How to start a pet sitting business in Washington (2026)

1Pet sitting demand in Washington

About 62% of Washington households own at least one pet. Seattle-Tacoma International drives much of the demand: tech and aerospace employees travel for work, and summer is the busy season for vacations, cabin weekends and trips to the San Juan Islands. Military families at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Naval Base Kitsap and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island book long sits during deployments and training. Dense Seattle neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill and Belltown have many apartment cat owners who want visits rather than walks.

The biggest markets: Seattle, Bellevue / Eastside, Tacoma, Spokane.

2Can you board pets at home in Washington?

Sitting in the client's home needs nothing beyond your state business license. For boarding at your own home, a 2024 legislative staff analysis notes that Washington law does not define kennels or boarding businesses and sets no professional license for boarders, though local governments may require one. Cities and counties are where the limits live. Seattle allows no more than three small animals such as dogs and cats per household unless the lot is over 20,000 square feet, and its land use code controls where kennels and pet daycares may operate. Pierce and King counties run their own kennel or animal business licensing for unincorporated areas. Ask your city how boarded pets count, and check your HOA or lease before you list boarding.

3Set up your business in Washington

• File an LLC. $200 one-time filing with the Washington Secretary of State (Corporations). It separates your personal assets from the business, which matters when you hold clients' keys.
• Recurring entity cost: $70/year, annual report due to the Washington Secretary of State (about $70).
• Get an EIN from the IRS. It is free and takes about 10 minutes online.
• City or county business license: typically $25-100/year. Check your city's revenue or business services site.

Washington-specific: Washington's annual report fee is on the higher end, about $70 a year. You also need to register for a Business License Application (BLA) with the Department of Revenue at the same time, which gives you a Unified Business Identifier (UBI) for everything.

4Taxes for Washington pet sitters

Sales tax: Washington's retail sales tax does NOT apply to dog walking or pet sitting (these are services, not retail). HOWEVER, Washington's Business & Occupation (B&O) tax DOES apply to your gross revenue — pet care typically falls under the 'Service and Other Activities' classification at 1.5% of gross. This is owed regardless of profit. The Small Business B&O Tax Credit cancels it for most small service businesses: roughly the first $125,000 a year of gross income, phasing out completely by about $250,000 (a larger credit is scheduled for 2029). Confirm your numbers on dor.wa.gov.

State income tax: None, a real take-home advantage.

Other taxes worth knowing: B&O tax on gross revenue (~1.5% for services) is the surprise for out-of-state founders. You owe it even at break-even or a loss. File quarterly via the WA Department of Revenue's My DOR portal.

Official source: WA Department of Revenue — B&O Tax →

5Insurance and bonding in Washington

A Washington sitter policy should pair general liability with care, custody and control coverage for pets in your care, plus key or lockout coverage and a bond if clients want one. Note that no private policy can cover your employees' workplace injuries here; that comes only through L&I. Plan for the state's weather swings: snow and ice that close Puget Sound roads, summer heat like the 2021 heat dome, and wildfire smoke east of the Cascades.

• General liability with care, custody and control covers harm to the pets in your care and damage in the client's home.
• Key and lockout coverage pays to rekey a home if you lose a client's key.
• A bond covers theft claims and is a cheap way to reassure new clients.

Workers' comp once you hire: Workers' compensation is required for all employers in Washington and is administered exclusively by the state through Labor & Industries (L&I). You cannot buy private workers' comp in Washington — you must use L&I. Premium is based on industry classification and hours worked. Sole proprietors with no employees are exempt but can opt in for personal coverage. WA Labor & Industries — Workers' Comp →

6What to charge in Washington

Typical Washington bands for 2026:

• Drop-in visit (30 min): $22 to $38
• Overnight in the client's home: $75 to $120 per night
• Additional pet: +$5-10 per visit

Overnights and peak dates: Washington overnights usually run about $75 to $120 a night, highest in Seattle and on the Eastside. Summer, roughly late June through Labor Day, is the peak, along with Thanksgiving, the winter holidays and the February mid-winter school break many districts take. Many Seattle-area sitters set a minimum stay and a holiday rate for those dates.

Check your numbers with the pet sitter rates calculator and the holiday rate calculator.

7Hiring sitters in Washington

Washington uses a six-part test (similar to the IRS common-law test) for worker classification. L&I is aggressive on misclassification audits — if you direct a 1099 sitter's schedule, set their pricing, and supply equipment, plan on losing the audit. Multi-sitter shops in WA typically run W-2 from the start.

L&I misclassification audits in Washington are common and the back-premium math is harsh: if a 1099 sitter is reclassified, you owe back comp premiums for every hour they worked plus penalties of up to 200%. Many small WA shops have been bankrupted by a single audit.

8FAQ