The Tacoma Landlord Business License: Required for Every Rental
If you rent out property inside Tacoma city limits, you need a Tacoma business license. There is no unit threshold. And without it, you cannot lawfully raise the rent or serve a notice to vacate.
This page is general information, not legal advice. We are property managers, not attorneys. Fees and application processes change. Confirm current requirements and amounts with the City of Tacoma before you rely on them, and confirm anything legal with a Washington attorney.
Reviewed: September 2026.
Who needs one
A Tacoma business license is required for all rental activity inside Tacoma city limits. There is no unit threshold.
One rental house counts. One condo counts. A single unit in a duplex you inherited counts. If rent is being paid to you for property inside the city, you are running a rental business in Tacoma’s eyes and the license applies.
The license sits under TMC 6B, the City’s business license chapter.
Why this is the most important page in this cluster
Most compliance rules cost you money when you break them. This one takes away tools you need.
Under TMC 1.95.060.E and TMC 1.95.070.B, no landlord may issue a notice to increase rent, or a notice to vacate, unless they:
Hold a current Tacoma business license under TMC 6B, and
Have registered each unit with certification of code compliance.
Both parts. A license without unit registration does not do it, and unit registration without a current license does not do it either.
Sit with what that means for a moment. If your license lapsed, you cannot lawfully raise the rent, even by a lawful percentage, with a perfect notice, on a perfect schedule. And you cannot lawfully begin to end a tenancy, even with a clear just cause under RCW 59.18.650.
Inside Tacoma, a rent increase notice takes 180 days on a City form under TMC 1.95.060, plus two more notices under TMC 1.100.050. If you discover the license problem after serving the notice, you do not fix it and continue. You fix it and start the 180 days again. See our Washington rent increase law page for the full calendar.
The fee table
The annual fee is set by worldwide gross income, not by how many rental units you own or how much rent you collect in Tacoma.
| Worldwide gross income | Annual fee |
|---|---|
| Under $12,000, or a 501(c)(3) organization | $37 |
| $12,000 to $250,000 | $190 |
| $250,001 to $1,000,000 | $435 |
| $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 | $1,500 |
| Over $5,000,000 | $2,000 |
The tier that surprises owners is the second one. An owner with one rental house and a full time job outside real estate can still land above $12,000 of gross income, which puts the license at $190 rather than $37. Read “worldwide gross income” literally and confirm your own tier with the City.
Set against what is at stake, the fee is small. A lapsed $190 license can block a rent increase for six months and stall a possession case entirely.
How to apply
Tacoma business licenses are handled through FileLocal, the shared online licensing portal.
Typical processing time: 3 to 5 business days.
The practical sequence:
Apply through FileLocal
For the Tacoma business license under TMC 6B.
Register each rental unit
With the City, including certification of code compliance. This is a separate obligation from the license itself and it is per unit, not per property owner.
Keep both current
Renewal is annual. Put the renewal date in the same calendar you use for lease renewals, because in Tacoma a lapsed license is not an administrative problem, it is an operational one.
Check before you serve anything
Before any rent increase notice and before any notice to vacate, confirm the license and the unit registration are both current on the day you issue the notice.
Separately from the City license, a state Business License with a UBI number is required. Our research confirmed that requirement in the context of unincorporated Pierce County, where there is no general county business license but the state registration still applies. Confirm your own state registration with the Washington State Department of Revenue.
What the license does not cover
A Tacoma business license is a licensing requirement. It is not a substitute for the rest of the Tacoma rental housing code. Holding a current license does not:
01
Change the 180 day rent increase notice requirement under TMC 1.95.060.
02
Satisfy the two-notice requirement under TMC 1.100.050.
03
Exempt you from the one month total move-in cost cap under TMC 1.100.040.
04
Exempt you from the $10 per month late fee cap in TMC 1.100.
05
Move the school year or November 15 to March 15 eviction restrictions in TMC 1.100.
It simply unlocks the ability to use the notices at all. Everything else in the Tacoma rental housing code still applies on top.
If you are not sure whether your license and unit registration are current, that is worth ten minutes today rather than six months from now when you want to raise rent.
We handle city code compliance for the properties we manage, and it is a line item on our published fee schedule rather than something we bury. If you would like to talk it through, book a property management consult or call 253.222.3387.
Areas We Serve
Tacoma business license questions
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Yes. A Tacoma business license is required for all rental activity inside city limits and there is no unit threshold, so a single rental house needs one. It matters beyond the fee. Under TMC 1.95.060.E and TMC 1.95.070.B, a landlord without a current license and unit registration cannot lawfully raise rent or serve a notice to vacate.
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The annual fee is based on worldwide gross income: $37 under $12,000 or for a 501(c)(3), $190 from $12,000 to $250,000, $435 from $250,001 to $1,000,000, $1,500 from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000, and $2,000 above $5,000,000. Confirm your tier with the City before you apply.
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Through FileLocal, the online licensing portal, with typical processing of 3 to 5 business days. You also have to register each rental unit with the City, including certification of code compliance. The license and the unit registration are two separate requirements and you need both.
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You lose the ability to use two of the most important tools a landlord has. Under TMC 1.95.060.E and TMC 1.95.070.B, you cannot issue a notice to increase rent or a notice to vacate without a current license and unit registration with certification of code compliance. Given Tacoma’s 180 day rent increase notice, a lapse can cost you most of a year.
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Not a Tacoma one. Tacoma’s rules stop at the city line. Our research found no general business license and no rental registration in unincorporated Pierce County, though a state Business License with a UBI number is still required. Lakewood is different again and runs a full Rental Housing Safety Program.
Have a question about your own property?
Of everything in this compliance cluster, this is the fastest item to fix and the most expensive one to leave alone. It takes 3 to 5 business days and it gates the two notices you are most likely to need.
If you want help getting it sorted, we are here Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm, and we reply within 24 hours.
Red Roof Rentals & Real Estate, 14208 Pacific Ave., Unit #2, Tacoma, WA 98444. 253.222.3387.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Fees and processes change. Confirm current amounts and requirements with the City of Tacoma.