Washington State Background Check Laws and Requirements

Washington state background check laws set three things: what a criminal history search can legally show, how far back reportable records reach, and what employers and other decision-makers must do before they use that information against someone. The Washington State Patrol runs the public criminal history database through its WATCH portal for $11, but the rules around using the results — especially in hiring — carry real weight, and the penalty structure changes in 2026.¹

What a Washington Background Check Can Legally Show

A public WATCH search returns only three categories of information: conviction records, arrests less than one year old where charges are still pending, and registered sex or kidnapping offender information.¹ Old arrests that never produced a conviction don’t appear. Juvenile records are confidential and require specific legal authorization to access.

Vacated convictions also drop off. Under Washington’s New Hope Act, people who meet the eligibility criteria can petition to vacate misdemeanor convictions, with a separate process for felonies. Once a court vacates a conviction, the person can legally answer “no” when asked whether they’ve been convicted of that crime.

The WATCH portal itself is name-based, so you need the subject’s full legal name and date of birth. Aliases and former names matter — records tied to a different name won’t surface without them. Results come back immediately after payment and can be saved or printed as a PDF.¹

The Seven-Year Lookback Rule

Under RCW 19.182.040, a consumer reporting agency generally cannot include arrests, indictments, or convictions older than seven years in a background report. The clock runs from the date of disposition, release, or parole. The same seven-year cap applies to civil judgments and collections.²

The cap has meaningful exceptions. It does not apply when the report is used for employment of someone whose annual salary equals or is reasonably expected to equal $20,000 or more, or for credit transactions or life insurance policies of $150,000 or more.² The salary threshold is low enough that in practice the seven-year rule won’t shield most job applicants. It still matters for tenant screening, volunteer checks, and other non-employment uses.

One boundary to keep clear: the seven-year limit binds consumer reporting agencies, not WSP itself. A direct WATCH search returns all convictions in the database regardless of age. A third-party background report on the same person may look shorter because state law requires the reporting agency to leave older items out.

Fair Chance Act Rules for Employers

Washington’s Fair Chance Act, codified at RCW 49.94, controls the timing of criminal history questions in hiring. An employer cannot ask about criminal records on an initial application. An employer cannot screen someone out based on criminal history before determining that person is minimally qualified for the position.³ Job postings that say “no felons” or “clean background required” violate the law, and so does any policy that automatically rejects applicants with a record before reviewing qualifications.

Once the employer determines a candidate meets the minimum qualifications, criminal history questions are on the table. Even then, a conviction has to be reasonably related to the job to justify rejecting the applicant.

Positions Exempt From the Timing Rules

Several categories sit outside the Fair Chance Act’s timing restrictions. Employers may ask about criminal history upfront for positions involving unsupervised access to children, people with developmental disabilities, or vulnerable adults. The same is true for positions where federal or state law requires a background check, law enforcement and criminal justice roles, and certain financial industry positions governed by the Securities Exchange Act.⁴

Penalties Starting in 2026

Amendments to the Fair Chance Act introduce a tiered monetary penalty structure: up to $1,500 for a first violation, up to $3,000 for a second, and up to $15,000 for each subsequent violation. Penalties apply per affected applicant. The changes take effect July 1, 2026 for employers with 15 or more employees, and January 1, 2027 for smaller employers. The law does not create a private right of action; enforcement runs through the state rather than individual lawsuits. Per-applicant fines still add up quickly across a noncompliant hiring process.

Individualized Assessment of Convictions

Even when an employer is legally permitted to consider a conviction, EEOC guidance requires an individualized assessment rather than a blanket rejection. The Green factors framework calls for weighing three things: the seriousness of the offense, the time that has passed since the conviction or completion of sentence, and the connection between the crime and the specific job.⁵ A decade-old shoplifting conviction has weak relevance to an accounting position. A recent fraud conviction does not.

Washington’s anti-discrimination statute (RCW 49.60) reinforces the same approach. Employers who reject candidates on criminal history without case-by-case analysis face discrimination claims, particularly when the policy disproportionately affects protected groups.

Adverse Action Steps

If a background check surfaces something that might lead to a rejection, a rejection letter alone doesn’t cut it. Federal and Washington law both require a multi-step process.

Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, an employer using a consumer reporting agency must first obtain the applicant’s written consent. If the report contains something that may lead to a negative decision, the employer must provide the applicant with a copy of the report and a reasonable amount of time to dispute errors before finalizing the decision.⁶

Washington adds its own layer. Under RCW 19.182.070, before taking adverse action based on a consumer report, the employer must provide the applicant with a copy of the report and a written description of their rights under state law.⁷ The pre-adverse-action notice has to arrive after the employer receives the report but before the final decision. Smaller employers often skip this step, and skipping it creates liability.

When Fingerprint Checks Are Required

A name-based WATCH search has one weakness: it only matches records tied to the exact name and date of birth entered. Common names, typos, and name changes can produce incomplete or inaccurate results. Fingerprint-based checks match identity rather than name. The Washington State Patrol processes fingerprint-based requests for $58, covering both the state database and the FBI national system.⁸

Some positions require the fingerprint version by law. The Department of Social and Health Services mandates fingerprint checks for caregivers, long-term care workers, and anyone in a role involving direct care for vulnerable populations. School employees, certain healthcare workers, and law enforcement or corrections roles also require them. For these positions, a name-based WATCH search alone won’t satisfy the legal requirement.

Fixing Errors on Your Record

Corrections run through the agency that originally reported the data. For errors on a WSP record — a wrong charge, an incorrect disposition, or a conviction that should have been vacated — contact the Washington State Patrol directly.⁹

If a court is the source of the error, say a dismissed conviction the court never updated, the fix has to happen at the originating court. WSP cannot correct records another agency reported incorrectly.

For errors on a consumer reporting agency’s report, federal and state fair credit reporting laws give you the right to dispute the information with the reporting agency directly. The agency must then investigate and correct or remove inaccurate entries within 30 days.

1
Washington State Patrol. Criminal History
2
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 19.182.040 – Obsolete Information
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Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 49.94 – Employees and Job Applicants Criminal Records
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Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 49.94 – Employees and Job Applicants Criminal Records
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U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII
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Federal Trade Commission. Background Checks on Prospective Employees: Keep Required Disclosures Simple
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Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 19.182 – Fair Credit Reporting Act
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Washington 211. Criminal History Reports Offered by Washington State Patrol District 1 Headquarters
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Washington Department of Social and Health Services. I Think There Is an Error, How Do I Correct My Background Check Results