How to Reinstate a Washington LLC
The short answer. If your Washington LLC has been administratively dissolved, you restore it by filing an application for reinstatement with the Washington Secretary of State, Corporations and Charities Division. Washington allows reinstatement for up to 5 years after the LLC is administratively dissolved. The reinstatement fee is $140.
Washington LLC Reinstatement at a Glance
| What Washington calls the status | Administratively dissolved |
| What you file | Application for Reinstatement |
| Filed with | Washington Secretary of State, Corporations and Charities Division |
| How to file | Not confirmed |
| Reinstatement fee | $140 |
| Time limit to reinstate | 5 years |
| Tax clearance | Not confirmed |
| Retroactive | Yes (see What reinstatement does) |
Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 30, 2026. See the sources.
Why Washington Would Dissolve an LLC
The Secretary of State may dissolve an LLC that does not pay a fee, interest or penalty owed to the Secretary of State when due, does not deliver its annual report within 120 days after it is due, or goes 30 consecutive days without a registered agent in Washington. An LLC whose stated period of duration has expired may also be dissolved.
The LLC has 60 days to fix the problem before it can be administratively dissolved. The 60 days are counted after the Secretary of State serves the LLC with notice of its determination that a ground for dissolution exists.
How Long You Have to Reinstate
Washington allows reinstatement for up to 5 years after the LLC is administratively dissolved.
How to File
You file an application for reinstatement with the Washington Secretary of State, Corporations and Charities Division. Go to Washington's filing page.
What It Costs
The reinstatement fee is $140.
The LLC must pay every annual license or renewal fee that would have been assessed while it was dissolved, plus the fee for the year of reinstatement. The application must also name a registered agent and state that each ground for dissolution did not exist or has been cured.
We have not confirmed whether Washington requires a tax clearance to reinstate; check with the Washington Secretary of State, Corporations and Charities Division.
Registered Agent Options
If your LLC's registered agent has changed, resigned or lapsed, ask the filing office named above whether Washingtonwants that updated as part of reinstatement. You do not have to buy a service for it: in most states the LLC's owner, or another individual who qualifies, may serve as its registered agent themselves, generally subject to that state's rules on keeping a street address in the state and being available there during normal business hours. A paid service is one option and not the only one. The Washington registered agent requirements set out what Washington itself asks.
Registered agent services for Washington LLCs
Affiliate disclosure: Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom pay us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. We list only the registered agent services we have an affiliate relationship with, so this is not a survey of the whole market.
This list is not scored. The four are listed cheapest annual renewal first, and every claim below is about the services listed here rather than the whole market.
- Northwest Registered Agent$125/yr renewal
Best for: Privacy-focused owners and anyone who just needs an agent, not a formation bundle
- Bizee$149/yr renewal
Best for: A free first year on every plan, renewing at $149/yr, if you're comfortable with the BBB caveat
- ZenBusiness$199/yr renewal
Best for: First-time founders forming a new LLC who want phone, email and chat support
- LegalZoom$249/yr renewal
Best for: Complex structures that want attorney consultations, which come with LegalZoom's Pro and Premium formation plans rather than this renewal price
Note: Bizee holds a C rating from the BBB and is not accredited. BBB's profile carries a live alert describing a pattern of complaints about unexpected charges, difficulty canceling and filing delays, and Bizee has posted a response to it. We flag this so you can make an informed choice.
Annual renewal is each provider's own standard published rate. Check the current terms at each provider before you buy. The scored ranking, and the formula behind it, is in our full formation services review →
What Reinstatement Does
Under Washington's law, a reinstated LLC continues as if it had never been administratively dissolved. The rights of a person arising from something done or not done in reliance on the dissolution, before the person knew or had reason to know of the reinstatement, are not affected.
If another business has taken the LLC's name in the meantime, the LLC needs a name that is still available to reinstate.
Worth Knowing in Washington
While dissolved, the LLC continues to exist but may only wind up its affairs, liquidate its assets or apply for reinstatement. Dissolution does not end its registered agent's authority.
More for Washington LLCs
- Washington LLC annual report, to keep the LLC in good standing once it is reinstated.
- Washington annual report late fee, for what a late report costs before it comes to dissolution.
- Washington certificate of good standing, to prove the LLC is active again.
- How to dissolve an LLC in Washington, if you would rather close the LLC properly than reinstate it.
- Annual report deadline finder, to see when the next report is due.
Frequently Asked Questions
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's law and filing office say about bringing back an LLC the state has dissolved, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you where your own LLC stands: that turns on why and when it was dissolved, what it still owes, and whether anyone has since taken its name, and fees and deadlines change between our reviews. Confirm your LLC's status and the current requirements with the filing office or tax agency named on this page, and ask a lawyer about anything the LLC did while it was dissolved. In many states a missed deadline ends the right to reinstate, so do not wait.
Sources
Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Washington sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=23.95.605RCW 23.95.605, Grounds
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=23.95.610RCW 23.95.610, Procedure and effect
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=23.95.615RCW 23.95.615, Reinstatement
- app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=434-112-085WAC 434-112-085, Fees and penalties
- sos.wa.gov/corporations-charities/frequently-asked-questions-faqs/fee-schedules-priority-servicesWashington Secretary of State, Fee Schedules and Priority Services
- sos.wa.gov/corporations-charities/business-entities/online-filing-instructions/reinstate-llc-pllc-profit-or-professional-service-corporation-onlineWashington Secretary of State, Reinstate a LLC, PLLC, Profit or Professional Service Corporation Online
- sos.wa.gov/corporations-charities/business-entities/return-business-active-statusWashington Secretary of State, Return a Business to Active Status
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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC
Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.