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Promote:Washington

Invest in Washington

A short guide for companies expanding into Washington: the economy at a glance, the rules and steps to set up, and who can help, each with its source.

1. Washington at a glance

Currency and inflation: see the United States at a glance

2. Before you set up

The body that handles foreign investment, any one-stop route, Washington’s limits on foreign ownership, the zones and other rules for investors, as the guide found them.

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Investment rules across the United States: see Invest in the United States

3. Steps to set up

The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.

Setting up in Washington

  1. Register a foreign corporation with the Washington Secretary of State before it transacts business in the state.Washington Secretary of StateOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Revised Code of Washington 23B.15.010⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 4, 2026

  2. Apply for a state business license and a unified business identifier through the Department of Revenue's Business Licensing Service, which also registers you for state taxes.Washington State Department of RevenueOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Revenue Department, apply for a business license⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 4, 2026

  3. Add the industrial insurance endorsement to the business license application before you hire, because workers' compensation runs through the state.Washington State Department of Labor & IndustriesOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Revenue Department, industrial insurance endorsement⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 4, 2026

  4. Register as an employer with the Employment Security Department and obtain an employment security account number before you pay wages.Washington Employment Security DepartmentOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Revised Code of Washington 50.12.070⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 4, 2026

Show 2 more set-up steps
  1. Report and pay the business and occupation tax on the excise tax return in the My DOR system, under the classification that matches each activity.Washington State Department of RevenueOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Revenue Department, business and occupation tax⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 4, 2026

  2. Check the Department of Revenue's tax incentive programs against your project, and ask the Department of Commerce for incentive analysis.Washington State Department of RevenueOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Revenue Department, tax incentives page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of November 4, 2026

Steps that apply across the United States: see Invest in the United States

4. Organizations that help investors

Start with Commerce Department and Revenue Department. Each card links to the organization’s own site.

Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets

Investment and business setup

Customs and tax

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Chambers and industry associations

5. Worth knowing

Across the United States: see Worth knowing in Invest in the United States

6. How Promote:Global helps

  • Compare the United States with other countriesSet the United States beside other countries on investment momentum, fundamentals and trade access, before site, tax and legal work.
  • Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
  • Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.

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Promote:Washington is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.

Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of November 4, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.