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DDES
900 Oakesdale Ave. SW
Renton, WA 98057-5212

Phone:  206-296-6600
TTY:  206-296-7217

King County business licenses: Charitable solicitation

For a King County charitable solicitation business license, please note:

  • All charitable organizations soliciting for contributions in unincorporated King County are required to apply for a King County business license (Title 6* of the King County Code).
  • All charitable organizations soliciting for contributions in unincorporated King County also must register with the Secretary of State's Charities Division (call 1-800-332-GIVE).
  • Exceptions to licensing requirements in unincorporated King County are:
    • Religious organizations are not required to license unless solicitations are for a charitable purpose.
    • Charitable organizations collecting $2,500 or less are not required to license.
  • An application for a King County Charitable Solicitation business license must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the commencement of solicitation.
  • Licensing documentation requirements include:
    • Financial statement for preceding fiscal year on a King County Charitable Solicitation Fiscal Year Financial Statement form, available in PDF* (72KB) or MS Word* (48KB) format.
    • Itemization of the estimated cost of the solicitation.
    • Statement of the amount of any wages, fees, commission, salaries and expenses to be paid to any person in connection with solicitation.
    • If solicitation is by means of coin or currency boxes and/or receptacles, locations for each box and/or receptacle.
    • Verification of 501(c) tax exemption status and registration with the Secretary of State's Charities Division.

    Financial records are open to the public for review.
  • King County Charitable Solicitation License fees are:
    • $40 per year for a charitable organization.
    • $1,000 per year for a promoter (where professional fund-raising organizations or promoters are used).

To apply for a Charitable Solicitation license, do one of the following:

  • Download and complete the Charitable Solicitation Application, available in PDF* (28KB) or fill-in MS Word* (147KB) format
  • Call 206-296-6659 to request a form by mail.

*Note: To view PDFs, free software from Adobe is required. Fill-in Word documents require Microsoft software.  For assistance and fill-in instructions, see helpful hints.

To request this information in alternate formats for people with disabilities, call 206-296-6600 or TTY Relay:  711.