Collecting debt in Washington: licensing, bonds and statutes of limitations.
Collection agencies, debt buyers, and out-of-state collection agencies must hold a Department of Licensing collection agency license under RCW 19.16 before collecting from Washington debtors, with a $5,000 surety bond (waived for out-of-state agencies bonded in their home state); the license expires December 31 by statute (RCW 19.16.140) and out-of-state agencies pay half fees.
General information, not legal advice. Every figure on this page links to the statute, rule or regulator page it came from, with the operative words quoted, and the date we verified it. Rules change; confirm with the regulator or your counsel before acting, and tell us if something here is out of date.
Do you need a license to collect in Washington?
Washington requires a DOL collection agency license (a reduced out-of-state license exists for agencies that only contact Washington debtors from another state for out-of-state clients) with a $5,000 bond; the statute sets expiration at December 31 each year, but because the license rides on the DOR business license, check your own license record for the actual renewal date. Starting January 1, 2027, the debt-buyer lawsuit documentation rules move from RCW 19.16.260 to the new Uniform Consumer Debt Default Judgments Act and apply to all holders of purchased debt.
Surety bond of $5,000 filed at application, 'annually renewable on January first of each year', running to the State of Washington; a cash deposit or other negotiable security acceptable to the director may be filed in lieu (RCW 19.16.190(2)). Exception: an out-of-state collection agency need not bond if it 'maintains an adequate bond or legal alternative as required by the state in which the out-of-state collection agency is located' (RCW 19.16.190(7)); DOL grants the waiver on proof the home-state bond is current.
Applications go through the Department of Revenue Business Licensing Service with a DOL Collection Agency addendum; NMLS is not used.
Main office original application $890.00 (in-state); out-of-state main office $445.00. Branch office original $590.00 (WA main office) / $295.00 (out-of-state main office). Re-registration after license expired 30+ days: main $1,405.00 / $702.50 (out-of-state); branch $930.00 / $465.00. License print fee $5.00. Plus variable Business Licensing Service application fee and $5 trade name registration per DOL. WAC 308-29-045 as amended WSR 22-24-050, filed 11/30/22, effective 12/31/22; DOL and DOR fee pages match exactly (re-read 2026-09-20).
annual, renews December 31 by statute (RCW 19.16.140: license 'shall expire on December thirty-first following the issuance thereof'; fee due on or before January 1). In practice the license is an endorsement on the DOR business license, and RCW 19.02.090(1) provides that all endorsements expire on the expiration date DOR assigns to that business license; no DOL or DOR page states the date. See reconciliation.unresolved.
Branch office certificate required for each branch inside or outside Washington (RCW 19.16.150): original $590.00 / renewal $340.00 (WA main office); $295.00 / $170.00 (out-of-state main office).
trust account: separate account at a federally insured bank for all moneys collected for clients, deposited within 10 days (RCW 19.16.240); for in-state agencies the bank must be in Washington; not required of out-of-state collection agencies; DOL: not applicable to debt buyers; financial statement: current within prior three months (WAC 308-29-020); net worth not less than $7,500 in cash or equivalent, of which not less than $5,000 in an operating bank account, and equity or net worth of $7,500 or more (RCW 19.16.245; DOL); renewal form certifies net worth compliance and trust account sufficiency (WAC 308-29-020); physical office: in-state licensees must maintain a regular active business office in Washington open to the public and managed by a Washington resident (RCW 19.16.230(1)); not required of out-of-state collection agencies; individual applicants must be 18+ and a Washington resident; all applicants must be authorized to do business in Washington (RCW 19.16.120); DOL requires Secretary of State registration before applying; branch office certificate for each branch (RCW 19.16.150); records kept at the licensed location (WAC 308-29-025); records of collections and disbursements kept four years (RCW 19.16.230(3)); notice of changes in ownership, officers, directors, managing employees within 10 business days (WAC 308-29-030); notice of lawsuits and judgments (WAC 308-29-050); remote work requirements (WAC 308-29-085); unlicensed collector forfeits all fees and must return moneys collected; knowing violation is a misdemeanor (RCW 19.16.430); licensee must plead licensure to sue (RCW 19.16.260(1)); Collection Agency Board oversight
Exemptions. RCW 19.16.100(5): not a collection agency: (a) employees of a licensee; (b) an individual collecting for one employer in the employer's name; (c) persons collecting in their true name incidental to a business other than collection, 'such as but not limited to: Trust companies; savings and loan associations; building and loan associations; abstract companies doing an escrow business; real estate brokers; property management companies collecting assessments...; public officers acting in their official capacities; persons acting under court order; lawyers; insurance companies; credit unions; loan or finance companies; mortgage banks; and banks'; (d) persons who only prepare or mail periodic statements with payments made to the creditor; (e) an out-of-state collection agency (which needs its own license type); (f) affiliates collecting only for commonly owned companies whose principal business is not collection. The out-of-state definition excludes anyone excluded from 'debt collector' under 15 U.S.C. 1692a(6). RCW 19.16.920(1) preempts local licensing: 'no county, city, or other political subdivision of this state shall enact any laws or rules and regulations licensing or regulating collection agencies' (B&O taxes still allowed).
