License Credentialing Freeze: March 18-24, 2026

Mar 3, 2026
Ahead of the Department of Health’s HELMS launch, all licensing and credentialing systems will be unavailable from 5 PM on Wednesday, March 18, until the morning of Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Dentists who renew in March should renew early and inform applicable staff of the upcoming freeze to avoid potential lapses in licensure.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is entering the final phase of launching its new licensing system for all health professionals and facilities in Washington. The Health Enforcement and Licensing Management System (HELMS) helps create efficiencies, streamline processing, strengthen data access, and reduce paper-based activities. This final launch will integrate enforcement functionality into the system for the first time and add specialty programs.

Ahead of the HELMS launch, all licensing and credentialing systems will be unavailable from 5 PM on Wednesday, March 18, until the morning of Tuesday, March 24, 2026. This will allow the DOH team to migrate data, update functionality, and install new tools.

If you or an employee has a license expiring toward the end of March, please renew before March 18 to avoid delays: Login - SecureAccess Washington, or License Renewals.

What you need to know:

  • Renewals will not be processed between March 19-24, 2026. DOH encourages you to renew your license now, prior to the freeze, if you have a renewal date during the freeze.
  • Finish draft applications ahead of the freeze. HELMS removes draft applications that have been inactive for 14 days. To ensure your application remains available, log in and view it before March 18, 2026.
  • No updates will be made to licenses for health professionals and facilities during the freeze. Search tools like Provider Credential Search and Facility Search will still be available, but will not be updated during the freeze.
  • DOH search tools will be upgraded as a part of this launch. Public access will not be impacted, and your current links will still work.
  • For more information on the licensing freeze and the new licensing system, please visit DOH.wa.gov/HELMS.

If you have questions about your license renewal, please contact the Department of Health Customer Service Center at (360) 236-4700 or hsqa.csc@doh.wa.gov.