and address exactly as filed: the official entity search. If what is filed is not who would actually be standing there on a Tuesday, file the change before anything else on your list.
Plate verified against the Secretary of State — Corporations and Charities Division's published rules — October 2026.
Before you appoint anyone in Washington
- Price the renewal year, not the advertised year.
- Decide whose address goes on the public record — the DIY ledger is honest about the trade.
- Run your facts through the Navigator, set to Washington.