How long can a debt be sued on in Washington?
Washington gives six years on credit-card and other written or account-receivable debt, but only three years if the collector cannot prove the consumer agreed to a written contract. Since July 28, 2019 no payment or acknowledgment made after the period has run can restart or revive the debt, and licensed collectors may not sue on it; there is no state-law time-barred-debt notice requirement beyond federal Regulation F.
“The following actions shall be commenced within six years: (1) An action upon a contract in writing, or liability express or implied arising out of a written agreement, except as provided for in RCW 64.04.007(2).”
“Except as provided in RCW 4.16.040(2), an action upon a contract or liability, express or implied, which is not in writing, and does not arise out of any written instrument”
“an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay a note payable at a definite time must be commenced within six years after the due date or dates stated in the note or, if a due date is accelerated, within six years after the accelerated due date.”
“(2) An action upon an account receivable. For purposes of this section, an account receivable is any obligation for payment incurred in the ordinary course of the claimant's business or profession, whether arising from one or more transactions and whether or not earned by performance.”
Six years by statute, with two routes: a written contract under RCW 4.16.040(1) if the creditor proves the cardholder assented to a specific written agreement, or an 'account receivable' under 4.16.040(2) (added 2007 c 124, which applies 'to all causes of action on accounts receivable, whether commenced before or after July 22, 2007'). Unifund v. Elyse (Div. I 2016), read on the CAP archive: a debt buyer that produced only an unsigned 2010 cardholder agreement and could not prove assent had no written-contract claim, so 'the Washington three-year statute of limitations on oral contracts had run when Unifund sued Elyse in 2013. Any such claim is time barred' (¶ 14); the court declined to reach the account-receivable theory because it was raised for the first time on appeal (¶ 16), and refused to apply the agreement's South Dakota choice-of-law clause for the same lack of assent (¶ 15). No published Washington appellate decision squarely holding that a consumer credit-card account is an 'account receivable' under 4.16.040(2) was found by either pass. Practical rule: six years when a written agreement or account-receivable status is proven; three years where the collector cannot prove assent to a written agreement.
“may have an execution, garnishment, or other legal process issued for the collection or enforcement of the judgment at any time within 10 years from entry of the judgment ... may, within 90 days before the expiration of the original 10-year period, apply ... for an order granting an additional 10 years”
RCW 4.16.005: actions 'can only be commenced within the periods provided in this chapter after the cause of action has accrued.' Contract claims accrue at breach. For mutual open and current accounts with reciprocal demands, accrual is 'from the time of the last item proved in the account on either side' (RCW 4.16.150). A payment made after the debt is due and before the period expires restarts the period from the most recent payment (RCW 4.16.270). Notes accrue at the stated or accelerated due date (RCW 62A.3-118(a)). No Washington appellate case fixing accrual for consumer credit-card accounts (default versus last payment) was read by either pass.
“When any payment has been or shall be made upon any existing contract prior to its applicable limitation period having expired ... if the payment is made after it is due, the limitation period shall restart from the time the most recent payment was made. Any payment on the contract made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period.”
“No acknowledgment or promise shall be sufficient evidence of a new or continuing contract whereby to take the case out of the operation of this chapter, unless it is contained in some writing signed by the party to be charged thereby; except, an acknowledgment or promise made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period.”
