Springdale is the 100th BLS city partner!

Today, the state Business Licensing Service (BLS) adds the Town of Springdale as its 100th local government partner in the state and city combined-licensing process. BLS issues more than 600 different registrations sought by businesses in Washington state.

Springdale, population 300, is northwest of Spokane in Stevens County. It licenses about 30 local businesses. The complete list of BLS partner cities is at dor.wa.gov.

BLS Blast from the Past: One Merchant's Modest Idea

Beryl and Eddie Kuhr, owners of Gull Harbor
Mercantile near Olympia, came up with the
idea of combining licensing processes.
(photo courtesy of Ted Kistler)

Initially called the Master License Service, BLS was created by the Business License Center Act more than 40 years ago.

But the idea for the wildly successful program didn't start in government. It started with a middle-class merchant. 

Since the late 1950s, Eddie and Beryl Kuhr were owners of Gull Harbor Mercantile near Olympia. In the early 1970s, they met Ralph Munro on the governor's staff to ask why businesses had to obtain and renew so many state licenses with different expirations. The seed was sown. Munro, who'd later serve as Secretary of State, advanced the idea and helped launch the program after legislative approval.

The Olympian featured Eddie Kuhr and
his idea in its March 12, 1976, issue.

After an initial phase at Department of Commerce, the program moved to Department of Licensing in 1977 growing to serve 30 regulatory programs at nine state agencies.

The program grew steadily over the decades and began adding local licensing in 1997. The program moved to the Department of Revenue in 2011 and was renamed Business Licensing Service.

BLS added its 50^th city partner in 2012. Since then, BLS replaced its computer system to integrate business licensing and state tax reporting services. Now supporting 100 city partners, BLS will extend its services to another 80 cities by 2022. 

The 1981 Master Business License for
Gull Harbor Mercantile

.