Bellevue, WA

Bellevue cottage food producers are regulated by Washington State under RCW 69.22 via WSDA. Sales up to $25,000 per year of approved low-risk foods like baked goods and jams. A WSDA…

Family home child care in Bellevue is licensed by Washington DCYF under WAC 110-300. Up to 12 children with required staff ratios. Home occupation compliance under LUC 20.30L is also…

Home occupations in unincorporated King County's R, UR, NB, CB, and RB zones may host customer visits and deliveries only 8 a.m.-7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends, and…

Unincorporated King County caps home businesses at 20% of a dwelling's floor area and one on-site nonresident employee in residential and commercial zones.

Unincorporated King County caps home occupation and home industry signs at one nonilluminated wall sign, no bigger than 10% of the facade it's mounted on.

Washington has no microenterprise home kitchen permit. WAC 246-215-08300 bars operating a food establishment without a permit from the local health jurisdiction, and the one permit…

Bellevue requires STR operators to carry at least $1,000,000 in liability insurance under LUC 20.20.800. Platform-provided host protection like Airbnb AirCover may satisfy the…

Bellevue requires STR operators to file a Registration Notice with Development Services and obtain a business license under LUC 20.20.800. Entire single-family homes cannot be rented…

Washington imposes statewide sales tax and lodging taxes on short-term rental stays under 30 days. Operators must register with the Department of Revenue, collect applicable taxes, and…

Bellevue bans parking a vehicle on the same block of a public street for more than 24 consecutive hours under BCC 11.23.020, unless official signs say otherwise. A car must move to a…

Bellevue's city council may establish residential permit parking zones restricting on-street parking to permit holders on specified streets under BCC 11.23.010, with time-limited or…

Bellevue bans parking that blocks driveways, intersections, fire hydrants, crosswalks and other clearances under BCC 11.23.007, and separately makes it unlawful to leave any vehicle on…

Bellevue requires a special permit from the traffic engineer before any vehicle can load or unload merchandise at a curb loading zone, or at any spot where parking, stopping or…

Bellevue bans large trucks, truck-trailer rigs and semitrailer combinations over 8 feet wide, 30 feet long or 32,000 pounds from operating in residential areas between 10 p.m. and 7…

Bellevue's code compliance officers can order junk vehicles removed from private property under BCC 9.09.040. A junk vehicle is three years or older, extensively damaged, inoperable…

Unincorporated King County requires electric-vehicle charging infrastructure in new off-street parking: EV-ready spaces for townhouses, and EVSE plus EV-ready percentages for new…

Unincorporated King County designates certain arterials and school bus routes as snow emergency routes: the roads plowed and sanded first when winter weather hits, ahead of…

Unincorporated King County requires off-street parking areas, including driveways used for parking, to have dust-free, all-weather surfacing rather than bare dirt or loose gravel.

The county traffic engineer picks where loading zones, passenger-loading zones, and tow-away zones go on county roads and marks them with signs or words stenciled right on the curb…

Unincorporated King County caps outdoor-stored vehicles at six or eight per lot in R-1 through R-8 zones, but RVs, boats and trailers are explicitly excluded from that cap.

Washington caps what a private-property tow can cost. Under RCW 46.55.118, a class A, D or E tow truck operator's filed hourly towing rate cannot exceed 135 percent of the State…

Bellevue's right-of-way landscaping code favors native plant species when street-side vegetation must be replaced, giving native and proven urban-hardy plants priority over other…

Bellevue makes it the abutting owner's duty to trim trees, shrubs or vegetation that overhang and obstruct a sidewalk, street or right-of-way, or that block sightlines at an…

Bellevue caps how many significant or landmark trees you can remove without replanting, tied to lot size, under BCC 23.76.060. Go over the annual threshold and you must replant on a…

Bellevue bans wasting utility water at all times under BCC 24.02.200, and any new or modified landscaping project of 500 square feet or more must meet a certified irrigation water…

Rainwater harvesting is legal in Bellevue under Washington state policy; rooftop collection for irrigation and non-potable uses is allowed without a water right permit.

