Chapter 5.04
BUSINESS LICENSES
Sections:
5.04.020 Definitions—Generally.
5.04.030 Definition—“Engaging in business.”
5.04.040 Business license endorsement—When required.
5.04.050 Application and renewal.
5.04.070 Review of application—Approval or denial.
5.04.080 Endorsement expiration.
5.04.090 Penalty for late application or renewal.
5.04.100 Endorsement suspension or revocation.
5.04.120 Penalty for violation.
5.04.130 Examinations of business premises.
5.04.140 Fire inspection certificates.
5.04.010 Applicability.
This chapter applies to:
A. Persons engaging in business within the city of Sedro-Woolley; and
B. Business license endorsements issued by the city of Sedro-Woolley, including those issued through the State Master License Service. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.020 Definitions—Generally.
“Clerk” means the city clerk or such city employee or agent as the city administrator may designate to administer this title.
“Engaging in business” has the meaning found in Section 5.04.030.
“Person” includes the terms “company,” “corporation,” “individual,” “owner,” “partnership,” “proprietorship” and “sole proprietorship” and shall mean any individual, receiver, administrator, executor, assignee, trustee in bankruptcy, trust, estate, firm, joint venture, club, business trust, association, society, or group of individuals acting as a unit, whether mutual, cooperative, fraternal, religious, profit, nonprofit, or otherwise. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.021 Purposes.
A. To provide revenue for municipal planning, policing, and regulatory purpose and to provide revenue to pay for the necessary expense required to issue the endorsement for and to regulate the businesses licensed.
B. The endorsement fees levied by this chapter shall be independent and separate from any permit fees now or hereafter required of any person to engage in any business by any ordinance of the city, regulating any business herein required to be endorsed, and all such businesses shall remain subject to the regulatory provisions of any such ordinance or ordinances now or hereafter in effect, and the person engaged in all such businesses shall be liable for the payment of any endorsement fees for which provision has been made herein.
C. The levy or collection of an endorsement fee upon any business shall not be construed to be a license or permit of the city to the person engaged therein, in the event such business shall be unlawful, illegal, or prohibited by the ordinances of the city or the laws of the state or the United States. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.030 Definition—“Engaging in business.”
A. The term “engaging in business” means commencing, conducting, or continuing in business, and also the exercise of corporate or franchise powers, as well as liquidating a business when the liquidators thereof hold themselves out to the public as conducting such business.
B. This section sets forth examples of activities that constitute engaging in business in the city, and establishes safe harbors for certain of those activities so that a person who meets the criteria may engage in de minimis business activities in the city without having to pay a business license endorsement fee. The activities listed in this section are illustrative only and are not intended to narrow the definition of “engaging in business” in subsection A of this section. If an activity is not listed, whether it constitutes engaging in business in the city shall be determined by considering all the facts and circumstances and applicable law.
C. Without being all-inclusive, any one of the following activities conducted within the city by a person, or its employee, agent, representative, independent contractor, broker or another acting on its behalf, constitutes engaging in business and requires a person to register and obtain a business license:
1. Owning, renting, leasing, maintaining, or having the right to use, or using, tangible personal property or intangible personal property, permanently or temporarily located in the city. This includes but is not limited to storage facilities and equipment rental.
2. Short-term rental or leasing (less than thirty days) of real property. This includes, but is not limited to, hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, Airbnb, Vrbo.
3. Long-term rental or leasing (more than thirty days) of real property containing more than four residential units. This includes, but is not limited to, renting apartments, mobile home parks, and other properties with four or more rental units within the city.
4. Owning, renting, leasing, using, or maintaining, an office, place of business, or other establishment in the city.
5. Soliciting sales, including door-to-door sales.
6. Making repairs or providing maintenance or service to real or tangible personal property, including warranty work and property maintenance.
7. Providing technical assistance or service, including quality control, product inspections, warranty work, or similar services on or in connection with tangible personal property sold by the person or on its behalf.
