Secretary of State Steve Hobbs Opens Business Services in Cheney

CHENEY, Wash. – The Office of the Secretary of State (OSOS) will launch a new regional branch to provide Corporations & Charities services on the Eastern Washington University campus, Jan. 5, 2026.  

The new Corporations & Charities regional office will be located in the OSOS Eastern Regional Branch at 960 Washington Street.  

The Eastern Regional Branch will offer same day, in-person services for apostille certifications, state business registration and maintenance filings, registered agent filings, and trademark filings to improve access to services in Eastern Washington.  

“The opening of the Eastern Regional Branch will provide a more convenient location for business owners to submit their filings in person, receive an apostille, or register their trademark without having to spend hours driving across the state for an appointment,” said Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. “Our customers have enough to worry about running their business or nonprofit. We are making it more accessible, convenient, and easier to do business in Washington by taking our services to our customers where they are.”  

“Providing local support for small businesses and non-profits is essential to creating an economy where businesses and communities thrive," said Mary Miller, director of public policy of Greater Spokane Inc. “Bringing state business services closer to business and nonprofit owners in the Greater Spokane region is exactly the kind of responsive leadership that will help grow our regional and state economies.” 

“We hear from business and nonprofit owners when weather-related outages near Olympia take down services, or they face inaccessible roads when they are on tight deadlines. The Eastern Regional Branch will help us better guarantee these services statewide,” said Randy Bolerjack, deputy secretary of state. “It’s also been exciting to hire talent directly from the greater Spokane region to offer business-critical services here in person.” 

The establishment of the Eastern Regional Branch marks the first regional multi-service location for OSOS outside of Thurston County. 

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Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees areas within state government including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office operates the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, and administers the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees and the Productivity Board state employee suggestion program. The Secretary of State oversees the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime and the Civic Engagement Program to increase governmental trust and participation for all Washingtonians.