(1) The department may require the renewal of trade names and establish a process for renewing trade names. Any such renewal process may not require renewals of trade names more often than annually and must allow persons to renew their trade name at the same time they are required to renew their business license.

(2) The department may cancel a person's trade name upon request of the person the trade name is registered to or when the person's business license account with the department's business licensing service is inactive. The department may also provide for the cancellation of trade names under circumstances as defined by the department by rule, which may include failure to renew a trade name under a renewal process as may be established by the department under the authority of subsection (1) of this section.

(3)(a) The department must make a reasonable effort to notify a person that the department intends to cancel the person's trade name. This notice is not required when a request for cancellation of a trade name is received by the department from the person the trade name was registered to or the person's authorized representative. The department may comply with this subsection either by mailing the notice to the person's last known address on record with the department or by providing the notice electronically instead of by mail. Such electronic notice is not subject to the confidentiality provisions of RCW 19.02.115 and may be sent by email to the person's last known email address on record with the department. However, if the department sends a notice by email and is notified that the email is undeliverable, the department must resend the notice by mail to the person's last known address on record with the department.

(b) The department may cancel a trade name unless, within twenty days of sending the notice required under this subsection, the person notifies the department in writing not to cancel the person's trade name and pays any applicable renewal fee.

(4) The department may remove any canceled trade names from its database of trade names.

(5) "Business license" and "business licensing service" have the same meaning as in RCW 19.02.020.