<PAGE>

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 17, 2000
                                                 Registration No. 333-_____


                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549
                                  -------------
                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                            ACTIVE VOICE CORPORATION
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                 Washington                             91-1235111
      (State or Other Jurisdiction of      (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
       Incorporation or Organization)


                          2901 Third Avenue, Suite 500
                         Seattle, Washington 98121-9800
                                 (206) 441-4700

          (Address of Principal Executive Offices, Including Zip Code)

                            -------------------------

        Active Voice Corporation                Active Voice Corporation
         2000 Stock Option Plan             2000 Director Stock Option Plan

                            (Full Title of the Plan)

                            -------------------------

                     Jose S. David, Chief Financial Officer
                          2901 Third Avenue, Suite 500
                         Seattle, Washington 98121-9800
                                 (206) 441-4700

            (Name, Address and Telephone Number of Agent for Service)
                            -------------------------

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title of Securities to Be                                     Proposed Maximum Aggregate    Amount of
Registered                       Amount to be Registered (1)  Offering Price (2)            Registration Fee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                              <C>                          <C>                           <C>
Common Stock                     1,120,000 shares             $21,735,000                   $5,738.04
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>

(1)  Plus (i) an indeterminate number of shares of Common Stock that may become
     issuable under the Plans as a result of the adjustment provisions therein,
     and (ii) if any interests in the Plans constitute separate securities
     required to be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, then, pursuant
     to Rule 416(c), an indeterminate amount of such interests to be offered or
     sold pursuant to the Plans.

(2)  Estimated solely for purposes of computing the registration fee pursuant to
     Rules 457(c) and 457(h) based on an offering price of $19.40625 per share
     (the average of the high and low sales prices reported by the Nasdaq Stock
     Market on November 14, 2000) for the shares issuable upon exercise of
     options granted or to be granted under the Plans.



<PAGE>

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

         This registration statement relates to 950,000 shares of the
Registrant's Common Stock, no par value, reserved for issuance under the Active
Voice Corporation 2000 Stock Option Plan, and 170,000 shares of the Registrant's
Common Stock, no par value, reserved for issuance under the Active Voice
Corporation 2000 Director Stock Option Plan.

ITEM 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

         The following documents are incorporated in this Registration Statement
by reference:

                  1. The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal
         year ended March 31, 2000, filed by the Registrant with the Securities
         and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of
         1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act");

                  2. All other reports filed by the Registrant with the
         Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d)
         of the Exchange Act since March 31, 2000; and

                  3. The description of the Registrant's Common Stock set forth
         in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed by the Registrant with
         the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 4, 1993, under
         Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act.

         All documents filed by the Registrant with the Securities and Exchange
Commission after the date of this Registration Statement pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, before the filing of a
post-effective amendment that indicates that all securities offered pursuant to
this Registration Statement have been sold or that deregisters all securities
then remaining unsold, shall also be deemed to be incorporated by reference in
this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the respective dates of
filing of such documents.

         Any statement incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be
modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent
that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document
that also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or
supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be
deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this
Registration Statement.

ITEM 4.  DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

         Not required.


                                     II-1

<PAGE>

ITEM 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL

         None.

ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

         Sections 23B.08.500 through 23B.08.600 of the Washington Business
Corporation Act authorize a court to award, or a corporation's board of
directors to grant, indemnification to directors and officers on terms
sufficiently broad to permit indemnification under certain circumstances for
liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Section 5.5 of
the Registrant's Restated Articles of Incorporation and Article 10 of the
Registrant's Restated Bylaws provide for indemnification of the Registrant's
directors, officers, employees and agents to the maximum extent permitted by
Washington law. The directors and officers of the Registrant also may be
indemnified against liability they may incur for serving in that capacity
pursuant to one or more liability insurance policies maintained by the
Registrant for such purpose. The Registrant currently maintains a policy of
directors' and officers' liability insurance with an aggregate coverage limit of
$1 million.

