MorningSheetWashington business license search: the DOR Business Lookup, step by step
The Department of Revenue's Business Lookup is the closest thing Washington has to a master list of businesses. Here's how to search it well, how to read what comes back, and where it stops short.
Nearly every business operating in Washington registers with the Department of Revenue's Business Licensing Service and gets a UBI — a nine-digit Unified Business Identifier. That makes DOR's free Business Lookup the widest net you can cast without paying anyone: one search box over the licensed businesses in the state.
This guide is part of our Washington business lookup series — the DOR tool is source #2 of the six, and the one to learn first.
What you can search by
The lookup takes more than a name. Each field solves a different problem:
- Business name — matches trade names and legal names. Try both; a café's sign and its registration often disagree.
- UBI number — the exact-match path. If you have the nine digits, this skips the guesswork (here's how to find a UBI if you don't).
- Owner name — the reverse search. Useful when you know who's behind a venture and want everything registered to them.
- Address, city, or county — the territory search. The closest the tool gets to "show me businesses here."
How to read a record
A result gives you the legal name, any trade names, the UBI, the account's status, its registered location(s), and the date the account opened. Two fields do most of the work:
Endorsements are the licenses attached to the account — state endorsements (say, a liquor endorsement) and city ones (a Seattle general business license). Endorsements tell you what the business actually does, which a name like "JTB Ventures LLC" never will.
The open date tells you how new the registration is. A license opened last month at a street address is a very different prospect from one opened in 2013.
Where the DOR lookup stops short
It's built to answer "tell me about this one business." It is not built to answer "who's new this month in my county" — there's no date-sorted feed of fresh registrations, and no export. Registration also lags reality in both directions: a restaurant can register months before its doors open, and some businesses trade for a while before the paperwork catches up.
The state record is also thin on contact: you'll get an address, not a working phone number or the owner's direct line. For freshness and address-level detail, the city license directories — Seattle's lookup is the big one — and the permit record fill the gaps. The full six-source guide covers the order to work them.
Quick answers
Is the Washington business license search free?
Yes. The DOR Business Lookup is free and public, no account needed.
What does a record show?
Trade and legal names, UBI, account status, location(s), the account's open date, and its endorsements — the state and city licenses that reveal what kind of business it is.
Can I search by owner name?
Yes — owner name is a supported search field, and it's the fix when a trade name and a legal name don't match.
Is a state license the same as a city license?
No. The state license (and UBI) comes through the Business Licensing Service; many cities license separately on top. Check both — the city record is often fresher.