Best LLC formation services in Washington

How do you form an LLC in Washington, step by step?

Check the name, line up a registered agent, file the Certificate of Formation with the Initial Report attached, pick a speed, then get an EIN, sign an operating agreement and look into the state's business tax.

The order below keeps the Initial Report free and puts the agent's consent in place before the filing names that agent.

1. Check the name against the Secretary of State's records. If you need to hold it while you sort out other details, a reservation costs $30 and lasts 180 days, with no renewal. Online filing isn't an option for it; in the state's words, "This filing is not available online."¹
2. Choose your registered agent. Washington's code, RCW 23.95.415, has the formation filing name a commercial registered agent or, failing that, a noncommercial agent or an office or position title, and an agent shall not be appointed without having given prior consent in a record. That rule covers a friend or relative who agrees to serve as well. Owners weighing whether to serve themselves can read the Washington registered agent guide.³
3. Prepare the Certificate of Formation. This is Washington's name for the document many states call articles of organization. A service prepares it from your answers; filing yourself, you complete it on the state's system or the PDF form.¹
4. File it. You can file online through the Corporations and Charities Filing System or send the PDF by mail, or in person.¹
5. Add the Initial Report. This report is used within 120 days of formation to record the principal office information. It is free if filed with the Certificate of Formation and costs $10 if filed later, so filing both together saves a step and a fee.¹
6. Pick a speed. Washington publishes no standard turnaround, only its paid tiers: expedited service at $100 per entity, generally within three working days, and same-day service in person at $150 per entity.²
7. Get an EIN from the IRS. The Employer Identification Number is the LLC's federal tax ID, and the IRS issues it directly; some packages include the application.
8. Sign an operating agreement. It isn't among the state filings on this page, but it records who owns the LLC and how decisions get made. Several packages include a template.
9. Look into state taxes. Washington has no franchise tax; instead, most businesses pay the business and occupation (B&O) gross receipts tax to the Department of Revenue.⁴
10. Mark the first Annual Report. It costs $70 and is due by the last day of the month in which the LLC was originally formed. Staying compliant in Washington covers what it asks for.^{2, 5}

What does a Washington LLC cost with and without a service?

The fee table lists one $180 charge for the Certificate, with no separate online or paper price, and every provider below adds its price on top of that.²

Expediting adds $100 per entity to the state's side of the bill, and the counter's same-day tier is $150 per entity. A provider's own "rush" option is a different thing from the state's expedite; of the providers here, InCorp says outright that the state's fee is charged on top of its own. The next table lists each provider's agent price and cheapest package, ordered by our score, highest first, with ties in editorial order.²

Washington LLCs file an Annual Report every year, so the table below pairs each entry package's agent terms with what the provider charges to file that report. EIN prices are in the provider paragraphs further down.

"Not listed" means the published package description doesn't mention the item. The yearly arithmetic, with renewals, is on the cheapest way to form a Washington LLC.

What does each provider's formation package include in Washington?

These paragraphs cover only formation packages, in the same order as the tables: our score, highest first, ties in editorial order (how we score). The agent services themselves are compared on registered agents in Washington.

Tailor Brands

Lite, at $0 plus state fees, is the entry tier, with processing listed as within 14 business days. Its plan list shows Lite with no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools. Essential costs $199/yr plus state fees and moves processing to within 1 business day; its list adds annual compliance (report filing and updates) and an operating agreement. For a Washington LLC that means the yearly report is handled in Essential and Elite but not in Lite. None of the tiers lists a registered agent, which Tailor Brands sells at $199/year, and it offers an EIN filing service with the price not published.^{6, 7, 29}

ZenBusiness

Starter is $0 + state fees (does not renew), with 7 to 10 days of handling that excludes Secretary of State time, so the state's own time comes after. It bundles Worry-Free Compliance free for 1 year (then $199/yr), and that free year would cover the first Washington report if the due date falls inside it. The agent is an add-on +$199/yr, the EIN is $99 one-time (included in Pro and Premium), and a Rush upgrade +$79 on Starter is ZenBusiness's own speed-up; its pages don't say whether that pays for the state's $100 per entity tier. Pro costs $199 + state fees, renews at $199/yr and includes ongoing filing compliance (state-required annual report filings and up to 2 amendments per year).^{2, 8, 30}

