BLS Partners - September 2021 Update

Partner Change Requests due soon

Every year, BLS Partnership Services requests that agency and city partners review their processes for any changes or training needs for the upcoming year.

For municipal partners, BLS cannot make changes to fees or requirements without at least 75-days advance notice per RCW 35.90.070. If your city or town plans changes effective in January 2022, you must submit a Partner Change Request form by October 15. All changes are subject to review and prioritization by the Department. The most common change requests are updates to:

• Licensing requirements 
• Fees
• Web pages or forms
• Laws and/or policies

Email your completed change request form to dorblspartner@dor.wa.gov.

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Multi-Factor Authentication for My DOR is now active

SecureAccess Washington (SAW) and My DOR login rules are updated with secure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) steps. This requires you to link accounts to an email or phone number that verifies the user who is accessing the system.

Important: MFA authentication is by system settings, not by device.  If you’ve accessed My DOR from your PC in the past, it may require you to re-authenticate your machine to get access. 

The main reasons to re-authenticate are:

• Browser updates
• 
  Google’s Chrome browser updates frequently.
• IP address changes
• This may be affected by your VPN, Wi-Fi, or mobile network if your machine is assigned a new IP path.
• Screen resolution
• Different monitors with different resolutions will result in an MFA challenge.
• Cookies
• Clearing cookies and browsing history will result in an MFA challenge.

Find more information at https://dor.wa.gov/MFA.

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More than 180 cities and towns are BLS partners

More than 180 local partners have linked local commerce with the state Business Licensing Service, including three dozen in the past year. In September, BLS added three more cities, including its final municipal partner in fast-growing Snohomish County. 

• Pomeroy in Southeast Washington is home to 1,500 residents and dozens of businesses. It joined on September 9. Founded 135 years ago on land once surveyed by Lewis and Clark, Pomeroy boasts a 10-block downtown district that is on the National Historic Register.
• Arlington was BLS’s final local partner in Snohomish County, joining on September 23. The county is home to 800,000 residents with a workforce of more than 400,000 supporting more than 20,000 businesses. The city’s footprint has expanded over the past 20 years with annexation and robust commercial development.
• Royal City is east of the Columbia River in Central Washington, anchoring a region filled with crucial crops such as grapes, cherries, melons, peaches, pears, and potatoes, and more. It joined on September 30.
• Eight more cities will join BLS this fall with the next three being the Columbia Basin communities of Rock Island, Kittitas, and Warden.