Washington consumer loan company licensees must file their annual assessment reports (AAR) and consolidated annual reports (CAR) by March 1, 2022 via the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions’ online assessment filing system. Licensees must file all Washington loan activity data from 2021, attest to its accuracy, and submit the requisite payment by the due date to avoid late fees and penalties.
Based on our experience with the system, we recommend licensees start the process as soon as possible. We compiled the following tips to help you prepare:
- Even if a licensee did not do any business in Washington during 2021, the department still requires that it file both the AAR and CAR
- The department requires licensees that have more than 30 loans to report on to use its CSV or XML file template (CSV recommended) when inputting the loan supporting data; if less than 30 loans were made, licensees may choose to use the CSV or XML file template or input the data directly into the system. See the department’s instructions for the template links and references.
- Licensees must have a Secure Access Washington (SAW) account and add the “Consumer Loan Online Services” service to the account to submit the reports
- Licensees will need their department reference number to begin their reports. This number is located on the licensee’s payment receipt from last year (it starts with 5CLAR). If the licensee is unable to locate the number or did not become licensed until 2021, then the licensee should immediately submit a request to the department via the system for the number (as it could take the department up to two business days to provide the number).
- Once the loan data is prepared for submission, licensees should follow the online filing system guide
- For payments over $10,000, an e-check is required at the time of payment; otherwise, the system accepts credit cards
If you require assistance creating a SAW account and filing Washington loan activity data, check in with APPROVED.