Washington Ordinances (2026)

Washington HB 1337 (RCW 36.70A.681) requires cities and counties to allow two ADUs per lot in urban growth areas, preempting restrictive local rules.

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…

Washington RCW 15.60 requires all beekeepers with one or more hives to register their apiaries annually with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, supporting disease tracking…

Washington RCW 16.08 governs dangerous and potentially dangerous dogs through behavior-based standards rather than breed identity, requiring registration, secure confinement, and…

Washington bars owners from willfully or negligently letting livestock run at large in any stock restricted area under RCW 16.24.065. Owners are liable for trespass damage, and…

Washington RCW 16.30 prohibits private possession, breeding, and importation of dangerous wild animals including big cats, bears, wolves, and primates, applying uniformly statewide…

Washington RCW 16.52 criminalizes animal cruelty and neglect statewide, providing the legal foundation for animal hoarding prosecutions when owners fail to provide necessary food…

Washington bans intentionally feeding or attracting large wild carnivores, bears, cougars and wolves, to any land or building, and treats a first intentional violation as a misdemeanor…

Washington adopts the International Building Code statewide through chapter 51-50 WAC, setting maximum heights and stories tied to construction type and occupancy classifications.

Washington RCW 70.345 requires licensing for vapor product retailers, distributors, and delivery sellers, with state Department of Revenue oversight and tax collection.

Washington's Liquor and Cannabis Board licenses cannabis retailers and imposes statewide 1,000-foot buffers from schools and other sensitive uses, which local governments may reduce…

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

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

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.

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

Washington makes it unlawful under RCW 90.48.080 to discharge sediment or other polluting matter into state waters, and the Department of Ecology requires an NPDES Construction…

Washington requires all communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program to adopt floodplain ordinances meeting state minimum standards under RCW 86.16.

Washington Department of Ecology administers federally-required NPDES stormwater permits statewide, setting minimum standards for municipal, construction, and industrial stormwater…

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.

Consumer fireworks are legal statewide under RCW 70.77 on specified dates, but sky rockets, missiles, firecrackers, and bottle rockets are banned. Cities and counties may restrict or…

Washington's Clean Air Act (RCW 70A.15) bans outdoor burning in urban growth areas and most cities. The Department of Ecology and clean air agencies enforce statewide standards…

Washington adopts the International Fire Code statewide under RCW 19.27.031, including NFPA 58 standards for liquefied petroleum gas (propane). These rules govern container placement…

Washington adopted the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code statewide under RCW 19.27.560, effective July 1, 2023. New construction in designated WUI areas must meet…

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 WAC 246-215 enforced under RCW 43.20 establishes the statewide retail food code requiring mobile food units including food trucks to obtain permits from local health…

Washington's Gambling Commission is the only licensing authority for commercial card rooms statewide. RCW 9.46.070(2) lets the commission issue one-year licenses to food-and-drink…

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…

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 runs a cottage food permit through the state Department of Agriculture, not through the local health district. Under RCW 69.22.030 the permit is issued for two years and…

Washington licenses family home child care providers through DCYF and preempts local zoning that would treat licensed home daycares as commercial uses requiring special permits.

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…

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 requires jurisdictions over 25,000 to provide organics collection and bans certain organic waste disposal under RCW 70A.205.545.

Washington law expressly permits rooftop rainwater collection for onsite use without a water right permit, preempting any municipal prohibition on basic harvesting.

Washington's Forest Practices Act (RCW 76.09) governs commercial timber harvest on forestlands statewide through Department of Natural Resources permits. Cities cannot regulate…

Washington Department of Ecology administers water rights and may issue drought emergency orders that override local outdoor watering practices statewide.

RCW 17.10.140 makes every Washington landowner eradicate all Class A noxious weeds and control the spread of Class B and C weeds designated for their region. County noxious weed…

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…

Aircraft noise in Washington is preempted by federal aviation law, and the state expressly excludes aircraft in flight from its noise control regulations under WAC 173-60-050.

Washington's noise code exempts temporary construction sounds during daytime hours from EDNA limits, while night construction still must comply with strict nighttime sound levels.

Industrial sources in Washington must comply with EDNA limits set by WAC 173-60, with the receiving residential zone limited to 60 dBA daytime and 50 dBA nighttime.

Washington's RCW 46.55 governs how abandoned vehicles are impounded, noticed, redeemed, and auctioned, providing a uniform statewide framework that local jurisdictions must follow.

Washington prohibits homeowner and condominium associations from banning EV charging stations and requires EV-ready parking in new construction. RCW 64.38.062 covers HOAs and RCW…

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…

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 59.18.060 requires Washington landlords to keep rentals 'fit for human habitation': structurally sound, weathertight, with working plumbing, heat, hot water, electrical systems…

Washington RCW 59.18.650 requires landlords to have one of 16 enumerated lawful causes to terminate most residential tenancies statewide.

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…

Washington bars cities from passing local rent control under RCW 35.21.830, and that preemption still stands. But in 2025 the state enacted its first statewide rent-increase cap. Under…

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…

Washington's Growth Management Act under RCW 36.70A.170 requires counties and cities to designate and protect agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance through zoning.

Washington requires short-term rental operators to maintain at least $1 million in primary liability insurance, or to operate through a platform providing equivalent coverage, under…

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…

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 64.38.055 voids homeowner association rules prohibiting solar panel installation, allowing only reasonable placement rules. RCW 64.90.510 gives the same protection to…

Washington RCW 64.38.055 and RCW 64.90.510 bar HOAs and condominium associations from prohibiting solar panels. State policy under RCW 64.04.140 encourages solar energy and authorizes…

Washington WAC 246-260 regulates public spas and hot tubs at hotels, apartments, gyms, and HOAs, requiring permits, water testing, temperature limits, and posted bather safety warnings…

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 requires curbside recycling availability in urban areas under RCW 70A.205 and mandates organics collection for businesses under RCW 70A.205.545. Counties and cities must…

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…