Unincorporated King County's litter and dumping law carves out backyard composting: King County Code § 10.04.080(B)(1) says a compost pile or bin is never an unlawful accumulation of…

Unincorporated King County has no fixed inch limit on grass or weeds. Instead, the Fire Marshal or code official can declare overgrown weeds or vegetation a fire hazard, and owners who…

Bellevue's noise code sets quiet hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and 10:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. on weekends for residential (Class A EDNA) properties, when routine daytime…

Bellevue's noise ordinance flatly exempts sounds from aircraft in flight, so flight noise over the city, whether from planes bound for SeaTac, Boeing Field, or Renton Municipal, falls…

Bellevue caps sound crossing a property line at 55 to 70 dBA depending on the noise source's and receiving property's zone classification (EDNA), with a 10 dBA nighttime cutback for…

Construction noise in Bellevue is exempt from the noise code only between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on weekdays and 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays; work outside those hours or on…

Running amplified music or sound equipment in Bellevue needs a development-services director permit filed at least a week ahead, limited to set evening hours, capped at four days per…

Bellevue treats a car stereo audible 75 feet away or across a property line as a noise disturbance under Chapter 9.18, punishable by a $250 civil infraction. Engine compression brakes…

In unincorporated King County, a pet making noise to an unreasonable degree that disturbs a person or neighborhood is a declared public nuisance, backed by civil penalties and…

Bellevue prohibits leaving, placing or distributing food in any city park with intent to feed farm animals or wildlife, under BCC 3.43.090. The rule targets geese, ducks, deer and…

Bellevue requires dogs and other pets in city parks to be leashed at no more than six feet, securely caged, or otherwise restrained from running free, under BCC 3.43.145. Letting a dog…

Bellevue enforces animal control through King County's Title 11 code, adopted by BCC 8.05.010. Any cat over eight weeks old kept in the city more than thirty days needs a King County…

Unincorporated King County has no ban on retail dog or cat sales: pet shops can sell commercially sourced animals. But every pet shop, animal shelter, hobby kennel, and hobby cattery…

Unincorporated King County caps unaltered dogs and cats at three per dwelling unit; other household pets are limited to five, but altered (spayed/neutered) cats face no numeric cap…

In unincorporated King County, keeping an unaltered dog or cat past kittenhood/puppyhood is unlawful unless the owner holds an unaltered pet license for that animal.

Unincorporated King County protects active nests of bald eagles, ospreys, peregrine falcons, marbled murrelets, spotted owls, great blue herons and other species by drawing a…

In unincorporated King County, veterinary clinics are permitted outright only in the Office zone; in Agricultural, Mineral and Urban Reserve zones they are allowed solely as a home…

King County accepts an implanted microchip as a substitute for a metal license tag on licensed pets, and separately requires microchipping before any shelter adoption and before…

In unincorporated King County, homeowners can keep up to ten poultry, chickens, or squab per lot under 35,000 square feet, adding one bird per additional half acre up to twenty total…

Unincorporated King County requires pet grooming services to hold an operating permit under County Code chapter 11.04 before opening; running one without the permit after a prior…

King County does not ban or restrict any dog breed by name. Instead, King County Code § 11.01.320 defines a potentially dangerous animal by conduct, such as biting or menacing someone…

Unincorporated King County prohibits harboring, keeping, or maintaining exotic animals as pets, dangerous snakes, primates, bears, non-domesticated cats and dogs (including wolf/coyote…

Unincorporated King County caps backyard beehives at fifty on lots under five acres, with no cap on larger parcels, and requires colonies in movable-frame hives.

Bellevue bans igniting or discharging any fireworks anywhere in the city at any time under BCC 23.11.5608.2, the city's local amendment to the International Fire Code. The only…

Bellevue adopts the 2021 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code by reference alongside the 2021 International Fire Code, both as amended by the State Building Code Council. The…

Bellevue requires owners and occupants to cut and remove weeds, grass, vines or other growth capable of igniting on both open lots and lots with an occupied or vacant dwelling. The…

Bellevue lets residents burn recreational fires and use portable outdoor fireplaces without a permit, but recreational fires must stay 25 feet from any structure or combustible…

Open burning is banned at all times in Bellevue under a permanent Puget Sound Clean Air Agency ban dating to September 1992, with narrow exceptions for bonfires, recreational fires and…

Bellevue's amended Fire Code caps aggregate liquefied petroleum gas storage at any single installation at 2,000 gallons of water capacity. The fire chief can raise that ceiling case by…

Bellevue follows Washington State Building Code requiring smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside sleeping areas, and on every level, plus CO alarms under RCW 19.27.530.

