Revenue offices closed for in-person services
Due to the surging number of COVID-19 cases in Washington, the agency offices are closed for in-person services.
Services provided at DOR offices are available online at dor.wa.gov. We will update this site with any changes. We apologize for the inconvenience.
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Partnership Services staff are finishing plans for springtime training for partners. The optional online training sessions will support your work with the ATLAS system and license administration.
Once available, we will send an email to BLS partners with the dates and times, and registration information.
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| Vineyards near new partner Benton City are famous for growing some of Washington's best wine grapes. |
After Woodland and Winthrop joined BLS in January, another seven communities come aboard in the first quarter of 2022. And on March 31, BLS will reach a new milestone of 200 local partners. More than half of these partners have joined in the past three years.
Benton City, in the heart of the state’s wine-producing region, is the next local partner. The city will join about 20 other partners that span from Ellensburg to the Tri-Cities. Sumas and La Conner in Northwest Washington also join BLS in February.
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Licenses expirations are synced to benefit businesses
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| Businesses holding both state and local licenses will see renewal cycles sync up over time. |
Reminder: local licensing expirations are matched to other BLS account expirations after a city joins the partnership. Syncing expiration dates streamlines steps for businesses so that they can then renew all licenses in one annual process.
Regardless of city license expiration dates before BLS partnership starts, local licenses will expire in tandem with the other state and local licenses on the account, such as liquor licenses. If a business has no other state or local licenses, expiration dates won’t change. No matter when the license gets renewed, BLS always remits and distributes 100% of the city’s or town’s license fees through the Office of State Treasurer. If the renewal that syncs the expiration date is for less than 12 months, the fee amount is prorated respectively.
Staff can use reports, such as the Partner Licensee, to see the current expiration date for all of the registered local businesses
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Rules for out-of-city businesses can differ
Does the contractor from the next town over need to register for your city’s license?
Well, that’s the $2,000 question for many plumbers, roofers, and other businesses that go into another city for work.
In 2018, all communities in Washington that issue business licenses updated their ordinances to help out-of-city businesses get clear on when they need to seek a local license often referred to as a non-resident license. The rules allow for local control.
Only out-of-city businesses reporting more than $2,000 in your city in a year can be required to pay for your city’s license. Cities and towns can also choose to simply not require out-of-city businesses grossing below the threshold to register or can raise the $2,000 minimum threshold to ease the requirement on out-of-city businesses.
Check out the examples compiled at mrsc.org to see how several communities manage these rules.
