Finding all the links you need to get your paperwork can be a pain and sometimes a little intimidating. Here are some things to keep in mind when filling out the form.
Forming an LLC in Washington State: Filling out the Form
1. Make sure the name you want is available.
Use the Washington Secretary of State’s corporations search form at:
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/
Enter the name you want to use in the search box. You can’t use a name that is similar to another existing LLC’s name.
2. Download the Application to Form an LLC from the Washington Secretary of State’s Forms web site, and then print it.
Link to PDF:
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/forms/llc.pdf
Link to online form from the Secretary of State’s web site: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/eforms_notice.aspx
3. Provide your name and phone number to the Secretary of State’s office.
At the top of the application form, you can see boxes to enter your name and telephone number. The box you enter your name in is labeled, “Important – Person to Contract About This Filing.” The box you enter your telephone number in is labeled, “Day Phone Number (With Area Code)”. The state may call you about your application, and you want to be easily reached by them in case there’s a question or two about your application.
4. Identify the name you want to use for your new LLC.
Enter your business or investment name into box labeled, “Name of Limited Liability Company (LLC)…” As this box’s label indicates, the name must include one of the phrases or acronyms, “Limited Liability Company,” “Limited Liability Co.,” “LLC,” or “L.L.C.” For example, all of the following names should be acceptable:
- Acme Baking Limited Liability Company
- Acme Baking Limited Liability Co.
- Acme Baking LLC
- Acme Baking L.L.C.
5. Give the LLC’s Street Address
In the area, beneath the Name of Limited Liability Company (LLC) box, enter the street address and, if appropriate, the mailing address of the LLC.
6. Specify the Effective Formation Date.
Use the Effective Date of the LLC box to specify whether the LLC should be formed on some future date or when the Secretary of State files the LLC application. Usually, you just want to form the LLC as soon as possible and so mark the Upon Filing by the Secretary of State box.
7. Indicate how your LLC will be managed.
LLCs can be managed either by all of their members, or owners. Or they can be managed by only one or some of their members, who are in this case called managers or manager members.
To indicate how your LLC will be managed, mark the appropriate checkbox in box labeled “Management of LLC is Vested in One or More Members: Yes or No.”
Note:
- If you have multiple members or managers, you’ll absolutely want to have an attorney draft an operating agreement. This operating agreement should describe who the manager is or who the managers are if you’re setting up a manager-managed LLC.
- If you’re a single member LLC, you should probably also have an operating agreement because having an operating agreement and honoring its terms improves your liability protection. You can find simple free operating agreements on the web by googling.
8. Identify the Registered Agent.
Washington State needs the name and contact information for a real person within the state of Washington that the state can contact if it has questions or concerns about an LLC’s operation. You can pay someone else to be this registered agent, but it’s really easiest and cheapest to just be your own registered agent.
Accordingly, enter your name and address information into boxes labeled “Name and Address of Washington State Registered Agent.” Then sign on the line labeled “Signature of Agent.”
9. Identify the People Forming the LLC
Washington state also wants to know the names and contact information for the person or people organizing the LLC. To provide this information, enter the names and addresses of the organizer or organizers into the boxes labeled, “Names Addresses of Each Person Existing This Certificate.”
10. Mail it in!
After you complete the Application to Form a Limited Liability Company, mail the completed form and a check for $175 to:
Corporations Division
801 Capital Way South
P.O. Box 40234
Olympia WA 98504-0234
Processing lead times vary, but in general, it takes several weeks to get your LLC certificate back from the Secretary of State’s office.
Christine Haskell