Bellevue exempts retaining walls up to four feet from a building permit under BCC 23.05.090, but anything taller, or one holding back a surcharge, needs a permit. Modular block walls…

In unincorporated King County, fences over 6 feet tall must meet the zone's street and interior setback lines, not just sit on the property line.

Unincorporated King County exempts fences up to 6 feet tall from a building permit under King County Code § 16.02.240, the county's local substitute for Section 105.2 of the…

Unincorporated King County bans barbed and razor-wire fences in R-4 through R-48 zones and tightly regulates electric fences with voltage caps and required warning signs.

Washington's partition fence law requires adjoining landowners using a boundary fence for livestock to share construction and maintenance costs equitably under RCW 16.60.

Bellevue requires a building permit for constructing or altering a swimming pool under the general permit rule at BCC 23.05.090(A); only small prefabricated above-ground pools under 24…

Bellevue requires every outdoor swimming pool, spa and hot tub, new or existing, to have a barrier meeting the state-amended 2021 International Building Code Section 3109.1 or the 2021…

In unincorporated King County, one-story tool sheds and playhouses under 200 square feet skip a building permit if the eave stays 3 feet from other buildings and the shed sits at least…

Unincorporated King County exempts accessory dwelling units from school impact fees under County Code § 21A.43.070.A.9, so building an ADU triggers no per-unit school fee that a new…

In unincorporated King County, one Accessory Dwelling Unit is permitted per primary detached dwelling or townhouse under KCC 21A.08.030.B.7.a. ADUs are limited to 1,000 sq ft of heated…

Washington allows tiny houses on permanent foundations under IRC Appendix Q (adopted in the state building code) for dwellings 400 square feet or less. RCW 35.21.686 governs tiny…

Bellevue caps pawnshop licenses at one per 15,000 residents and charges $100 a year for a pawnshop or dealer license. Shops must close between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. except during the…

Bellevue requires anyone practicing massage in the city to hold a Washington State Department of Licensing massage practitioner license under RCW 18.108.030. Practicing or advertising…

Bellevue requires a city license to operate an adult cabaret, plus separate licenses for every manager and entertainer, at fees of $700 a year for the business and $100 a year each for…

Unincorporated King County requires any store selling cigarettes or other tobacco products, including vape and e-cigarette retailers, to hold a $210, three-year county tobacco license…

Anyone buying, selling or trading secondhand goods in unincorporated King County must hold a secondhand dealer's license under King County Code § 6.60.010. The $40-a-year license…

King County's sheriff contracts with licensed tow operators to handle vehicle and watercraft impounds, and those towing contractors must file their rates with the sheriff and keep…

Unincorporated King County bans auto, truck, and heavy equipment repair or auto body work as a home occupation in the R, UR, NB, CB, and RB zones under County Code section 21A.30.080.

Any promoter running a Bellevue trade show, festival, fair, or similar event with 15 or more vendors must hold a temporary special event license. Licenses run up to 10 consecutive…

Bellevue requires written notice to the chief of police and city engineer, and a permit from the chief of police, before parading on any city street under BCC 11.24.040. Notice must…

Bellevue's traffic engineer issues special permits to close a city street or traffic lane to vehicle traffic, the mechanism used for block parties and similar temporary closures, under…

Any use of amplified sound at a Bellevue park event, from a PA system to a live band, needs a permit once it carries beyond 30 feet, under BCC 3.43.260. The city manager's designee…

A restaurant that wants to put cafe seating on a Bellevue public sidewalk needs a Type D long-term right-of-way use permit under BCC 14.30.080(D)(3)(i), which names 'sidewalk cafes'…

Bars and nightclubs in Bellevue are stationary noise sources under the city's general noise control chapter. Amplified sound (live bands, DJs) requires a sound amplification permit…

Bellevue exempts portable and stationary backup generators from its noise code only while the power is actually out from a disaster or outage, capping stationary units at 75 dBA at the…

In unincorporated King County, air conditioners, heat pumps and other stationary equipment noise must stay under the county's district-based sound level table, dropping 10 dB(A)…

