A Washington certificate of good standing costs $20 for the short-form version and can be downloaded instantly through the Secretary of State’s online filing system. The Secretary of State officially calls it a Certificate of Existence, but banks, lenders, and out-of-state agencies commonly ask for it as a certificate of good standing or status certificate. It’s the same document.1Washington Secretary of State. Certificates and Certified Copies
What the Certificate Confirms
The certificate verifies three things: your entity is on file with the Secretary of State, it holds active status, and it has paid all fees and penalties owed to that office.2Washington Secretary of State. Certificate of Existence It does not confirm tax standing with the Department of Revenue, and it does not verify any professional licenses. If a lender or agency wants proof of tax compliance, that comes from Revenue as a separate document.
Fees and Versions
Washington offers two versions of the certificate plus optional expedited handling. The fees are the same for for-profit and nonprofit entities.3Washington State Legislature. WAC 434-112-085 – Fees and Penalties
- Short-form Certificate of Existence: $20. Confirms active status and paid-up fees. This is what most requests are looking for.
- Long-form Certificate of Existence: $30. Adds the entity’s full filing history and expiration date.
- Expedited processing: $100 per UBI number, added on top of the certificate fee.
Online orders are paid by credit card or ACH e-check. Mail-in orders are paid by check or money order.
Ordering Online Through CCFS
All orders go through the Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS) at ccfs.sos.wa.gov. To pull up your entity you’ll need either its Unified Business Identifier (UBI), the nine-digit number assigned at registration, or the exact legal name on file.4Washington Department of Revenue. Business Licensing and Renewals FAQs
The fastest route is the Express PDF option. The system generates the certificate automatically without staff review, and it’s available for download from your CCFS dashboard right away. The total is $20 with no additional processing fee.1Washington Secretary of State. Certificates and Certified Copies
The alternative is the standard “Certified Copies/Certificates” section of CCFS. That route adds a $20 processing fee (bringing a short-form order to $40) and takes one to three business days for email delivery. Choose it if you need a staff-certified document rather than a system-generated PDF.
One requirement to check before you file: as of January 2026, filings submitted without a valid email address on the account will be rejected.1Washington Secretary of State. Certificates and Certified Copies
Ordering by Mail
You can print the request form from the Secretary of State’s website and mail it with a check or money order to the Corporations and Charities Division in Olympia. Confirm the current mailing address on the Secretary of State’s contact page before sending. Mail processing takes longer, and there’s no instant-delivery equivalent.
When You’ll Need One
The most common trigger is expanding into another state. When you register as a foreign entity elsewhere, that state’s filing office almost always requires a good-standing certificate from your home state. Washington’s own rule is a useful reference point: an out-of-state business registering here must submit a certificate of status dated within 60 days of the application.2Washington Secretary of State. Certificate of Existence Most states apply a similar freshness window, so order the certificate right before filing rather than weeks ahead.
Beyond foreign qualification, you’ll typically be asked for one when applying for a business loan or line of credit, bidding on a government contract, closing a sale of the business, or renewing certain professional licenses. The requesting party usually specifies whether they want the short-form or long-form version.
If the System Won’t Issue Your Certificate
The Secretary of State can only issue a certificate to an entity currently active and in good standing. If your business is delinquent or administratively dissolved, CCFS won’t produce the certificate until the underlying problem is fixed. Two causes account for most cases.
Missed Annual Reports
Every entity registered in Washington must file an annual report with the Secretary of State.5Washington State Legislature. RCW 23.95.255 – Initial or Annual Report for Secretary of State It’s due by the last day of the month your business was originally formed or registered, and you can file up to 180 days ahead of that date.6Washington Secretary of State. Annual Report: Profit Business Entity – Online Instructions The fee is $70 for most for-profit entities (corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, LLPs) and ranges from $20 to $60 for nonprofits.7Washington Secretary of State. Fee Schedule/Expedited Service
Missing the deadline doesn’t immediately dissolve your business, but it does trigger a $25 delinquent fee and moves your status to a place where CCFS will no longer issue a certificate.3Washington State Legislature. WAC 434-112-085 – Fees and Penalties If the delinquency continues, the Secretary of State will eventually dissolve the entity administratively.
Lapsed Registered Agent
Washington requires every registered entity to maintain a registered agent in the state for service of process.8Washington State Legislature. RCW 23.95.405 – Entities Required to Designate and Maintain Registered Agent If your agent resigns and you don’t name a replacement, that alone can start the slide toward administrative dissolution. Updating your registered agent through CCFS is free.
Reinstating After Dissolution
If your entity has already been administratively dissolved, you have up to five years to apply for reinstatement.9Washington State Legislature. RCW 23.95.615 – Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution After that, reinstatement is no longer available and you’d have to form a new entity. Reinstatement isn’t just paperwork: you pay a reinstatement fee plus every missed annual report and its delinquent fees.3Washington State Legislature. WAC 434-112-085 – Fees and Penalties For-profit reinstatement runs $140 plus $70 per missed annual report and $25 in delinquent fees per missed year. Nonprofits pay $35 plus the applicable annual report fees. Foreign entities whose registration was terminated pay $180 to requalify plus all delinquent annual report fees. Once everything is paid and the reinstatement application is filed through CCFS, the business returns to active status and becomes eligible for a certificate again.
One note on tax standing: unpaid taxes with the Department of Revenue won’t directly block a certificate from the Secretary of State, but Revenue can independently revoke your business license, which creates its own problems. Keeping both offices current is the only way to avoid compounding issues.