         Section 23B.08.320 of the Washington Business Corporation Act
authorizes a corporation to limit a director's liability to the corporation or
its shareholders for monetary damages for acts or omissions as a director,
except in certain circumstances involving intentional misconduct, self-dealing
or illegal corporate loans or distributions, or any transaction from which the
director personally receives a benefit in money, property or services to which
the director is not legally entitled. Section 5.5 of the Registrant's Restated
Articles of Incorporation contains provisions implementing, to the fullest
extent permitted by Washington law, such limitations on a director's liability
to the Registrant and its shareholders.

ITEM 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED

         Not applicable.

ITEM 8.  EXHIBITS

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

        EXHIBIT
        NUMBER        DESCRIPTION
<S>                   <C>
        5             Opinion of Riddell Williams P.S.
        23.1          Consent of Riddell Williams P.S. (included in Exhibit 5)
        23.2          Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors
        24            Powers of Attorney (included on signature page)
</TABLE>


                                     II-2

<PAGE>

ITEM 9.  UNDERTAKINGS

         (a)      The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

                  (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
         being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement;

                            (i) To include any prospectus required by Section
              10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

                           (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
               arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement
               (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) that,
               individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
               in the information set forth in the Registration Statement; and

                           (iii) To include any material information with
               respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in
               the Registration Statement or any material change to such
               information in the Registration Statement;

         PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not
         apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective
         amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by
         the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that
         are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

                  (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
         the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be
         deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the securities
         offered therein, and the offering of the securities at that time shall
         be deemed to be the initial BONA FIDE offering thereof.

                  (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
         amendment any of the securities being registered that remain unsold at
         the termination of the offering.

         (b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange
Act that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be
deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the securities offered
therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be
the initial BONA FIDE offering thereof.

         (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise,
the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the


                                     II-3

<PAGE>

Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public
policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore,
unenforceable. If a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other
than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a
director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful
defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director,
officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the Registrant will, unless, in the opinion of its counsel, the
matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of
appropriate jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification by it
is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will
be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.


                                     II-4



<PAGE>

                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe it meets all the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Seattle, State of Washington, on November 17, 2000.

                                                 ACTIVE VOICE CORPORATION



                                            By   /s/ Jose S. David
                                                 ------------------------------
                                                 Jose S. David
                                                 Chief Financial Officer

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Frank
J. Costa and Jose S. David, and each of them severally, such person's true and
lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power to act without the other
and with full power of substitution and resubstitution, to execute in the name
and on behalf of such person, individually and in each capacity stated below,
any and all amendments and post-effective amendments to this Registration
Statement, any and all supplements hereto, and any and all other instruments
necessary or incidental in connection herewith, and to file the same with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration
Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the
dates indicated below.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

               SIGNATURE                             TITLE                                 DATE
<S>                                  <C>                                            <C>
/s/ Frank J. Costa                   President and Chief Executive Officer          November 17, 2000
---------------------------          (Principal Executive Officer) and
Frank J. Costa                       Director


/s/ Jose S. David                    Chief Financial Officer (Principal             November 17, 2000
---------------------------          Financial and Accounting Officer)
Jose S. David


/s/ Robert L. Richmond               Chairman of the Board                          November 17, 2000
---------------------------
Robert L. Richmond


/s/ Tom A. Alberg                    Director                                       November 17, 2000
---------------------------
Tom A. Alberg


/s/ Douglas P. Beighle               Director                                       November 17, 2000
---------------------------
Douglas P. Beighle


/s/ Robert C. Greco                  Director                                       November 17, 2000
---------------------------
Robert C. Greco


/s/ Harold H. Kawaguchi              Director                                       November 17, 2000
---------------------------
Harold H. Kawaguchi

</TABLE>

                                     II-5
<PAGE>


                                EXHIBIT INDEX

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

EXHIBIT
NUMBER         DESCRIPTION
<S>            <C>
5              Opinion of Riddell Williams P.S.
23.2           Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors

