The following is a release from the Business Licensing Service:

The city of Kenmore has partnered with the state Business Licensing Service (BLS) to offer a streamlined licensing and renewal process to its business community.

The BLS is a clearinghouse for business licensing – offering nearly 400 licenses, registrations and endorsements from 11 state agencies and – with the addition of Kenmore – 59 cities. The Washington State Department of Revenue administers the BLS.

Kenmore businesses can now register or renew licenses online at business.wa.gov/BLS. The service brings all local Kenmore business requirements into a “one-stop shop” and makes available most, if not all, the state registrations also needed to operate, such as liquor licenses.

Kenmore businesses located inside city limits and currently registered with Revenue will be sent registration letters this month. Letter recipients are required to reply by May 31 in order to be issued an updated state business license that lists the city of Kenmore registration.

Kenmore is located in north King County at the top of Lake Washington, with about 2,000 registered businesses. It is the seventh King County city to join BLS. Two Eastern Washington cities – Ephrata and Deer Park – also recently joined the BLS for local licensing in November 2013.

The BLS is one of the few systems in the country that allows a business to get licensed with cities at the same time it registers with state agencies.