8. Installing, constructing, or supervising installation or construction of, real or tangible personal property.
9. Soliciting, negotiating, or approving franchise, license, or other similar agreements.
10. Collecting current or delinquent accounts.
11. Picking up and transporting tangible personal property, solid waste, construction debris, or excavated materials.
12. Providing disinfecting and pest control services, employment and labor pool services, home nursing care, janitorial services, appraising, landscape architectural services, security system services, surveying, and real estate services including the listing of homes and managing real property.
13. Rendering professional services such as those provided by accountants, architects, attorneys, auctioneers, consultants, engineers, professional athletes, barbers, baseball clubs and other sports organizations, chemists, psychologists, court reporters, dentists, doctors, detectives, laboratory operators, teachers, veterinarians.
14. Training or recruiting agents, representatives, independent contractors, brokers or others, domiciled or operating on a job in the city, acting on its behalf, or for customers or potential customers.
15. Investigating, resolving, or otherwise assisting in resolving customer complaints.
16. In-store stocking or manipulating products or goods, sold to and owned by a customer, regardless of where sale and delivery of the goods took place.
17. Delivering goods in vehicles owned, rented, leased, used, or maintained by the person selling the goods, or another acting on its behalf. For example, a furniture business delivering a piece of furniture in the business truck, to a residence in city limits.
18. Common carriers delivering goods within city limits, for example UPS, Amazon, and FedEx.
D. If a person, or its employee, agent, representative, independent contractor, broker or another acting on the person’s behalf, engages in no other activities in or with the city but the following, it need not register and obtain a business license endorsement:
1. Meeting with suppliers of goods and services as a customer;
2. Meeting with government representatives in their official capacity, other than those performing contracting or purchasing functions;
3. Attending meetings, such as board meetings, retreats, seminars, and conferences, or other meetings wherein the person does not provide training in connection with tangible personal property sold by the person or on its behalf;
4. Renting tangible or intangible property as a customer when the property is not used in the city;
5. Attending, but not participating in, a “trade show” or “multiple vendor events”;
6. Conducting advertising through the mail;
7. Soliciting sales by phone from a location outside the city;
8. Soliciting service sales by phone or internet, from a location outside the city, and solely providing the service remotely. For example, virtual therapy.
E. A seller located outside the city merely delivering goods into the city by means of common carrier, for example USPS, UPS, Amazon, or FedEx, is not required to register and obtain a business license endorsement; provided, that it engages in no other business activities in the city. Such activities do not include those in subsection D of this section.
F. Government agencies operating or providing services within city limits do not require a city of Sedro-Woolley business license endorsement.
G. The city expressly intends that engaging in business include any activity sufficient to establish nexus for purposes of applying the endorsement fee under the law and the constitutions of the United States and the state of Washington. Nexus is presumed to continue as long as the taxpayer benefits from the activity that constituted the original nexus generating contact or subsequent contacts. (Ord. 2107-25 § 1, 2025; Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.040 Business license endorsement—When required.
A. All entities “engaging in business” as defined in Section 5.04.030 within the city of Sedro-Woolley require a city business license endorsement.
1. A subcontractor engaging in business within the city of Sedro-Woolley must obtain a city business license endorsement. The license of a general contractor does not satisfy the licensing requirements for a subcontractor.
2. If business is transacted by one person at two or more separate locations within the city, each business location requires a separate endorsement, except that property owners engaging in the rental of residential units need only obtain a single endorsement covering any residential location within the city.
3. If more than one business is conducted or operated on a single premises, a separate endorsement is required for each business.
B. Exemption for Businesses Located Outside the City.
1. Any person or business whose annual value of products, gross proceeds of sales, or gross income of the business in the city is equal to or less than two thousand dollars and who does not maintain a place of business within the city is exempt from the general business license endorsement requirements and fees in this chapter.
