Register a Foreign (Non-WA) Profit Corporation Online

Foreign Registration Statement of a Profit Corporation: Online Instructions

Purpose: A Foreign Registration Statement is used by business entity types, whose home state is a different state or country for the purpose of registering to do business in Washington State. Home state refers to the place where the business’s creation documents were filed.

Filing Fee: $180 in addition to an online processing fee.

Expedited Service: You may add expedited priority for an additional $100 at checkout, which is generally processed within three working days.

Select each section dropdown below for instruction and important information.

Unified Business Identifier (UBI)

If the business has previously registered with a Washington state agency (e.g., Department of Revenue, Labor & Industries, or Employment Security), it may already have a 9-digit UBI number.

• Select “Yes” to enter an existing UBI (do not use a UBI from a Sole Proprietorship or General Partnership).
• If the business does not have a UBI, select “No” to continue. A UBI will be assigned upon successful filing.

Business Name

If you have a reserved name and a Name Reservation Number, select “Yes,” enter the number, and click “Get Name.” The reserved name will populate automatically. Then, select the appropriate business entity designation.

If you don’t have a reservation, enter the name as it appears on the Certificate of Existence/Good Standing from the home jurisdiction. and click “Look Up” to check availability.

• If the name is not available, enter a "Doing Business As" name below for use for business in Washington State.
• If the name is available, you may proceed to the next step and skip the "Doing Business as" section.

Note: Name availability is subject to final review by the Secretary of State. The system does not account for pending submissions.

In accordance with RCW 23.95.305, a Profit Corporation name must contain the words “Corporation”, “Incorporated”, “Company”, “Limited” or the abbreviation “Corp.”, “Inc.”, “Co.” or “Ltd”.

Must not contain any of the following words or phrases: “Bank”, “banking”, “banker”, “trust”, “cooperative”, or any combination of the words: “industrial” and “loan”, or any combination of any two or more of the words: “building”, “savings”, “loan”, “home”, “association”, and “society”, or any abbreviation thereof.

The name must be distinguishable upon the records of the Secretary of State from any other business already registered with the Secretary of State.

Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction is the home state or country under whose law the organic documents are filed.

• Select the correct Country and State from the dropdown lists.

Doing Business as (DBA) Name

If the name of the business is not available in Washington or the designation does not meet statutory requirements, choose an alternate name (DBA) to use in Washington.

Principal Office

This is the location where the business keeps its records.

• Email: Enter and confirm the email address (required). ACP Participants: Only check the ACP box if you are enrolled in the Address Confidentiality Program and can provide your participant number. More information about the ACP program.
  • If you have trouble entering your address, uncheck the ACP box and try again.
• Street Address: Must be a physical address (no PO Boxes or PMBs). It does not need to be in Washington State. and mailing address (optional).
• Phone number (optional).

Registered Agent Consent

Select the appropriate statement regarding your business' Registered Agent.

• This section defaults to "I am not the Registered Agent..." review the statement associated with this selection and confirm before proceeding.
• Select "I am the Registered Agent..." to allow the system to use your contact information.

Registered Agent

All businesses must designate a Registered Agent in Washington State, as required by RCW 23.95.415. The agent must consent to serve, and by selecting a consent option, the submitter affirms the listed statements.

Select Agent Type

Choose either a Commercial or Noncommercial Registered Agent.

Commercial Registered Agent: A business or individual registered with the Secretary of State to receive legal documents on behalf of entities.

• Use the search tool, select the agent from the results, and click “Select Agent.”

Noncommercial Registered Agent: A business or individual who agrees to receive legal documents but is not registered as a commercial agent.

• Click “Add New Agent” (even if search results appear) to ensure accurate entry.
• Enter and confirm the agent’s email address 
• Provide a physical street address in Washington State (no PO Boxes or PMBs) and mailing address (optional).
• Phone number (optional).

Governors

This section is not required if submitting without the initial report.

List the individuals or entities responsible for governing the business.

• ​ Do not include individual names in the business entity name.
• To add a governor, select the type (individual or entity), enter the name, and click “Add Governor.”
  • Added governors will appear in the list below the entry fields.

Date of Formation in Home Jurisdiction

Enter the date of formation as recorded in the home jurisdiction.

• This information should be on the Certificate of Existence/Good Standing or document of similar import from the home jurisdiction.

Period of Duration in Home Jurisdiction

Enter the business’s period of duration as it is recorded in the home jurisdiction.

• Only one option may be selected.​​​​

Nature of Business

This section is not required if submitting without the initial report.

Provide the nature of business of the business entity.

• Standard selections are available in the drop-down list
  and/or
• Check “other” to unlock the text box and enter a brief description of the nature of business.

Date began Doing Business in Washington

Select the date the business began or will begin doing business in Washington State

Certificate of Existence

The Certificate of Existence MUST be dated within 60 days of this submission date to be considered acceptable for your Foreign Registration Statement filing record.

• Select "Yes" to the required question, "Do you have a prepared Certificate of Existence..." and upload the official document provided by our home jurisdiction.

Effective Date

Choose when the filing should take effect:

• Date of Filing: The filing becomes effective on the date it is processed by our office.
  or a
• Future Date: You may select a future effective date, up to 90 days from the filing date.

Return Address for this Filing

If entered, confirmation for this filing will be sent to this address in addition to the Registered Agent’s address.

Upload additional documents

Use this section to upload any required supporting documents.

We do not any other documents from your home jurisdiction, do not upload meeting minutes, ownership details, operating agreements, bylaws, or other internal governance documents, these uploads will be removed before the filing is completed.

Email Opt-In

Select the checkbox if the business entity elects to opt-in to email notifications from our office. All notifications will be sent to the email address on record.

Authorized Person

Provide the first and last name of the authorized person submitting the filing. Then select the checkbox next to “This document is hereby executed under penalty of law and is to the best of my knowledge, true and correct.”