City of Bonney Lake

Office Hours:
Monday - Thursday
9:00 - 4:00
Fridays
By Appointment Only

Contact:
Change of Occupant
Home Occupation Licenses

Location:
Public Services Center
21719 96th ST E
Buckley, WA 98321

Mailing:
City of Bonney Lake
Attn:Business Licenses
21719 96th ST E
Buckley, WA 98321

Phone: 253-447-4356

Inspection Line: 253-447-4357

Fax: 253-862-1116

Business Licenses

A business license is an annual business tax for doing business within the City limits.

All businesses that are based in the City must have a business license. This includes home based businesses, building contractors, independent contractors, and non-profit businesses.

The City of Bonney Lake requires that you obtain a license when you conduct any business activity within the City if the valuation of the work performed is $2,000 or great throughout the calendar year, even if your business is located outside of the City limits or if you have a business license from another City.

For specific code questions regarding business licenses please see BLMC 5.08.

To obtain a City of Bonney Lake Business license, you will add an endorsement to your Washington State Business License specifically for Bonney Lake. This process can be completed by contacting the Washington State Department of Revenue.

All new tenants in commercial developments are required to obtain a change of occupant permit. This process is completed by submitting a completed commercial building permit along with an existing floor plan and a proposed floor plan. If your business is considering moving into an existing commercial space, please contact our Permit Coordinator regarding requirements for your business.

Commercial Building Permit Application

Home based businesses are also required to obtain a Home Occupation License in addition to a City business license. The application process is free. Please complete the application form below, sign and submit for review. Once review is complete, you will receive an email from the City of Bonney Lake with the status of your Home Occupation License.

Home Occupation Application

Rules For Home Occupation

Yes, businesses operating from a location inside the City of Bonney Lake shall be required to meet all code requirements. This is to ensure that the business activity and site location are compatible with the City's municipal codes, building codes and zoning requirements.

The Permit Center is the City's one stop shop for guiding new businesses in getting started, navigating the permitting process, helping large-scale infrastructure projects move forward, and helping grease the wheels of the business community. We're passionate about supporting a flourishing and expansive local economy.

The municipal code does note that there are some businesses that are exempt from business licenses, those are:

Any activities of a temporary nature, such as contests, circuses, shows, auctions or other business licensed under another ordinance of the city;
Any agency of the United States, the state of Washington or political subdivision thereof;
Nonprofit associations, clubs, or corporations maintained for the purpose of organized sports, charity, public school-related activities, or municipal-related activities, including police or fire department reserve organizations;
Vendors not otherwise engaged in business in the city who rent a booth or space, or are otherwise a participant, at a city-sanctioned or sponsored event such as Bonney Lake Days;
Minors doing business or operating a business concern where no other person is employed by the minor, such as babysitting or lawn mowing;
Individual real estate agents; provided, that the brokerage has a business license;
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 $2,000 and does not maintain a place of business within the city shall be exempt from the general business license requirements in this chapter. This exemption does not apply to regulatory license requirements or activities that require a specialized permit.
The business license fee shall not be refundable in the event a business licensed pursuant to this subsection unexpectedly earns less than the $2,000 threshold. (Ord. 1602 § 1, 2018).