In unincorporated King County, amplified bass that's plainly audible or felt 50 feet from the source (300 feet for watercraft) in a residential or rural district is a public…

Unincorporated King County treats a frequent, repetitive or continuous horn or siren on a motor vehicle, including a car alarm, as unlawful public disturbance noise unless it's warning…

Bellevue taxes businesses under BCC 4.09 by classification: extracting, manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, printing/publishing and a catch-all "other" class, each at 0.1596 percent…

King County levies a 1% tax on vehicle parking charges at the stadium and exhibition center owned by the Washington State Public Stadium Authority, rising to 10% once construction…

Bellevue levies a 5 percent lodging excise tax on charges for hotel, motel, rooming house, tourist court and trailer camp stays under BCC 4.19.010, collected by the state alongside…

Bellevue requires street landscaping and tree planting along public streets whenever street frontage improvements are triggered by new development, subject to species and maintenance…

Removing a landmark tree in Bellevue needs a clearing and grading permit and triggers replanting: three replacement trees per landmark tree removed, or two large conifers if the…

Bellevue bans digital billboards outright but allows LED readerboards only as noncommercial public service signs, capped at one message change every eight hours and required to shut…

Reasonable seasonal decorations are exempt from Bellevue's Sign Code within the appropriate holiday season, but BCC 22B.10.130(I) requires their removal within five days after the…

Bellevue allows political signs on private property year-round under BCC 22B.10.120(F), but signs promoting candidates or ballot issues must come down within seven days after the…

Bellevue caps window signs at 15 square feet total, or 10 percent of the window area, whichever applies, under BCC 22B.10.030(H). Window signs don't count toward a building's primary…

Signs within Bellevue's 375-foot freeway corridor along each side of the right-of-way face extra design-review criteria under BCC 22B.10.025(E)(5): letter and logo height generally…

Bellevue confines for-hire vehicles, including rideshare cars, to designated taxicab stands or loading zones under BCC 11.23.026, except for brief stops to load or unload passengers…

Bellevue lets motorized foot scooters use roadways, bike lanes, and most paved trails, but bars them from unpaved natural-surface trails and any posted dismount zone. Riders must be 16…

Bellevue runs automated cameras for red-light, school-zone, hospital-zone, park-zone and work-zone speeding under Chapter 11.49. Fines run $124 for a stoplight or speed hit and $248 in…

King County Code lets Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes use regional trails and paved pathways in county parks, but bans Class 3 e-bikes from every trail and pathway in park areas.

Washington splits small street-legal vehicles into three statutory classes by top speed, and the rules for each are different. A golf cart tops out at 20 mph and may use public streets…

Bellevue makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally urinate or defecate in public, anywhere other than a washroom or toilet room, or anywhere the act could be seen by another person. A…

Bellevue criminalizes aggressive begging, defined as asking for money or goods with intent to intimidate someone into giving. The offense covers any public place in the city, from…

Bellevue keeps roller skates, coasters, toy vehicles and similar wheeled devices, the category skateboards fall under, off city roadways except at marked crosswalks. Riders crossing…

Bellevue makes it a gross misdemeanor to remain in a public place while intentionally soliciting, inducing, or procuring someone else to engage in illegal drug activity. Carrying…

Bellevue does not punish the marijuana user directly for consuming in a controlled space; instead BCC 10.06.040 makes it a misdemeanor for anyone who owns or controls premises, a car…

Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is banned on all King County Metro transit vehicles, bus shelters and transit property: a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and 90 days in jail.

Unincorporated King County treats a loud house party as a public disturbance noise violation, and the person in possession of the property, not just whoever is making the racket, is…

King County bans open containers and alcohol consumption in all unincorporated county park areas and marine facilities unless the parks director designates and posts an exception…

Bellevue requires a drainage connection permit before any property connects to or modifies the public storm and surface water system, and larger detention or treatment work needs a…

Bellevue amends the International Building Code to require that construction in flood hazard areas follow the FEMA Flood Insurance Study for King County and the accompanying Flood…

Bellevue requires new residential construction in flood hazard areas to sit at least one foot above the base flood elevation shown on FEMA's King County Flood Insurance Study, a…

Bellevue requires a Construction Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (CSWPPP) for clearing, grading and land-disturbing projects that trip the city's permit thresholds, and bars most…

Unincorporated King County lets property owners clear brush and prune trees for wildfire defensible space without a clearing permit, but only within fixed distances from the house set…

Unincorporated King County limits shoreline docks to water-dependent uses, caps most residential lots to one dock or moorage facility, and bans new private boat launch ramps entirely.

