Consumer Alert!
The Washington Office of the Attorney General filed a consumer protection lawsuit regarding deceptive solicitation, additional details can be found here.Â
Our office is aware of third-party solicitations that circulate to new and existing registered businesses. It is not a requirement for businesses to use a third-party service for submitting filings to our office.
These solicitations take multiple forms:
- Registrar Agency of Corporations — Business Registration Renewal
 - WA Certificate Service — Certificate of Existence Request Form
This request does not come from our office. A certificate of existence can be ordered online from the Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS) for $20 and the request takes only a few minutes to fill out. A certificate is not required unless it is needed in the course of business.
 - Business Compliance Services — Annual Report Compliance
 - FileWashington.com — Your Annual Report
 - annual.efilebusiness.com/UBI number - Text solicitation
None of these solicitations to file an annual report come from our office. An annual report is required to be filed each year by the end of the anniversary month, and can be easily filed in our Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS) by selecting express annual report, or by logging in to your CCFS customer profile. The fee is only $60 for for-profit businesses.
The Office of the Secretary of State will send notices directly to registered businesses. An email notice will come 60 days prior to expiration; a paper notice sent via U.S. mail, is sent 45-60 days prior to expiration if electronic notification is not selected. This office does not currently send text messages.
Don’t be fooled by misleading solicitations, and be aware of whom you are doing business with. Here are some useful tips to Prevent and Detect Business Identity Theft.
The examples shown below DO NOT come from the Office of the Secretary of State:
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