LegalZoom

LegalZoom's Basic tier is $0 + state filing fees and lists "Articles of organization," its generic name for what Washington calls the Certificate of Formation. These are priced separately: the EIN at $79, an operating agreement that starts at $99, the agent at $249/year (first-time registered agent customers), and a single report filing at $99 + state filing fees. Pro, at $249 + state filing fees, adds Unlimited 30-minute attorney consultations about new legal topics, with 30 days included, then $49/month auto-renew.^{9, 10, 11, 31, 32}

Bizee

Bizee's Basic package costs $0 + state fee and the agent is free for the first year with any Bizee formation package, after which the agent renews at $149/year (ongoing annual fee). On Basic, the EIN ($70) and the operating agreement (+$99) cost extra. Standard, at $199 + state fee, adds EIN, operating agreement, faster processing (~2 weeks). Premium, the top tier, at $299 + state fee, adds expedited filing (~4 business days), and Bizee doesn't say whether either faster speed covers the state's own expedite fee.^{12, 33, 34, 35}

Swyft Filings

Swyft's Basic package costs $0 + state fees and processes in 7-10 business days. Standard is on promotion at $169 + state fees and adds an operating agreement while it processes in 3 business days. The packages don't list an agent; Swyft sells it at $149 per quarter ($596/year). Every tier starts a ComplianceGuard trial, described as a 14-day free trial then auto-charged, so an owner who plans to file the Washington report alone would need to cancel before the trial ends.^{14, 15, 36}

doola

doola's Starter plan is $297/yr, a yearly charge, and includes LLC filing, EIN, US bank account guidance, US business address, registered agent. doola says it files within 1 to 2 business days, and the state's processing follows. It says it works with a non-resident without a US SSN, so founders abroad can compare it with agents for non-resident founders.^{16, 17, 37}

Northwest Registered Agent

Northwest's formation costs $39 + State Fees and bundles a free domain name, open source website, phone line, business email, business address, brand protection. Whether the agent's first year comes with an LLC order is unclear: the inclusion is stated on the corporation page, not on the LLC page. On its own the agent is $125 per year. Northwest offers a free template for the operating agreement, while the EIN costs $50 (with SSN), or $200 without SSN. Its report service is $100 + state fees, charged at filing.^{19, 20, 21, 38, 39, 40}

Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer ties formation to membership, with this pricing: First registration free with a Rocket Lawyer membership. Standard runs $149/year and Plus $249/year, each starting with a free 7-day trial, then billed yearly. The agent ($125 with a Plus or Pro membership) and the EIN ($70 with Plus or Pro membership) both need Plus or Pro, so a Standard member forming a Washington LLC would still have to find an agent. No operating agreement is listed with the formation offer.^{22, 41, 42, 43}

InCorp

InCorp prices its formation service starting at $99 plus state fees; the published description lists only "Live chat and phone support included." The agent is not part of it and is sold separately at $129 per state per year. Its EIN service costs $69. InCorp charges a $50.00 InCorp expedite fee for its own handling, with the state expedite fee extra, so a fast Washington filing through InCorp means paying both.^{24, 25, 44, 45}

Harbor Compliance

Harbor quotes formation starting at $99 plus state fees. Its page names "Name check, articles, registered agent, EIN, operating agreement" as part of the service, yet it publishes no tier breakdown. Harbor says most LLCs are prepared and filed in one business day, though the state's response time varies. Harbor offers expedited state processing in most states, with the price not published. Bought alone, Harbor's agent runs $99 first year (new customers) and then $159 annually.^{27, 46, 47}

Should you file the Washington Certificate yourself or use a service?

Filing yourself costs $180, plus $100 per entity if you want the expedited tier. A service doesn't change the state fee; it fills in the form, may supply the agent, and bundles extras.²

The state's online system takes the Certificate directly from owners. Serving as your own agent is allowed if you meet the rules in RCW 23.95.415, but your name and address then go on the formation filing, and someone has to be reachable at that address when legal papers arrive.

Watch the Initial Report. The state lets you file it free if filed with the Certificate of Formation, while a later filing costs $10. If you use a service, ask whether it files the Initial Report along with the Certificate.¹

Recurring charges are the bigger difference between the two routes. Several packages bundle a free first year of an agent or a compliance plan that renews automatically, and some packages themselves bill yearly. Washington's report is due every year at $70, so a compliance plan does have something to file here; whether it is worth paying for depends on whether you trust yourself to remember the last day of the month in which the LLC was originally formed. If the LLC has partners or investors, a lawyer can draft the operating agreement in place of a template. Terms used here are defined in the glossary, and annual reports explained covers what the yearly filing involves.^{2, 5}