2. Such a business is not exempt from the regulatory special permits requirements of this title.
C. The following are exempt from the requirement to obtain a city business license endorsement:
1. Garage sales, lawn sales, rummage sales, or any other similar casual sale of tangible personal property conducted on an infrequent basis not to exceed three times per each calendar year and not to exceed two consecutive days at one time;
2. Running an estate sale (estate sales by a professional company would be considered engaging in business);
3. Persons selling personal property or providing a service pursuant to an order or process of a court of competent jurisdiction;
4. Persons acting in accordance with their powers and duties as public officials;
5. A farmer, gardener, or other person, who sells, delivers, or peddles any fruits, vegetables, berries, butter, eggs, fish, milk, poultry, meats, or any farm produce or edibles raised, caught, produced, or manufactured by such person;
6. Working from home as a remote employee;
7. Conducting advertising through social media;
8. Minor engaged in babysitting, newspaper delivery, lemonade stands, lawn mowing, and similar activities;
9. Vendors in a temporary bazaar or community fair, including mobile vendors, for which a special event permit has been given to the sponsor thereof, provided the necessary fire inspection and health/food safety inspections have occurred.
D. A business license endorsement is not transferable.
1. No licensee may allow another person to operate a business under or display the license issued to their business, nor may another person operate under or display the license issued to another business.
2. A person who acquires an existing business must apply for a city business license endorsement before commencing business within the city with that business.
3. A licensee must report a change of location of the business to the State Master License Service, in coordination with the city clerk.
4. A change of the location of a business requires approval by the city before business may commence at the new location, and may require submitting a new master application and payment of fees.
E. A city business license endorsement does not convey the city’s permission to conduct a prohibited activity or other violation. The city may not be held liable for the actions of any licensed business by virtue of having issued an endorsement to conduct business.
F. An applicant or licensee must permit reasonable inspections of the business premises by governmental authorities for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 2107-25 § 2, 2025; Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.041 Mobile vendor.
A. “Mobile vending” or “mobile vendor” means any person whether owner, agent, consignee, or employee, whether a resident of the city or not, who both solicits sales and provides the good(s) or service(s) outside of a permanent structure affixed to real property and who conducts business from a vehicle or other conveyance or temporary stand upon privately or publicly owned property. A person so engaged shall not be relieved from complying with the provisions of this chapter merely by reason of associating temporarily with a local dealer, trader, merchant or auctioneer, or by conducting such temporary business in connection with, as part of, or in the name of any local dealer, trader, merchant or auctioneer.
The following are considered mobile vending:
1. Food truck;
2. Ice cream truck;
3. Coffee cart;
4. Street vendor selling food, beverages, or other items;
5. Mobile vendors on private property;
6. Open air vending not attached to a business with a fixed location.
B. The below do not require mobile vendor endorsements:
1. Vendors in a temporary bazaar or community fair that have been approved through the special events process, including mobile vendors, for which a master business license endorsement has been given to the sponsor thereof, provided the necessary fire inspection and health/food safety inspections have occurred.
2. Delivery businesses, such as Amazon, UPS, FedEx, and delivery vehicles restocking food and drink to other businesses (that engage in no or minimal supplementary sales from the delivery vehicle).
3. Businesses with vehicles that pick up items to be serviced elsewhere, such as laundering.
4. Businesses with sales solicited over the phone or internet, and the goods or service are delivered or provided from a mobile vehicle to a location within city limits. For example, a locksmith or tow truck.
C. Mobile vendors on public streets must meet the following conditions:
1. The vehicle must be legally parked and cannot use more than a single designated parking space;
2. The vehicle or cart may not obstruct any street or sidewalk for the passage of other vehicles or pedestrian or result in noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act as amended (ADAAA);
3. The vehicle must not operate in a single location for more than ten minutes at a time. For the purposes of this section, “one location” is defined as one city block (for example, the ice cream truck selling ice cream and frozen novelties from block to block).
D. Subsections (C)(1) and (C)(3) of this section do not apply to mobile vendors as part of a temporary bazaar or community fair as approved through the special events process. They also do not apply to the Sedro-Woolley Farmers Market.
E. Mobile vending is allowed on private property when invited by the property owner. If the mobile vendor serves food, it must not be located within one hundred feet of an existing restaurant without the restaurant owner’s consent.
F. Nothing in this section shall relieve any person who is operating as a mobile vendor from compliance with all other requirements of the Sedro-Woolley Municipal Code, including, but not limited to, for example, zoning, sewer, and mandatory solid waste service requirements. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.042 Pawnbroker.
