Legal Question in Business Law in Washington

Re: reapplying for a new license

There are a few issues I can see that you need to address: 1) State Registrations - these are accomplished (or amended as it sounds in your case) by completing a Master Business Application for the State of Washington. I'm assuming you are only located in Washington. 2) Federal registration - if you are going to have employees, you will be responsible for Federal withholding. At a minimum you will need to ontain an Employer Identification Number, or EIN, which you apply for with IRS form SS4. The EIN is basically equivelent to a personal SS#, and would be used also for business bank account. 3) Entity type - there are various options for this ranging from Limited Liability Company (LLC) to Corporation, to partnership. Generally, the business type and tax considerations dictate which is most appropriate. I would need to know more before I could advise specifically. 4) Liability - again I would need to know more before I could advise specifically, but two basic ways to limit liability are through entity type (LLC, etc..) and insurance. Entity type limitations generally limit your liability to your investment. That is, you won't lose more than you put in to the company. Insurance limits your liablity by protecting from specific risks. Usually both are appropriate. Anyway, I hope the above has been helpful, and feel free to call me at 206-261-4174 if you would like to discuss further.

Pete James