Washington's Shoreline Management Act (RCW 90.58) requires Shoreline Substantial Development Permits for most construction within 200 feet of marine and freshwater shorelines statewide.

Bellevue's Abatement of Dangerous Buildings Code lets the building official declare a structurally unsound, fire-damaged or unsanitary building a public nuisance and order it repaired…

Bellevue caps weeds and turf grass at eight inches on vacant residences and abandoned construction sites in its single-family land use districts under BCC 9.13.040(A). A dwelling…

Bellevue bars residents from mixing yard waste into garbage or recycling containers. Yard debris (grass, leaves, weeds, and branches under four inches thick and five feet long) must go…

Bellevue designates eight materials, including newspaper, mixed paper, aluminum, glass, PET bottles, and yard waste, as recyclable under BCC 9.26.030, runs its own solid waste system…

Bellevue Municipal Code designates eight material categories that count as recyclable under city law: newspaper, mixed paper, aluminum containers, glass containers, bi-metal…

BCC 9.11.060 requires every dumpster and drop box in Bellevue to carry a lid that stays closed to keep out animals and prevent litter from scattering, and bars anyone from using a…

Bellevue's Anti-Litter Code, BCC 9.11.030, bans throwing or depositing litter on streets, sidewalks, private property, parks or waterways. Construction sites must contain their debris…

Unincorporated King County requires trash and recycling containers to be sturdy, rodent-proof and kept where your certificated hauler can reach them on collection day: the code sets no…

Certificated haulers serving unincorporated King County must collect recyclable materials from every single-family home at least twice a month on the same day as trash pickup, under…

Certificated haulers in unincorporated King County must set their own holiday schedule and tell the county and customers about it in advance: King County Code § 10.18.010(E)(2)…

In unincorporated King County, certificated garbage haulers must pick up recyclables at least twice a month and put recycling on the same weekly day as regular trash collection.

Unincorporated King County has no curbside bulky-item pickup in its code; residents self-haul large items and appliances to county transfer stations, where drop box loads are capped at…

In unincorporated King County, garbage carts can't contain yard waste: haulers are barred from collecting a container with visible grass clippings or branches mixed in with regular…

Bellevue parks close one-half hour after sunset and reopen one-half hour before sunrise under BCC 3.43.330, except Downtown Park, which closes at 11:00 p.m. Being in a park, or leaving…

Washington does not impose a statewide juvenile curfew; cities may enact local curfews under general police powers, subject to constitutional limits.

Bellevue property owners must trim or remove trees, shrubs and vegetation that overhang or obstruct a sidewalk, street or public right-of-way. BCC 14.06.010 declares overgrowth that…

Anyone making private use of a Bellevue public right-of-way, from a dumpster on the street to a fence or structure encroaching onto public property, needs a right-of-way use permit…

In unincorporated King County, the county road engineer decides when a sidewalk needs repair and can bill the abutting owner if the owner caused the damage.

Mobile food peddling on a Bellevue public sidewalk or street is regulated as a Type D long-term right-of-way use under BCC 14.30.080(D)(3)(e), meaning a vendor needs a right-of-way use…

Bellevue treats mobile peddling, including food vending, as a Type D long-term right-of-way use under BCC 14.30.080. Anyone selling from a fixed public right-of-way location needs a…

Bellevue requires a fire code operational permit for any mobile food preparation vehicle equipped with appliances producing smoke or grease-laden vapors, or that run LP-gas or CNG…

Bellevue makes it a misdemeanor to camp on nonresidential public property between sunset and sunrise unless the city has set aside and posted the spot for camping or issued a permit…

Bellevue requires sprinklers throughout any newly built structure over 10,000 square feet, and lets Group R apartment and condo buildings up to four stories use the lighter NFPA 13R…

