Washington Secretary of State

What Washington Secretary of State does

The Washington Secretary of State is a constitutional state government office established in 1889 that provides foundational public services for Washington State's democracy, business community, and civic life. The office is led by Secretary Steve Hobbs, the 16th Secretary of State, and is organized into multiple operating divisions: an Elections Division that manages voter registration and ballot processing through the VoteWA portal; a Corporations & Charities Division that processes business entity filings, nonprofit registrations, and charity compliance via the Corporations & Charities Filing System (CCFS); the Washington State Archives, which preserves official government records; the Washington State Library, which provides library services and institutional support (including the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library for print-disabled patrons); and statewide programs such as the Address Confidentiality Program, Combined Fund Drive, Civic Engagement Program, and Productivity Board.

The office's technology footprint consists of self-serve digital service platforms — principally the CCFS online filing portal and the VoteWA voter portal — combined with in-person service delivery through the Tumwater-based Corporations & Charities Division, the Cheney Eastern Regional Branch (opened January 2026 on the Eastern Washington University campus), the Washington State Archives in Olympia, and a distributed network of county elections offices and ballot drop boxes. The Cheney branch offers same-day processing for a $150 fee across Apostille Services, Business Entity Filings, Record Services, Registered Agent Filings, and Trademark Services.

As a government entity, the office is funded primarily through state legislative appropriations rather than commercial revenue, with only transactional filing fees (business registrations, annual reports, charity filings, and premium same-day service) flowing in as cost-recovery. The customer base spans all Washington residents, voters (5.1 million active registrations as of August 2026), domestic and foreign businesses qualifying to operate in Washington, nonprofit corporations, and charitable organizations. There are no disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, or commercial pricing tiers beyond statutory filing fees — financial signaling is entirely replaced by appropriations-based budgeting, which the input explicitly states is not publicly reported.

Name

Washington Secretary of State

Legal name

Washington Secretary of State

Website

https://sos.wa.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1889

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Washington Secretary of State is a constitutional state government office established in 1889 that administers elections, business entity filings, state archives, and library services for Washington State residents, voters, and businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

State Government Services

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Business Services (7380)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Office / Cabinet Secretariat (BPAIAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

National Archives, Records & Information Governance (BPAIAAAG), Media Relations & Press Office Services (BPAFADAF)

Keywords

• State government services
• Elections administration
• Business entity filings
• Public records management
• Government regulatory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Olympia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Business Entity Filing Fees: The Corporations & Charities Division collects filing fees for business entity registrations, annual reports, and related services. Fee schedules are published on the website.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Washington Secretary of State is a state government office that manages state and local elections, processes business entity and nonprofit filings through the online CCFS portal, preserves government records via the Washington State Archives, and operates the Washington State Library and Washington Talking Book & Braille Library. The office also administers statewide programs including the Address Confidentiality Program for crime survivors, the Combined Fund Drive for state employee charitable giving, and the Civic Engagement Program.

Product overview

The Washington Secretary of State is a government agency that provides foundational services for democracy, business, and public records in Washington state. The office operates multiple divisions including the Elections Division (managing voter registration and elections), Corporations & Charities (handling business filings and nonprofit registrations via the CCFS online portal), Washington State Archives (preserving government records), Washington State Library (providing library services and resources), and various statewide programs such as the Address Confidentiality Program, Combined Fund Drive, and Civic Engagement Program. The agency also operates the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library for individuals with print disabilities. The office is led by Secretary Steve Hobbs, Washington's 16th Secretary of State.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Elections Division Manages state and local elections in Washington, including voter registration, ballot processing, election security, and election results reporting for Washington State voters.
• Corporations & Charities Filing System (CCFS) Online portal for business entity filings, nonprofit registrations, charity registrations, and annual reports for Washington state businesses and nonprofits.
• Washington State Archives Collects, preserves, and provides access to the official records of Washington state government, including historical documents and photographs.
• Washington State Library Provides library services, research resources, digital collections, and support for public and institutional libraries across Washington state.
• Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) Program to help protect survivors of crime by providing a substitute mailing address for official correspondence.
• Combined Fund Drive State employee charitable giving program allowing payroll deductions for approved nonprofit organizations.
• VoteWA.gov Online voter registration portal and voter information lookup system for Washington state residents.
• Washington Talking Book & Braille Library Audiobook and braille library service for individuals with print disabilities, including incarcerated and hospitalized adults and justice-impacted youth.
• Civic Engagement Program Program to increase governmental trust and participation for all Washingtonians.
• Washington State Productivity Board State employee suggestion incentives program to improve government efficiency.
• Legacy Washington Program dedicated to documenting extraordinary stories in Washington history.
• Eastern Regional Branch (Cheney) Same-Day Services Same-day in-person service for Apostille Services, Business Entity Filings, Record Services, Registered Agent Filings, and Trademark Services at the Eastern Regional Branch in Cheney, WA.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS)flagshipOthers · 20 July 2026Steve Hobbs serves as President of NASS, the nation's oldest nonpartisan professional organization for public officials, demonstrating leadership in the secretaries of state community

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Oregon Secretary of State: Neighboring Pacific Northwest state Secretary of State office with directly comparable responsibilities for elections administration, business entity filings, archives, and a similar statutory mandate structure.
• California Secretary of State: Large-scale state Secretary of State office managing elections, business filings, and public records for the most populous U.S. state — comparable mission scope and digital service offerings (online business filings, voter registration portals).
• Florida Department of State: Florida's equivalent state-level office administering elections, business filings (Sunbiz), and state archives — a direct functional peer with similar online self-service portals and statewide branch operations.
• New York Department of State: New York's state-level office handling business entity filings (corporations, LLCs), enforcing charitable organizations, and supporting local governments — directly comparable to Washington's Corporations & Charities Division function.
• Texas Secretary of State: Texas Secretary of State office with comparable responsibilities for elections administration, business filings (SOSDirect portal), and statewide records — a peer with similar digital filing infrastructure scale.
• Illinois Secretary of State: Illinois Secretary of State office with a notably expanded portfolio (driver services, business filings, libraries, archives) — comparable in operating scope to Washington, particularly with library and archives functions bundled under the same constitutional officer.
• Colorado Secretary of State: Colorado Secretary of State office with widely recognized leadership on elections administration and business filings — a comparable state-level peer recognized for digital service innovation in the same domain.

Others

• National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS): The professional association of which Washington Secretary Steve Hobbs is now President; not a competitor but a key ecosystem organization that convenes peer offices and shapes national standards for the function.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PL9oXZcOwq8vk-zp_8zd6rGfN3xj_Mbj5a

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries11 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 Secretary of State