The Office of Secretary of State’s Corporations and Charities Division is receiving calls and e-mails from customers regarding a postcard received in the mail from the following company: Business Compliance Division, 170 S. Lincoln, Spokane, WA 99201.

Patrick Reed, operations manager for the Corporations Division, said the postcard looks like an official card, similar to those sent by the division to nonprofit corporations and limited partnerships (LPs). Reed pointed out these Business Compliance Division postcards do not come from the Office of Secretary of State or any other government agency.

Reed said people should do the following if they receive the postcard:
• Ask them what service they provide and what they are doing with your corporate and payment information.
• Do not confuse these notices with the real annual report postcards sent by the Office of Secretary of State, or letters by the Business Licensing Service.

Washington state’s annual report fee for profit corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) is $71 when filed through the Business License Service. Nonprofit corporations ($10) and LPs ($60) may file annual reports at the Office of Secretary of State here. A Certificate of Existence (good standing) is $20 when ordered from the Office of Secretary of State and may be ordered online.

Reed said if you feel a fraud is taking place, contact the state Office of Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division here.