How to Start a Home Care Agency in Washington: DOH License $5,000 Initial Fee, Mandatory Orientation and Home Care Aide Certification

If you want to start a home care agency business in Washington, the Department of Health (DOH) is the agency that matters most. An in-home services agency offering home care needs a DOH license, and the path to that license has fixed points. The owner attends a DOH orientation class before applying, you file evidence of commercial general liability insurance, and you pay a $5,000 initial fee for a 12-month license. Your caregivers also have to become certified home care aides within 200 days of hire. Those health-side requirements sit on top of the general business setup: forming the entity, registering with the state, and handling taxes and local licenses.

This guide covers the steps in the order that usually works best. It is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Home care is heavily regulated, so talk to a qualified attorney and a CPA before you choose your entity or staffing model.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you file anything. Several steps depend on the ones before them, and having the documents ready prevents delays.

• A proposed business name, checked against the Secretary of State business search at ccfs.sos.wa.gov
• A decision on entity type: sole proprietorship, general partnership, LLC or corporation
• A registered agent with a physical street address in Washington and an email address
• The $180 filing fee for a Certificate of Formation with Initial Report (LLC) or Articles of Incorporation with Initial Report (corporation), if you form an entity
• Your Unified Business Identifier (UBI) number, which you receive after the Business License Application is processed
• Enrollment in the DOH orientation class (confirm the schedule and any fee with DOH)
• A commercial general liability insurance policy meeting the minimum limits, plus the certificate or other evidence DOH requires
• A $5,000 payment for the initial 12-month home care license, plus $500 or $100 for each additional county you plan to serve
• A caregiver roster that tracks hire dates, certification status and the 200-day deadline for each person
• A separate business bank account and accounting system, so license fees, payroll and B&O tax are easy to track

Step 1: Choose Your Entity and File It With the Secretary of State

Your entity choice determines whether you file with the state at all. Sole proprietors and general partnerships do not file with the Secretary of State. Most agency owners choose an LLC, which requires a filing through the Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS) at ccfs.sos.wa.gov. The LLC filing is a Certificate of Formation with Initial Report, and the fee is $180.

Corporations follow a similar path with Articles of Incorporation with Initial Report, also $180. The Secretary of State publishes general corporation information at sos.wa.gov/corporations-charities.

Plan for the recurring filing too. An LLC or corporation must file an annual report at $70 each year by the last day of the month in which it was formed. You may file up to 180 days early. A late filing carries a delinquency fee for a total of $95. The Secretary of State does not publish a standard turnaround for online business filings. Expedited service costs $100 per business entity and is generally processed within three business days.

Step 2: Pick and Protect Your Business Name

An LLC name must include Limited Liability Company, Limited Liability Co., L.L.C. or LLC. Under RCW 23.95.305, the name must be distinguishable from every other business name on record with the Secretary of State. It also cannot contain the words bank, banking, banker, trust or cooperative, or certain combinations of industrial and loan, building, savings, loan, home, association and society. Check these rules before you fall in love with a name, because a rejected filing costs you time.

If you need time to finish your paperwork, you can reserve a name for 180 days for a $30 fee through the Secretary of State.

If you will operate under a name other than your legal name or the entity's legal name, you need a trade name registration. Trade names are not registered with the Secretary of State or the county. They are registered with the Washington State Department of Revenue's Business Licensing Service (BLS) through the Business License Application, at dor.wa.gov/manage-business/grow-business/register-trade-names. Each trade name costs $5, plus the non-refundable BLS processing fee.

Step 3: Appoint a Registered Agent

Every business must designate a registered agent in Washington under RCW 23.95.415. The agent can be commercial, registered with the Secretary of State, or noncommercial. The agent must consent to serve, supply an email address and have a physical street address in Washington. PO Boxes and private mailbox addresses are not accepted. You can change the registered agent or registered office later with no fee, so pick a reliable agent now and update it if you switch providers.

Registered agent services vary in price and reliability. Compare what each one includes, such as mail scanning, reminder notices for annual reports and how fast they forward official documents. A cheap service that misses a state notice can cost you more than it saved.

Step 4: Register for the State Business License

Washington runs one statewide business license for most businesses. The Business License Application, handled by the BLS inside the Department of Revenue, issues your 9-digit UBI and handles state and city endorsements in one filing. You will almost certainly need it for a home care agency because you will hire employees, bill for services and owe Department of Revenue taxes. The license is required if you hire employees within 90 days, owe any tax to the Department of Revenue, or meet other listed conditions.

If you formed an LLC or corporation, you must file with the Secretary of State first, then submit the Business License Application. The application's processing fee is $50 to open a business, plus separate endorsement fees. Confirm the endorsement amounts in the application itself. Online applications take about 10 business days. If city or state endorsements require approval, add 2 to 3 weeks. Mailed applications can take up to six weeks, so file online if you can.

Step 5: Attend the DOH Orientation Class

This is the step that people most often skip past in their planning, and it is mandatory. Under RCW 70.127 and WAC 246-335, the owner must attend a DOH orientation class before applying for the in-home services agency license. Enroll early, because the class schedule controls the rest of your timeline. Contact DOH directly to confirm the format (in person or online), the schedule and any fee. Those details are not settled in this guide, so verify them on the DOH licensing pages or by phone before you register for a session.

Step 6: Secure Commercial General Liability Insurance

DOH requires evidence of commercial general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence or $2,000,000 combined single limit, under WAC 246-335-320. Do not buy a policy with lower limits to save money, because the application will not meet the requirement. Ask your insurance broker to confirm that the policy matches the DOH wording and to provide the certificate in the form DOH accepts. Premiums vary based on your staffing levels, service area and claims history, so get several quotes. Confirm the evidence format with DOH before you submit.