</TABLE>
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "filename": "a2031558zs-8.txt", "description": "S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 15433}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "ACTIVE VOICE CORP", "cik": "0000869554", "assigned-sic": "3661", "irs-number": "911235111", "state-of-incorporation": "WA", "fiscal-year-end": "0331"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-50218", "film-number": "772712"}, "business-address": {"street1": "2901 THIRD AVE", "street2": "STE 500", "city": "SEATTLE", "state": "WA", "zip": "98121-9800", "phone": "2064414700"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "2901 THIRD AVE", "street2": "SUITE 500", "city": "SEATTLE", "state": "WA", "zip": "98121"}}
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 17, 2000
                                                 Registration No. 333-_____

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549
                                  -------------
                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                            ACTIVE VOICE CORPORATION
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                 Washington                             91-1235111
      (State or Other Jurisdiction of      (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
       Incorporation or Organization)

                          2901 Third Avenue, Suite 500
                         Seattle, Washington 98121-9800
                                 (206) 441-4700

          (Address of Principal Executive Offices, Including Zip Code)

                            -------------------------

        Active Voice Corporation                Active Voice Corporation
         2000 Stock Option Plan             2000 Director Stock Option Plan

                            (Full Title of the Plan)

                            -------------------------

                     Jose S. David, Chief Financial Officer
                          2901 Third Avenue, Suite 500
                         Seattle, Washington 98121-9800
                                 (206) 441-4700

            (Name, Address and Telephone Number of Agent for Service)
                            -------------------------

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title of Securities to Be                                     Proposed Maximum Aggregate    Amount of
Registered                       Amount to be Registered (1)  Offering Price (2)            Registration Fee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock                     1,120,000 shares             $21,735,000                   $5,738.04
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1)  Plus (i) an indeterminate number of shares of Common Stock that may become
     issuable under the Plans as a result of the adjustment provisions therein,
     and (ii) if any interests in the Plans constitute separate securities
     required to be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, then, pursuant
     to Rule 416(c), an indeterminate amount of such interests to be offered or
     sold pursuant to the Plans.

(2)  Estimated solely for purposes of computing the registration fee pursuant to
     Rules 457(c) and 457(h) based on an offering price of $19.40625 per share
     (the average of the high and low sales prices reported by the Nasdaq Stock
     Market on November 14, 2000) for the shares issuable upon exercise of
     options granted or to be granted under the Plans.
PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

         This registration statement relates to 950,000 shares of the
Registrant's Common Stock, no par value, reserved for issuance under the Active
Voice Corporation 2000 Stock Option Plan, and 170,000 shares of the Registrant's
Common Stock, no par value, reserved for issuance under the Active Voice
Corporation 2000 Director Stock Option Plan.

ITEM 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

         The following documents are incorporated in this Registration Statement
by reference:

                  1. The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal
         year ended March 31, 2000, filed by the Registrant with the Securities
         and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of
         1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act");

                  2. All other reports filed by the Registrant with the
         Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d)
         of the Exchange Act since March 31, 2000; and

                  3. The description of the Registrant's Common Stock set forth
         in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed by the Registrant with
         the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 4, 1993, under
         Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act.

         All documents filed by the Registrant with the Securities and Exchange
Commission after the date of this Registration Statement pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, before the filing of a
post-effective amendment that indicates that all securities offered pursuant to
this Registration Statement have been sold or that deregisters all securities
then remaining unsold, shall also be deemed to be incorporated by reference in
this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the respective dates of
filing of such documents.

         Any statement incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be
modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent
that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document
that also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or
supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be
deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this
Registration Statement.

ITEM 4.  DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

         Not required.

                                     II-1
ITEM 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL

         None.

ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

         Sections 23B.08.500 through 23B.08.600 of the Washington Business
Corporation Act authorize a court to award, or a corporation's board of
directors to grant, indemnification to directors and officers on terms
sufficiently broad to permit indemnification under certain circumstances for
liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Section 5.5 of
the Registrant's Restated Articles of Incorporation and Article 10 of the
Registrant's Restated Bylaws provide for indemnification of the Registrant's
directors, officers, employees and agents to the maximum extent permitted by
Washington law. The directors and officers of the Registrant also may be
indemnified against liability they may incur for serving in that capacity
pursuant to one or more liability insurance policies maintained by the
Registrant for such purpose. The Registrant currently maintains a policy of
directors' and officers' liability insurance with an aggregate coverage limit of
$1 million.