No person shall be issued an endorsement to operate as a pawnbroker unless they possess the following qualifications:
A. Is at least twenty-one years of age;
B. Is a resident of the state of Washington for at least six months prior to filing application;
C. Has not been convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude or intent to defraud or any property crime, within three years prior to the time of application;
1. When an application for an endorsement to operate as a pawnbroker, duly signed and notarized, and accompanied by required information, has been received by the police chief, they shall investigate the statement contained therein and may obtain such other information concerning the applicant’s character, integrity, personal habits, past conduct and general suitability to maintain a pawnshop within the city.
2. Each application for a pawnbroker’s endorsement shall be accompanied by a complete set of fingerprints of the applicant, utilizing a fingerprint form provided by the city police department.
3. All applications shall become null and void after sixty days from the date of filing if the application for any reason is denied or is not obtained by the applicant. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.043 Taxicab.
A. No taxicab endorsement or driver’s permit shall be issued to any person who:
1. Has been convicted of an offense of such a nature to indicate that he or she is unfit to hold an endorsement or a permit;
2. Is guilty of committing two or more offenses for which mandatory revocation of driver’s license is provided by law;
3. Has been convicted of manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle or convicted of negligent homicide;
4. Is intemperate or addicted to the use of narcotics.
B. Any endorsement or permit issued may be revoked if the holder is found guilty of the above-mentioned disabilities or physically or mentally unfit upon complaint of the police chief or a committee of the city council designated for that purpose by the council as a whole, at which hearing the holder or licensee may appear and be heard on his own behalf.
C. No person may be issued a taxicab endorsement or driver’s permit within one year after his conviction in any local, state, or federal court or authority of the violation of any ordinance or law pertaining to the sale or possession of alcoholic beverages, and any license or permit issued shall be revoked for one year upon the conviction of the holder of a violation of local, state, or federal ordinances, laws, or regulations pertaining to the sale or possession of alcoholic beverages.
D. The payment of such endorsement fee shall permit the owner or operator to operate as many taxicabs under one endorsement as he may desire.
E. Nothing herein contained shall prevent the operator of a taxicab endorsed to operate in another city or town or within this or another county from entering and leaving the city for picking up or depositing passengers in the usual course of business. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.044 Nonprofits.
A. Nonprofit Business License Endorsement. Businesses and organizations which have IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax status, for activities within the scope of their IRS 501(c)(3) purpose, are exempted from any fees in this chapter; however, they are not exempted from registering with the city of Sedro-Woolley; provided, that:
1. The organization shall provide proof of IRS 501(c)(3) status;
2. The activity shall not include the sale of food, beverages, cigarettes or gambling; and
3. The owner of property used for this exempt purpose shall obtain a fire inspection certificate if required by this chapter.
B. The endorsement required by this chapter shall have a term as established by the State of Washington Business Licensing Service, in cooperation with the city.
C. Each branch establishment or separate location of a business conducted by any person shall, for the purpose thereof, be a separate business and subject to the license therefor provided for herein.
D. If any person be engaged in operating or carrying on in the city more than one business, then such person shall pay the endorsement herein prescribed for as many of said businesses as are carried on by such person.
E. A change of physical location of a business inside the city will require approval by the city before business may commence at the new location, and may require the filing of a new master business application. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.050 Application and renewal.
An application for a city business license endorsement or renewal must be filed via a master application through the State Department of Licensing’s Master License Service.
A. An application may only be for a single city business license endorsement. Each endorsement requires a separate application.
B. The applicant must pay the filing fee as listed in the master fee schedule adopted by resolution of the city council and any State Master License Service’s handling fees. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.060 Licensing fees.
A. General Business License Endorsement. All persons engaged in business in the city shall pay an annual basic license fee as listed in the master fee schedule adopted by resolution of the city council.
B. Regulatory Business License Endorsement. Each person engaged in the following businesses in the city shall pay an additional annual endorsement fee, as listed in the master fee schedule adopted by resolution of the city council, as indicated below:
1. Businesses, clubs or societies selling or serving beer, wine and/or spirits, or selling cannabis, operating under license or authority of the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board;
2. Mobile vendors;
3. Pawnbrokers;
4. Taxicabs;
5. Nonprofits.
C. For purposes of the license by this chapter, any person or business whose annual value of products, gross proceeds of sales, or gross income of the business in the city is equal to or less than two thousand dollars and who does not maintain a place of business within the city is exempt from city business licensing fees. The exemption does not apply to regulatory endorsements or activities that require a specialized permit.