Bellevue requires building operators to keep every elevator accessible, usable and in good working order at all times, and to notify all occupants by text, e-mail or phone plus a…

Any installation, alteration, repair, replacement or maintenance of electrical systems, wiring or equipment in Bellevue needs a permit under BCC 23.05.090(C), issued under the…

Bellevue requires a permit before anyone constructs, enlarges, alters, repairs, moves, demolishes or changes the occupancy of a building, or installs, alters or replaces an electrical…

Bellevue's building official inspects all permitted construction at defined stages under BCC 23.05.130, and work must stay accessible and exposed until each inspection is approved. A…

Bellevue enforces the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code, as amended by the state, for every plumbing installation in the city, and BCC 23.05.090 requires anyone installing, altering or…

Bellevue relies on EPA and Washington Department of Commerce lead-based paint rules (RRP) for homes built before 1978, with permit-triggered disclosures for renovations.

Unincorporated King County lets state-licensed family day care homes build to the residential code instead of the commercial code; larger stand-alone child care centers still must meet…

Unincorporated King County requires dwelling entry doors to have a dead bolt lock operable from inside without a key, mounted no higher than 48 inches.

Unincorporated King County has no mandatory green building code for private construction. Chapter 18.17 requires LEED Platinum or Living Building Challenge certification only for…

Bellevue caps LPG containers used with portable outdoor barbecues on occupied roofs of apartment and condo buildings (Group R-2) at 16.4 ounces, matching a standard one-pound camping…

Bellevue bans open burning citywide under a 1992 Puget Sound Clean Air Agency ban, but bonfires, recreational fires and portable outdoor fireplaces are carved out as exceptions. A…

Bellevue's Uniform Housing Code makes owners responsible for supplying and maintaining approved devices to prevent insect and rodent infestation in residential buildings, and for…

Bellevue's Uniform Housing Code requires every dwelling unit, lodging house and congregate residence to have heating that holds 70°F at three feet above the floor in habitable rooms…

Rent control is prohibited statewide in Washington under RCW 35.21.830. Bellevue cannot enact rent control. Landlords may raise rent with proper 60-day notice.

Washington's 2021 Just Cause law (RCW 59.18.650) applies statewide including Bellevue. Landlords must cite one of 16 authorized reasons to terminate a tenancy.

Since 2021, Washington's just-cause statute RCW 59.18.650 prohibits no-fault evictions of month-to-month tenants. Landlords in King County must cite one of sixteen enumerated causes…

For nonpayment of rent, a Washington landlord must serve a 14-day pay-or-vacate notice in the form set by RCW 59.18.057 before filing an unlawful detainer under RCW 59.12.030…

RCW 59.18.150 requires a Washington landlord to give at least two days' written notice before entering to inspect, repair, or maintain the unit, and at least one day's notice to show…

Under RCW 59.18.170, a Washington landlord may not charge any late fee on rent paid within five days of its due date; a fee may begin only once rent is more than five days past due…

Under RCW 59.18.200, a Washington tenant may end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 20 days' written notice. A landlord, however, cannot end a periodic tenancy at will: RCW…

Under RCW 59.18.140, a Washington landlord must give at least 90 days' prior written notice before raising rent (30 days for income-based subsidized housing). The 2025 Rent…

Washington sets no dollar cap on residential security deposits, but it controls how they are collected and returned. A landlord may collect a deposit only with a written rental…

Washington's general adverse possession period is 10 years under RCW 4.16.020, requiring possession that is actual, open and notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous. A shorter…

Bellevue HOAs with architectural review committees must follow CC&R-defined standards and WUCIOA procedures, while still requiring city permits for zoning and building compliance.