         Section 23B.08.320 of the Washington Business Corporation Act
authorizes a corporation to limit a director's liability to the corporation or
its shareholders for monetary damages for acts or omissions as a director,
except in certain circumstances involving intentional misconduct, self-dealing
or illegal corporate loans or distributions, or any transaction from which the
director personally receives a benefit in money, property or services to which
the director is not legally entitled. Section 5.5 of the Registrant's Restated
Articles of Incorporation contains provisions implementing, to the fullest
extent permitted by Washington law, such limitations on a director's liability
to the Registrant and its shareholders.

ITEM 7. EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED

         Not applicable.

ITEM 8.  EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT
        NUMBER        DESCRIPTION
5             Opinion of Riddell Williams P.S.
        23.1          Consent of Riddell Williams P.S. (included in Exhibit 5)
        23.2          Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors
        24            Powers of Attorney (included on signature page)
II-2
ITEM 9.  UNDERTAKINGS

         (a)      The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

                  (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
         being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement;

                            (i) To include any prospectus required by Section
              10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

                           (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
               arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement
               (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) that,
               individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
               in the information set forth in the Registration Statement; and

                           (iii) To include any material information with
               respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in
               the Registration Statement or any material change to such
               information in the Registration Statement;

         PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not
         apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective
         amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by
         the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that
         are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

                  (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
         the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be
         deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the securities
         offered therein, and the offering of the securities at that time shall
         be deemed to be the initial BONA FIDE offering thereof.

                  (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
         amendment any of the securities being registered that remain unsold at
         the termination of the offering.

         (b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange
Act that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be
deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the securities offered
therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be
the initial BONA FIDE offering thereof.

         (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise,
the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the

                                     II-3
Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public
policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore,
unenforceable. If a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other
than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a
director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful
defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director,
officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the Registrant will, unless, in the opinion of its counsel, the
matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of
appropriate jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification by it
is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will
be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                     II-4
SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe it meets all the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Seattle, State of Washington, on November 17, 2000.

                                                 ACTIVE VOICE CORPORATION

                                            By   /s/ Jose S. David
                                                 ------------------------------
                                                 Jose S. David
                                                 Chief Financial Officer

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Frank
J. Costa and Jose S. David, and each of them severally, such person's true and
lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power to act without the other
and with full power of substitution and resubstitution, to execute in the name
and on behalf of such person, individually and in each capacity stated below,
any and all amendments and post-effective amendments to this Registration
Statement, any and all supplements hereto, and any and all other instruments
necessary or incidental in connection herewith, and to file the same with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration
Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the
dates indicated below.
SIGNATURE                             TITLE                                 DATE
/s/ Frank J. Costa                   President and Chief Executive Officer          November 17, 2000
---------------------------          (Principal Executive Officer) and
Frank J. Costa                       Director

/s/ Jose S. David                    Chief Financial Officer (Principal             November 17, 2000
---------------------------          Financial and Accounting Officer)
Jose S. David

/s/ Robert L. Richmond               Chairman of the Board                          November 17, 2000
---------------------------
Robert L. Richmond

/s/ Tom A. Alberg                    Director                                       November 17, 2000
---------------------------
Tom A. Alberg

/s/ Douglas P. Beighle               Director                                       November 17, 2000
---------------------------
Douglas P. Beighle

/s/ Robert C. Greco                  Director                                       November 17, 2000
---------------------------
Robert C. Greco

/s/ Harold H. Kawaguchi              Director                                       November 17, 2000
---------------------------
Harold H. Kawaguchi
II-5
EXHIBIT INDEX
EXHIBIT
NUMBER         DESCRIPTION
5              Opinion of Riddell Williams P.S.
23.2           Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors