Understanding who to turn to for research and planning, business advice, financial assistance, regulatory information, and the basics of running a small business is vital to the success of your organization. Below are the answers to frequesntly asked questions about registering your Washington-based corporation with the Secretary of State.

 

-- Todd Sanders, Sanders Business Solutions

The UBI or Unified Business Identifier Number is a state issued number and identifies your business for all state agencies. The FEIN or Federal Employer Identification Number is issued by the Internal Revenue Service and identifies your federal tax account.

 

You should file first with the Office of the Secretary of State. They give you your legal business name and make sure that there is only one registered business in Washington State with this name. The next step is the Master Business Application. If you are starting a general partnership or sole proprietorship, you do not have to file with the Office of the Secretary of State and may complete the Master Business Application with the Department of Licensing.

 

Trade Names or DBA's are filed with the Department of Licensing. For more information contact us.

 

The Internal Revenue Service gives these designations. An S-Corporation has a limit of up to 75 shareholders (not necessarily shares). They can issue only one class of stock. As a legal entity, the C-Corporation is separate and distinct from the stockholders - the owners of the corporation. Under the Washington Business Corporation Act, there is no distinction between a C-Corporation and an S-Corporation. However, the two types of corporate entities are subject to differing federal and state tax treatment. We can help determine whether any of these restrictions apply in your situation.