Washington State Office for Regulatory Innovation and Assistance

What Washington State Office for Regulatory Innovation and Assistance does

The Washington State Office for Regulatory Innovation and Assistance (ORIA) is a state government agency operating within the Governor's Office of Washington State, established in 2002 by the Washington State Legislature under RCW 43.42 as the Office of Permit Assistance. It was renamed to the Office of Regulatory Assistance in 2003 when its mandate expanded to include small business assistance and the full range of regulatory issues, and in 2013 Governor Inslee added "Innovation" to its name. The agency is staffed by approximately 10 personnel led by Director Dan McConnon and is headquartered in Olympia, Washington.

ORIA provides free regulatory guidance to Washington State citizens, small businesses, and project developers through a multi-channel information center (toll-free phone, SMS, live chat, email, and web form) and a portfolio of proprietary digital tools. Its core products are JARPA (Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application), a shared electronic permitting form accepted by multiple state and federal agencies; the Regulatory Handbook, a comprehensive database of environmental permits, approvals, and licenses; the Project Questionnaire (OPAS), which guides users to applicable permits; and EZview, a project coordination portal. Supporting services include the Small Business Guide, permit timeliness reporting, regulatory fairness support, and significant legislative rulemaking reporting.

The agency's business model is fully government-funded: it charges no fees for any service, generates no commercial revenue, and is sustained by state appropriations. Distribution is direct-to-user through its websites (oria.wa.gov, business.wa.gov) and the information center; strategic partnerships with the Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers underpin the JARPA ecosystem, while the Small Business Liaisons Network and local government associations support outreach.

Name

Washington State Office for Regulatory Innovation and Assistance

Legal name

Governor's Office for Regulatory Innovation and Assistance

Website

https://oria.wa.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ORIA is a Washington State government agency within the Governor's Office that provides free regulatory guidance and digital permitting tools to citizens, small businesses, and project developers across Washington State.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Regulatory Assistance Services

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241), Public Administration (92)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Permitting & Impact Assessment (EIA/NEPA) (BPAIAMAK)

Keywords

• Regulatory assistance services
• Environmental permitting support
• Small business guidance
• Government information center
• Permit coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Olympia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funded Public Service: ORIA is a Washington State government agency funded by public funds. All services are provided free of charge to citizens and businesses. No commercial revenue generation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ORIA is a Washington State government agency that provides free regulatory assistance to citizens and businesses navigating environmental, business, and permitting requirements. It operates an Information Center accessible via phone, chat, SMS, email, and web forms, and maintains digital tools including JARPA (Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application), the Regulatory Handbook, OPAS Project Questionnaire, and EZview project portal to help users identify and complete required permits and regulatory approvals.

Product overview

The Washington State Office for Regulatory Innovation and Assistance (ORIA) is a state government agency that provides a platform of regulatory assistance services rather than a single unified product. The core digital offerings include: JARPA (Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application) for aquatic permit applications; the Regulatory Handbook for permit information; the Project Questionnaire (OPAS) for permit identification; and EZview as a project portal. Supporting services include the Small Business Guide, permit timeliness reporting, regulatory fairness act support, and environmental permit schematics. These tools work together to help citizens and businesses navigate Washington's regulatory systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• JARPA (Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application)
• Regulatory Handbook
• Project Questionnaire (OPAS)
• EZview Project Portal
• Small Business Guide
• Permit Timeliness Reporting
• Regulatory Fairness Act Support
• Significant Legislative Rulemaking Reporting
• Environmental Permit Schematics
• Regulatory Services Consultation
• ORIA Information Center

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Department of EcologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner agency for regulatory improvement initiatives. ORIA collaborates with Ecology on the Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application (JARPA), permit timeliness reporting, and significant legislative rulemaking implementation. Ecology provides Section 401 Water Quality Certification through the JARPA process.
• Department of Fish and WildlifecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner agency for hydraulic project approvals. WDFW accepts HPA applications through the JARPA form. ORIA collaborates on permit process improvements and the Aquatic Protection Permitting System (APPS).
• Department of Natural ResourcescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for aquatic use authorizations and forest practices permits. DNR handles mooring buoy applications and aquatic land leases through the regulatory handbook and JARPA process.
• Army Corps of EngineerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal partner for Section 404 and Section 10 permits. ORIA's JARPA form integrates with Corps permit applications for work in waters of the United States.
• Small Business Liaisons NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of small business liaison staff across state agencies helping connect small businesses with regulatory assistance services.
• Association of Washington CitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization consulted for significant legislative rulemaking reporting and regulatory improvement initiatives.
• Washington State Association of CountiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization consulted for significant legislative rulemaking reporting and regulatory improvement initiatives.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Accela: Accela is a leading government technology vendor providing a civic platform for permitting, licensing, and regulatory workflows. ORIA's JARPA and OPAS tools address the same permitting-automation use case that Accela serves for hundreds of state and local agencies.
• OpenGov: OpenGov provides government-focused software for permitting, licensing, and procurement workflows, serving state and local agencies. Comparable to ORIA because it digitizes the regulatory assistance and reporting functions ORIA performs manually for Washington.
• California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz): GO-Biz is California's state-level office providing permitting assistance, small business guidance, and regulatory coordination. It is the closest functional peer to ORIA in another state, performing nearly identical duties for a different jurisdiction.

Broad incumbents

• Granicus: Granicus provides government experience cloud software spanning communications, permitting, and compliance workflows for public agencies. Adjacent incumbent serving the same regulatory management and citizen engagement niche as ORIA.
• Tyler Technologies: Tyler Technologies is a large public-sector software vendor offering permitting, regulatory, and ERP solutions to state and local governments. Comparable as a broad incumbent providing the underlying permitting and regulatory technology stack that ORIA's bespoke JARPA/EZview tools parallel.
• Federal Permitting Steering Council (Permitting Council): The federal Permitting Council coordinates federal environmental review and permitting for major infrastructure projects. It is a broader-scale government analogue performing cross-agency permitting coordination similar to ORIA's state-level mandate.

Others

• Avalara: Avalara provides automated tax and regulatory compliance solutions for businesses. Comparable as an adjacent regulatory-compliance technology provider addressing similar pain points (navigating complex regulations) that ORIA addresses for Washington businesses, though focused on tax rather than permitting.

Emerging players

• Clariti (Clariti Software): Clariti provides modern permitting and licensing software for local and state governments. As an emerging govtech vendor, it competes for the same workflow-automation mandate that ORIA's JARPA and OPAS systems address.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/governor-s-office-for-regulatory-innovation-and-assistance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Washington State Office for Regulatory Innovation and Assistance