RCW 4.18.020(1)(a): 'if a claim is substantively based: (a) Upon the law of one other state, the limitation period of that state applies'; Washington's period applies to all other claims. RCW 4.18.040 escape hatch: if the other state's period 'is substantially different from the limitation period of this state and has not afforded a fair opportunity to sue upon, or imposes an unfair burden in defending against, the claim, the limitation period of this state applies.' The older RCW 4.16.290 bars claims that arose in another state between nonresidents if barred there. In Elyse the court refused to apply a South Dakota choice-of-law clause because assent to the agreement was not proven.
The debt exists but cannot be sued on; a suit can be defended by raising the defense.
“(23) Bring an action or initiate an arbitration proceeding on a claim when the licensee knows, or reasonably should know, that such suit or arbitration is barred by the applicable statute of limitations.”
Washington bars licensed collection agencies from suing or arbitrating on time-barred claims, but the full text of RCW 19.16.250 (history through 2025 c 145) and ch. 4.16 RCW contain no requirement to disclose in communications that a debt is time-barred. The quote is the prohibition, not a disclosure duty. Regulation F (12 C.F.R. § 1006.26) applies by federal law.
Exact words: 'Any payment on the contract made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period' (4.16.270) and 'an acknowledgment or promise made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period' (4.16.280). Payments or signed written acknowledgments made before expiry do restart the period. The history lines on both statute pages read '2019 c 377 s 1' and '2019 c 377 s 2'; the legislature's bill summary for HB 1730 shows the Governor signed on May 13, 2019 with an effective date of July 28, 2019. The anti-revival language is in 4.16.270/.280, not in 4.16.040 or 19.16.250.
Where this page comes from.
Researched in two independent passes from primary sources (the statute, the administrative code and the regulator's own pages), then reconciled against the text where the passes disagreed. Verified 2026-09-20. Licensing is re-verified quarterly and limitation periods annually.
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16.100
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16.110
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16.120
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16.130
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16.140
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16.190
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16.230
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16.245
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16.260
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16.430
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16&full=true
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.02&full=true
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.02.090
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.02.110
- lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/law/rcw/RCW%20%2019%20%20TITLE/RCW%20%2019%20.%2016%20%20CHAPTER/RCW%20%2019%20.%2016%20.240.htm
- lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/law/rcw/RCW%20%2019%20%20TITLE/RCW%20%2019%20.%2016%20%20CHAPTER/RCW%20%2019%20.%2016%20.150.htm
- lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/law/rcw/RCW%20%2019%20%20TITLE/RCW%20%2019%20.%2016%20%20CHAPTER/RCW%20%2019%20.%2016%20.920.htm
- law.justia.com/codes/washington/title-19/chapter-19-16/section-19-16-260/
- lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5720-S.SL.pdf
- lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5480-S.SL.pdf
- app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=308-29
- app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=308-29&full=true
- app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=308-29-045
- app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=308-29-020
- app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=308-29-030
- dol.wa.gov/professional-licenses/collection-agencies
- dol.wa.gov/professional-licenses/collection-agencies/fees-collection-agencies
- dol.wa.gov/professional-licenses/collection-agencies/get-your-license-collection-agencies
- dol.wa.gov/professional-licenses/collection-agencies/renew-your-license-collection-agencies
- dor.wa.gov/manage-business/state-endorsements
- dor.wa.gov/manage-business/state-endorsements/collection-agency
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.040
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.080
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.020
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.005
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.150
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.270
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.280
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.290
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.18.010
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.18.020
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.18.040
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=6.17.020
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=62A.3-118
- app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.16.250
- www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/735101.pdf
- static.case.law/wash-app/195/cases/0110-01.json
- app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1730&Year=2019&Initiative=false
- lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Htm/Bill%20Reports/House/1730%20HBR%20FBR%2019.htm
- www.courtlistener.com/api/rest/v4/search/?q=%22credit+card%22+%224.16.040%22+%22account+receivable%22&type=o&court=wash+washctapp
Resolvah enforces the Washington rules at the point of contact.
Licensing by state, time-barred rules, call frequency and consent, checked before anything sends. See it on your own portfolio.
