The Washington Public Records Act, codified at RCW 42.56, lets any person request records from state and local government agencies without identifying themselves or explaining why they want the documents. Send a written request that identifies specific records to the agency’s public records officer, and the agency has five business days to respond.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.520 – Prompt Responses Required If the agency withholds records improperly, the law puts the burden on the agency to justify the denial and lets you collect up to $100 per day plus attorney fees in court.2Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.550 – Judicial Review of Agency Actions
The Act covers every state office, department, board, and commission, along with every county, city, town, municipal corporation, and special purpose district such as fire districts, port authorities, and school boards.3Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56 – Public Records Act Each of those agencies must appoint a public records officer who serves as the contact point for requests, and that person’s name and contact information is usually posted on the agency’s website.4Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.580 – Public Records Officers
How to Submit a Request
You do not have to identify yourself, and agencies generally cannot ask why you want the records. They are also forbidden from treating one requester differently from another. The one notable exception involves lists of individuals: if you request a list of names, the agency can require you to sign a declaration that you will not use it for commercial purposes.5Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.080 – Identifiable Records – Agency Facilities
No official form is required. Many agencies offer optional request forms or online portals, and using them can speed things along, but email, physical mail, or an in-person visit during business hours all work.
The one thing your request must do is identify specific records. “All records the agency has” is not a valid request. “All records about a particular topic” or records containing a particular name is fine.5Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.080 – Identifiable Records – Agency Facilities Including date ranges, subject descriptions, and the department you think holds the records helps the records officer locate documents faster and cuts down on back-and-forth. The Act defines “writing” broadly enough to cover emails, text messages, photographs, electronic data, and any other medium an agency prepares, owns, uses, or retains in connection with government business.6Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.010 – Definitions
What the Agency Must Do Within Five Business Days
Within five business days of receiving your request, the agency has to do at least one of three things: produce the records, acknowledge receipt and give you a reasonable estimate for how long production will take, or deny the request in writing.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.520 – Prompt Responses Required The agency may also use that window to ask you to clarify a vague request.
Five business days is the initial response deadline, not the delivery deadline. Complex requests covering thousands of pages or multiple departments can take weeks, and agencies are allowed to deliver records in installments as they are gathered.
A denial has to be in writing with the specific statutory exemption cited.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.520 – Prompt Responses Required A verbal “no” or a denial without a cited exemption does not comply with the statute, and either one is itself a violation you can challenge.
What It Costs
Inspecting records in person is free. No agency can charge you just to look at documents on site.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.120 – Charges for Copying
When you want copies, the default fee caps are 15 cents per page for paper photocopies, 10 cents per page for documents scanned to electronic format, and 5 cents for every four files or attachments sent electronically.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.120 – Charges for Copying These are ceilings. An agency that has calculated lower actual costs must charge the lower amount.
For large requests, the agency can require a deposit of up to 10 percent of the estimated total before it starts work. If pulling the records requires specialized IT work, such as building a custom electronic export, the agency can impose a customized service charge, but only after telling you about the charge and giving you the chance to narrow the request to reduce it.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.120 – Charges for Copying
Fee waivers are allowed. An agency can waive copy fees when processing payment would cost more than the copies themselves, or when it decides disclosure serves the public interest. Agencies can even pre-approve entire categories of records for automatic waivers.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.120 – Charges for Copying Asking costs nothing.
What Agencies Can Withhold
The Act contains dozens of specific exemptions in RCW 42.56.230 through 42.56.480, and courts must read each one narrowly.8Washington State Legislature. Chapter 42.56 RCW – Public Records Act The ones that come up most often cover personal privacy (home addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers must be redacted as personally identifying information),9Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.050 – Personal Information active law enforcement investigation files and intelligence data, and trade secrets or proprietary business information submitted to an agency.
Even when an exemption applies, the agency has to release everything else. Exempt portions get redacted and the rest of the document is produced. Every redaction must come with a written statement identifying the specific exemption and briefly explaining how it applies to the withheld material.10Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.210 – Certain Personal and Other Records Exempt A page full of black bars with no explanation is not a lawful response.
If Your Request Is Denied
You have two main options when records are improperly withheld: an Attorney General opinion or a lawsuit in superior court. The two are independent, and asking the AG for an opinion does not pause your deadline to sue.
Attorney General Review
You can ask the Washington Attorney General to issue a written opinion on whether the withheld record is actually public. The AG’s office needs a copy of the agency’s written denial. The Attorney General is not required to issue an opinion, but when one is issued, courts must consider it in any later lawsuit over the same records.11Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.530 – Attorney General Review
Lawsuit in Superior Court
You can file suit in superior court under RCW 42.56.550, and the statute is written in your favor. The agency carries the burden of proving its refusal was authorized by a specific exemption. You do not have to prove the records are public.2Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.550 – Judicial Review of Agency Actions
If you win, the court can award up to $100 per day for every day you were wrongfully denied access, plus all of your litigation costs and reasonable attorney fees.2Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56.550 – Judicial Review of Agency Actions Those daily penalties accumulate quickly and give agencies a financial reason to comply instead of stonewall.
You have one year to file. The clock runs from the agency’s claim of exemption or, for installment productions, from the last record produced.3Washington State Legislature. RCW 42.56 – Public Records Act Requesting an Attorney General opinion does not extend that deadline, so do not let the year run out while waiting for a response.