Updated August 12, 2026. Quick answer. To dissolve an LLC in Washington you file the Certificate of Dissolution (LLC & PLLC) — filed with the Secretary of State, and it can be filed online or on paper. Fee: $0 (an online processing fee applies to CCFS filings; expedited service +$100). Washington requires no tax-clearance certificate to accept the filing. Until that filing is accepted the LLC still legally exists — and whatever Washington charges an LLC each year keeps accruing against it.
What you file in Washington, and what it costs
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Filing | Certificate of Dissolution (LLC & PLLC) — filed with the Secretary of State, Corporations & Charities Division, normally online through the Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS) as a ‘Dissolution/Withdrawal’ business maintenance filing; a paper Certificate of Dissolution – LLC & PLLC form exists for mail filing. Single filing under RCW 25.15.269. |
| Fee | $0 (an online processing fee applies to CCFS filings; expedited service +$100) |
| How you can file | both — Online via CCFS (ccfs.sos.wa.gov) per the SOS instructions; paper Certificate of Dissolution – LLC & PLLC accepted by mail to Corporations & Charities Division, PO Box 40234, Olympia, WA 98504-0234. |
| Tax clearance | not required |
| Statute | RCW 25.15.265 (dissolution), 25.15.269 (certificate of dissolution), 25.15.297 (winding up), 25.15.279 + RCW 23.95.605/.610/.615 (administrative dissolution and reinstatement) |
SOS online instructions (‘Close an LLC, PLLC, LP, LLP, LLLP – Online Instructions’): ‘Purpose: Voluntary dissolution of a non-corporation business entity type. 120 days after this submission is successfully filed, the business entity is no longer eligible for reinstatement or revocation and is considered permanently dissolved.’ RCW 25.15.269: after dissolution the LLC ‘may deliver to the secretary of state for filing a certificate of dissolution’ stating the name and that it is dissolving under RCW 25.15.265. Paper form PDF: sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2023-10/LLC_&_PLLC_Dissolution.pdf (403 to non-browser fetchers).
On the fee. SOS’s own instructions: ‘Filing Fee: The filing fee is $0. In addition, the online processing fee applies. Expedited Service: You may add expedited priority for an additional $100 at checkout, which is generally processed within three working days.’ The page does not state the online processing fee amount; paper filing by mail carries the $0 fee.
Tax clearance in Washington
No tax-clearance certificate is required to file in Washington. That is not the same as owing nothing — it means the state will accept the filing without a revenue-agency sign-off first.
Negative verified: the SOS’s step-by-step dissolution instructions contain no Department of Revenue clearance precondition, and RCW 25.15.269 imposes none. (Washington’s old revenue-clearance regime tied to the pre-2016 LLC act was repealed by 2015 c 188, eff. Jan. 1, 2016.) DOR offers an optional ‘tax status letter’ (‘provides details regarding liabilities, credits, or other outstanding issues’) but it is not a filing condition.
Do not just walk away
Closing the business is not closing the entity. Failure to file the annual report / pay fees is a ground for administrative dissolution under RCW 23.95.605; per RCW 23.95.610 the SOS serves notice in a record and, if the entity does not cure within 60 days after service, files a statement of administrative dissolution. The entity then ‘continues its existence… but may not carry on any activities except as necessary to wind up’ or to seek reinstatement under RCW 23.95.615.
RCW 25.15.279 delegates LLC administrative dissolution to ‘the circumstances and procedures provided in Article 6 of chapter 23.95 RCW.’ 60-day cure language quoted from RCW 23.95.610. No franchise/income tax accrues to a walked-away WA LLC, but unfiled DOR excise returns remain due and the $70-range annual report fee stops good standing (annual-report fee amount not verified here — not asserted). Note also the flip side from the SOS: a VOLUNTARY dissolution becomes irreversible 120 days after filing.
Closing the tax accounts
Close the DOR tax account (business license/excise) online via My DOR or by mail and file the final excise tax return (B&O/sales); optionally request a tax status letter. Washington has no state income tax, so there is no final income return.
DOR ‘Close my business’ hub (dor.wa.gov): ‘If you are no longer doing business, you can close your account either online or by mail’; also covers canceling trade names and requesting a tax status letter.
Before you file
- The order the steps go in — internal decision, creditors and distributions, the state filing, the final returns, then the registrations you are still paying for.
- What an LLC costs to keep alive in Washington — the bill that keeps running until this filing lands.
- What dissolution costs in all 51 jurisdictions — the fee, the filing route and the tax-clearance flag, side by side.
- What happens if you simply stop filing — administrative dissolution is the walk-away trap happening to you rather than by you.
We do not form or dissolve LLCs, sell filing services, or take a commission from anyone who does. No advertising appears on this page and we earn nothing from it.
Sources and limits
RCW 25.15.265 (dissolution), 25.15.269 (certificate of dissolution), 25.15.297 (winding up), 25.15.279 + RCW 23.95.605/.610/.615 (administrative dissolution and reinstatement). Fee, form and procedure read 2026-08-10 from the official source. The fee and the tax-clearance position were re-checked against the SOS’s own online closing instructions, re-read 2026-08-12 (‘The filing fee is $0’).
Research note. sos.wa.gov 403s non-browser fetchers; the instructions page was read in a real browser session. Statutes read directly from app.leg.wa.gov. The exact CCFS ‘online processing fee’ amount is not stated on the instructions page and is therefore not asserted.
Honest gap. This page covers the state filing that ends the entity, its fee and its tax-clearance condition. It does not cover creditor claims against a dissolved LLC, disputes between members, the tax treatment of a final distribution, reinstatement after an administrative dissolution, or withdrawal from any other state you registered in — each of those has its own rules. General information, not legal or tax advice. See methodology and corrections.