Washington has two regimes. Communities created on or after July 1, 2018 fall under WUCIOA (RCW 64.90), whose lien carries a 6-month super-priority over first mortgages and can be…

Washington requires HOA board meetings to be open to owners and gives owners broad record-access rights. WUCIOA communities follow RCW 64.90.445 (open meetings) and RCW 64.90.495…

Washington HOAs may adopt and enforce rules and architectural standards and enforce the recorded declaration. Under WUCIOA, RCW 64.90.405 authorizes rule adoption and enforcement…

This right applies only within Washington homeowners' associations governed by the Homeowners' Association Act, chapter 64.38 RCW: communities formed before July 1, 2018, excluding…

Washington homeowners associations and condo boards may not prohibit or unreasonably restrict a unit owner's electric vehicle charging station installed for personal, noncommercial use…

Washington's older Homeowners' Association Act, chapter 64.38 RCW, applies to HOAs formed before July 1, 2018 that have not opted into the newer Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act…

Both Washington regimes let HOAs impose reasonable fines, but only after notice and an opportunity to be heard and only under a fine schedule already adopted by the board and furnished…

Washington associations do hold a super-lien. Under RCW 64.90.485(3)(a)(i) of the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, an association's lien jumps ahead of a first…

Washington condominium and HOA boards cannot cap or ban unit leasing by ordinary board rule. RCW 64.90.510(10)(c) lets a board restrict leasing only to the extent the rule mirrors…

Washington RCW 64.38.055 limits HOA restrictions on solar panels. HOAs cannot prohibit solar but can impose reasonable aesthetic rules. Bellevue has no additional HOA overrides.

Unincorporated King County waives a building permit for roof-mounted home solar panels weighing under 4 pounds per square foot and rising no more than 18 inches above the roof; bigger…

Unincorporated King County has not opted out of retail cannabis: the zoning code permits cannabis retailers under King County Code § 21A.08.070.B.26, capping floor area at 2,000 square…

State law and King County Code require licensed cannabis retailers, producers, and processors to sit at least 1000 feet from schools, playgrounds, recreation centers, child care…

Washington uniquely prohibits recreational home cultivation of cannabis statewide, with cultivation only permitted by licensed producers and qualifying medical patients.

King County administrative offices and executive departments are banned from obtaining, retaining, accessing or using facial recognition technology, with narrow exceptions.

King County treats license-plate-reader data as personal information and bars county agencies and contractors from handing it to ICE, CBP, or USCIS for civil immigration enforcement…

Unincorporated King County taxes licensed social card game rooms at 11 percent of annual gross receipts over $10,000 under King County Code § 12.54.100. The tax rides on state…

Washington exempts bona fide charitable and nonprofit organizations from Gambling Commission licensing when raffle, bingo, or amusement-game revenue stays under $5,000 a year…

Washington law defines a "player" under RCW 9.46.0265 as someone who gambles on equal terms with no profit beyond personal winnings. A private card game among friends is legal without…

Sports betting is legal in Washington only at tribal casinos operating under a class III gaming compact amended to include it, as RCW 9.46.0364 authorizes following ESHB 2638 (2020 c…

Unincorporated King County lets any occupant bar door-to-door solicitors just by posting a sign. Under King County Code § 12.66.010, once a "No Solicitation" or "No Trespassing" sign…

Soliciting contributions for charitable or religious purposes in unincorporated King County requires a permit from the county director before any fundraiser begins: there is no general…

In the North Highline/White Center design-standards area of unincorporated King County, new and substantially improved buildings must minimize night-sky illumination and use fully…

Unincorporated King County allows billboards to be illuminated, but light sources must sit no farther from the sign than its height and can't shine directly into homes or streets.

In unincorporated King County's North Highline design-review area, new commercial and multifamily buildings must aim exterior lights onto the building or adjoining ground, capping…

Unincorporated King County caps impervious surface, pavement, roofs, decks, by zone under Code § 21A.09H.030: 55% in R-4, 70% in R-6, 75% in R-8, and up to 90% in R-48, measured per…

Unincorporated King County sets a 10-foot minimum street setback and 5-foot interior setback in the R-4 through R-48 zones, with wider setbacks in UR and R-1.

In unincorporated King County's urban single-family zones (R-4 through R-8), homes are capped at a 35-foot base height, extendable to 45 feet only by adding one foot of setback for…

Unincorporated King County protects farmland with a dedicated Agricultural (A) zone that limits residential density and restricts uses to those compatible with farming.

King County agencies and the sheriff's office won't spend resources on civil immigration enforcement or hold people on ICE detainers without a judicial criminal warrant.

King County's wastewater utility must actively pursue reclaimed water reuse and keeps exclusive ownership of all reclaimed water its treatment plants produce.

