Do I need a sales tax permit in Washington?

Anyone who sells a product or service that requires collecting Washington sales tax must register with the Department of Revenue before doing business, even if its income is under the $12,000 a year threshold that exempts some other businesses from registering. Washington calls the registration a Washington tax registration endorsement. For a seller outside Washington, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales in the current or previous calendar year. Washington's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

Sales tax permit · Washington

How to Get a Washington Tax Registration Endorsement

The short answer. In Washington, the registration a business must hold before it makes sales subject to Washington sales tax is a Washington tax registration endorsement, issued by the Washington State Department of Revenue.

Washington Tax Registration Endorsement at a Glance

What Washington calls it	Washington Tax Registration Endorsement
Issued by	Washington State Department of Revenue
How to apply	Online or paper
Fee	Varies (see Cost)
Security deposit or bond	Not confirmed
Expires	Does not expire (see Renewal)
Several locations	One for each location (see Locations)
Local sales tax	Depends (see Local taxes)
Threshold for sellers outside the state	$100,000 in sales

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 29, 2026. See the sources.

Who Needs a Washington Tax Registration Endorsement

Anyone who sells a product or service that requires collecting Washington sales tax must register with the Department of Revenue before doing business, even if its income is under the $12,000 a year threshold that exempts some other businesses from registering.

For a seller outside Washington, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales in the current or previous calendar year. Washington's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

How to Apply

You apply to the Washington State Department of Revenue. You can apply online or on a paper application. Go to Washington's registration page.

Washington requires your registration to be displayed at the place of business.

What It Costs

The Department charges no separate fee for the tax registration itself. A new business pays a $50 Business License Application processing fee to open its first location, plus any city, state or trade name endorsement fees it applies for at the same time.

We have not confirmed whether Washington can require security, such as a deposit or bond; check with the Washington State Department of Revenue.

Does It Expire?

The tax registration endorsement does not expire. The business license it is printed on must be renewed every year, for a $5 processing fee plus endorsement fees, if the license also carries city or state endorsements.

More Than One Location

A business needs a separate tax registration endorsement for each place of business in Washington. All of the licenses can carry the same tax account number and be reported on one return, and adding a location carries no processing fee.

Local Sales Taxes in Washington

Local sales and use taxes are collected by the Washington Department of Revenue with the state tax. Many cities also require their own business license (an endorsement), which you can add to your state application for the cities the Business Licensing Service lists and must get from the city directly for any other.

More for Washington Businesses

Washington resale certificate, for buying inventory for resale.
Sales tax nexus checker, to see which other states your sales may require you to register in.
Washington LLC guide, for forming and running an LLC in the state.
LLC guide for eBay sellers in Washington, for selling only through a marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Anyone who sells a product or service that requires collecting Washington sales tax must register with the Department of Revenue before doing business, even if its income is under the $12,000 a year threshold that exempts some other businesses from registering. Washington calls the registration a Washington tax registration endorsement. For a seller outside Washington, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales in the current or previous calendar year. Washington's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.
: The Department charges no separate fee for the tax registration itself. A new business pays a $50 Business License Application processing fee to open its first location, plus any city, state or trade name endorsement fees it applies for at the same time. We have not confirmed whether Washington can require security, such as a deposit or bond; check with the Washington State Department of Revenue.
: The tax registration endorsement does not expire. The business license it is printed on must be renewed every year, for a $5 processing fee plus endorsement fees, if the license also carries city or state endorsements.
: A business needs a separate tax registration endorsement for each place of business in Washington. All of the licenses can carry the same tax account number and be reported on one return, and adding a location carries no processing fee.
: Local sales and use taxes are collected by the Washington Department of Revenue with the state tax. Many cities also require their own business license (an endorsement), which you can add to your state application for the cities the Business Licensing Service lists and must get from the city directly for any other.

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 tax agency say about the registration a business holds before it makes taxable sales, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you whether your own business must register: that turns on what you sell, where you sell it from, and how much you sell into the state, and fees, security rules and thresholds change between our reviews. Confirm your own position with the tax agency named on this page before you start selling.

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=82.32.030RCW 82.32.030, Registration certificates, threshold levels
app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=458-20-101WAC 458-20-101, Tax registration and tax reporting
app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=82.08.052RCW 82.08.052, Remote seller, nexus
app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=82.04.067RCW 82.04.067, Substantial nexus
dor.wa.gov/education/industry-guides/out-state-businesses-reporting-thresholds-and-nexusDOR, Out of state businesses reporting thresholds and nexus (updated April 2020)
dor.wa.gov/open-business/apply-business-licenseDOR, Apply for a business license
dor.wa.gov/open-business/apply-business-license/variable-business-license-processing-feesDOR, Variable business license processing fees
dor.wa.gov/open-business/business-licensing-and-renewals-faqsDOR, Business licensing and renewals FAQs
app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=82.14.050RCW 82.14.050, Local sales and use tax, administration and collection
dor.wa.gov/manage-business/city-endorsementsDOR, City endorsements

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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.