Step 7: Apply for the DOH In-Home Services Agency License, Home Care Category

After orientation and insurance, you apply for the in-home services agency license in the home care category. The initial license runs for 12 months and costs $5,000 per service category under WAC 246-335-990. That $5,000 covers your first county. Each additional county you serve adds $500 if it is urban or $100 if it is rural. Map your service area before you apply, because adding counties later means another fee and another update to your license.

Home care does not require a certificate of need. Home health and hospice do, when they enter a new county under WAC 246-310-020. If you plan to offer both home care and a different service category later, confirm the requirements for that category separately.

Step 8: Hire and Certify Your Caregivers

Long-term care workers providing home care must be certified home care aides within 200 calendar days of hire under RCW 18.88B.021, unless they are exempt under RCW 18.88B.041. Build the deadline into your hiring checklist. Record each caregiver's hire date and certification status, and set reminders well before day 200. A caregiver who has not completed certification by the deadline puts your compliance at risk, so do not treat it as a background task.

The training and testing costs and schedules are not set out in this guide. Confirm the current certification pathway with DOH and the training programs you are considering, and budget for both tuition and the time your staff spend away from client work.

Step 9: Handle Taxes and Local Requirements

Washington does not levy a corporate income tax or a personal income tax on wages. Instead, most businesses pay the state business and occupation (B&O) tax, a gross receipts tax with more than 50 activity classifications. It has no deduction for labor, materials or other costs, so your payroll does not reduce what you owe. Many cities levy a separate local B&O tax that the Department of Revenue does not administer. About 54 cities add their own B&O, so check whether your city does and register with it.

You will also need to register as an employer with the agencies that handle employer obligations, including the Employment Security Department and the Department of Labor and Industries. Confirm the registration steps and any premiums or reporting duties with each agency.

Watch for the domestic worker law (Chapter 15, Laws of 2026), which takes effect July 1, 2027. Ask your attorney how it will affect the caregivers you employ and how you should plan your wage and hour practices.

Step 10: Build a Renewal Calendar

DOH licenses renew every 24 months, and the fee depends on your full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing band. Plan the budget now, because the fee rises as you grow. Agencies that contract with DSHS or an Area Agency on Aging pay less, in a range from $1,700 to $2,600.

FTE Band (Standard Home Care)	Renewal Fee (Every 24 Months)
5 or fewer FTE	$2,400
6 to 15 FTE	$2,800
16 to 50 FTE	$3,000
51 to 100 FTE	$3,500
101 or more FTE	$3,700

Put the annual report due date on the same calendar. Your insurance policy renewal, BLS obligations and any city B&O filings also need dates on the calendar.

Fee Summary

Item	Amount	Agency
LLC Certificate of Formation with Initial Report	$180	Secretary of State
Expedited service	$100 per entity	Secretary of State
Name reservation (180 days)	$30	Secretary of State
Annual report	$70 per year ($95 total if late)	Secretary of State
Business License Application processing fee	$50 to open, plus endorsement fees	Department of Revenue, BLS
Trade name registration	$5 per trade name, plus BLS fee	Department of Revenue, BLS
DOH initial home care license (12 months)	$5,000 for first county	Department of Health
Each additional county	$500 urban or $100 rural	Department of Health
DOH renewal (every 24 months)	$2,400 to $3,700 by FTE band	Department of Health

Fees for the DOH orientation class, insurance premiums and caregiver certification training are not included above. Confirm those costs with DOH, your insurer and the training programs.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Applying before orientation. The owner must attend the DOH orientation class first.
• Underinsuring. A policy below $1,000,000 per occurrence or $2,000,000 combined single limit does not meet the requirement.
• Using a PO Box as the registered agent address. Washington requires a physical street address.
• Forgetting the county fee math. Every additional county adds $500 or $100, so pick your service area with the cost in mind.
• Assuming a sole proprietorship must file with the Secretary of State. It does not, but it still needs a UBI if it meets the BLS criteria, and a trade name goes through the BLS.
• Missing the 200-day certification deadline. Track every caregiver's hire date from day one.
• Ignoring city B&O taxes. The state B&O tax does not cover the local tax in about 54 cities.
• Budgeting only for the initial license. The renewal fee rises with your FTE band, and the annual report applies every year.

What Results to Expect

Owners who work through these steps in order often find that the state filings are the quickest part. The DOH steps usually take the most planning, because the orientation schedule, insurance evidence and caregiver certification all depend on outside timelines. Online BLS applications may take about 10 business days, and endorsements can add 2 to 3 weeks, so a realistic plan allows several weeks for the state side alone. Results vary with your county, staffing and how complete your application is, so treat these as planning estimates rather than guaranteed timelines.

Next Steps and Professional Advice

Start with the entity filing and name check, then book your DOH orientation and get insurance quotes in parallel. Keep a single checklist with the dates for every filing and certification. For the Secretary of State, use sos.wa.gov/corporations-charities. For tax registration and the Business License Application, use dor.wa.gov. Free help is available through the Washington Small Business Development Center, which can review your business plan and budget.

Home care involves licensing, employment law, insurance and tax questions that interact with each other. A qualified attorney can review your entity choice, contracts and employment practices, and a CPA can plan your B&O and payroll obligations. Consult both before you commit to a structure or hire your first caregiver.

Disclaimer: This article is informational only and is not legal, tax or licensing advice. Fees, timelines and requirements change, so confirm every figure with the agency named before you file or pay.