Unincorporated King County has no countywide downtown design code: only the North Highline subarea (the White Center activity center) has adopted urban design standards under K.C.C…

Unincorporated King County developments get bonus density or floor area for adding improved child daycare slots, up to 25% more dwelling units than the base zone allows.

Altering a significant feature of a King County-designated landmark requires a certificate of appropriateness from the county's Landmarks Commission before work begins, whether or not…

Unmanned model aircraft, rockets, and drones are banned in King County parks and trails unless the county specifically designates and posts an area for that use or the parks director…

Commercial drone operations in Washington are governed by FAA Part 107, with state law adding criminal liability for invasive uses and limited authority over state-owned land.

King County targets citations within 60 days of a complaint and notice-and-orders within 120 days, per code enforcement guidelines.

Unincorporated King County residents report suspected code violations through the county's online Permitting portal or by calling code enforcement at 206-296-6600; the code authorizes…

Unincorporated King County treats any plant on Washington's official noxious weed list, WAC chapter 16-750, as a regulated noxious weed under county code, regardless of the list's…

Washington RCW 49.46 sets a statewide minimum wage adjusted annually for inflation; as of 2026 it is $17.13 per hour. Washington does not preempt local minimum wages, so several cities…

Washington RCW 49.46.200 mandates paid sick leave for nearly all employees, and RCW 50A.04 provides paid family and medical leave funded by payroll premiums.

Washington issues concealed pistol licenses under RCW 9.41.070 on a shall-issue basis to qualified applicants, with statewide preemption preventing local concealed carry rules.

Washington RCW 9.41.290 broadly preempts local firearm regulation, reserving authority over firearm laws to the state legislature with very limited exceptions.

Washington allows open carry of firearms by qualified adults without a permit, with limited statutory restrictions and broad preemption barring most local open carry rules.

Washington RCW 9.41.050 governs carrying firearms in vehicles statewide, requiring a concealed pistol license to carry a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle.

Washington does not operate sobriety checkpoints, and no section of the Revised Code of Washington authorizes one. The only suspicionless power to stop a driver that the Legislature…

Washington is an all-party consent state, and the rule lives in the Washington Privacy Act at RCW 9.73.030. That section reaches only a private communication or a private conversation…

Washington has no general stop-and-identify statute. Someone stopped on a sidewalk in Seattle, Spokane or Tacoma and asked who they are has no statutory duty to answer, and staying…

Washington has no statute telling an adult driver what happens when an officer asks to search the car, and there is no logging or written-consent requirement of the kind Texas and…

Washington RCW 70A.530 bans single-use plastic carryout bags statewide and requires retailers to charge a pass-through fee for compliant paper or reusable bags.

Washington RCW 70A.245 bans expanded polystyrene foam food service containers, packing peanuts, and coolers in phases starting June 2024 to combat plastic pollution.

Washington RCW 70A.550 limits single-use food service ware including plastic straws and utensils to upon-request distribution at restaurants and food service businesses.

Washington RCW 26.28.080 sets the minimum age for purchasing tobacco and vapor products at 21, aligning with federal Tobacco 21 standards statewide.

Washington has not enacted a statewide flavored tobacco ban, leaving flavor restrictions to limited Department of Health authority and federal FDA enforcement on flavored vapor…

Washington splits its extra-lighting rules between the statute and the State Patrol's rules, and the part most drivers care about lives in the rules. RCW 46.37.180 allows up to two…

Washington has no statute that names dash cameras, so mounting one is governed by a single test in RCW 46.37.410(2): no sign, poster or other nontransparent material may sit on the…

Lane splitting is expressly illegal in Washington. RCW 46.61.608(3) states flatly that no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows…

Washington bans license plate covers outright. RCW 46.16A.200(7)(c)(i) makes it unlawful to use license plate holders, frames, covers, or other materials that conceal, obstruct…

Nothing in Washington law restricts a radar detector in a private passenger vehicle. Chapter 46.37 RCW, the vehicle equipment chapter that fixes fog lamp mounting heights to the inch…

Washington allows metal studded tires only in the winter half of the year. RCW 46.37.420(2) makes it unlawful to use metal studs imbedded within the tire between April 1st and November…

Washington lets you tint every window except the windshield down to 24 percent light transmission, with outward reflectance capped at 35 percent, but RCW 46.37.430(5)(a) measures that…