Beginning January 1, 2026, the threshold amount is four thousand dollars. The threshold amount will be adjusted every forty-eight months on January 1st, by an amount equal to the increase in the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) for “West Urban, All Urban Consumers” (CPI-U) for each twelve-month period ending on June 30th as published by the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics or successor agency. To calculate this adjustment, the current rate will be multiplied by one plus the cumulative four-year (forty-eight-month) CPI increase using each twelve-month period ending on June of each prior year, and rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars. However, if any of the annual CPI increases are more than five percent, a five percent increase will be used in computing the annual basis and if any of the annual CPI decreased during the forty-eight-month period, a zero percent increase will be used in computing the annual basis. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.070 Review of application—Approval or denial.
A. The clerk must, when appropriate, refer applications to the community development department, the police department, fire department or other governmental agencies for their review.
B. The clerk must approve an application for a business license endorsement that complies with this chapter and other provisions of the Sedro-Woolley Municipal Code.
C. If the clerk denies an application, the clerk must give notice to the applicant of the denial of their endorsement. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.080 Endorsement expiration.
Each city business endorsement must include an expiration date as determined by the Master License Service in coordination with the city. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.090 Penalty for late application or renewal.
A. Endorsements must be renewed annually on or before the expiration date, or expiration of any prorated period. Failure to renew a business license endorsement by the endorsement expiration date may result in the assessment of a late renewal penalty (outlined in the city’s master fee schedule adopted by resolution of the city council), and may lead to the revocation of the city endorsement.
B. Revocation of an endorsement due to nonrenewal requires reapplication for the city endorsement and approval by the city before the revoked business may continue operation within the city. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.100 Endorsement suspension or revocation.
A. The clerk may suspend or revoke a business license endorsement when the licensee or any of its officers, directors, agents, owners, or employees fails or have failed to:
1. Maintain the endorsed premises or business activity in compliance with applicable health, building, fire, zoning (including legal nonconforming uses) or safety laws, ordinances, or regulations;
2. Comply with the requirements of this chapter. Any suspension shall remain in effect until the conditions causing the suspension are cured and reasonable measures are taken to ensure that those conditions will not recur; or
3. Renew a business license endorsement within one hundred twenty days after the expiration date of the endorsement.
B. The clerk must give notice to the license-holder of the suspension or revocation of their endorsement. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.110 Appeals.
A. The applicant or license-holder may appeal the clerk’s decision to the city hearing examiner by:
1. Filing written notice of appeal to the clerk within seven calendar days; and
2. Paying the appropriate fee.
B. The hearing examiner may overturn or modify the clerk’s decision if it is clearly erroneous, and must issue its decision within thirty days of the date the appeal is received. The hearing examiner’s review of the appeal is not subject to a hearings proceeding. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.120 Penalty for violation.
Violation of any requirement of this chapter not otherwise specified is a class 1 civil infraction and may also be enforced pursuant to Title 18. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.130 Examinations of business premises.
City officials shall have the authority to investigate and examine all places of business licensed or subject to endorsement under this chapter at any reasonable time for the purpose of determining whether such place of business is complying with the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)
5.04.140 Fire inspection certificates.
A. The owner of nonresidential, commercial, industrial, or multifamily residential structures on real property shall obtain a fire inspection certificate for each property from the Sedro-Woolley fire department.
B. For purposes of this chapter, “multifamily residential rental property” shall be defined as a building containing three or more dwelling units or a single dwelling unit in a building used primarily for nonresidential purposes. Hotel, motel, and “bed and breakfast” facilities shall be considered commercial facilities.
C. The owner of the real property shall be primarily responsible for obtaining the fire inspection certificate; however, the tenant or lessee may obtain the fire inspection certificate for the owner, as the owner’s agent. (Ord. 2100-25 § 2, 2025)