What is the Washington Public Records Act: Originally adopted by voters in 1972, the Washington State Public Records Act requires state agencies to make most of their records available to the public. In accordance, local governments have also passed laws and policies to comply with the State law.

What Laws Govern Public Records in Washington: The statutes governing public records can be found in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 42.56. These sections can be found on the Washington State Legislature’s website. In addition, Chapter 2.12 of the King County Code discusses the Maintenance of Permanent Records. Other state and local laws may apply depending on the agency or type of record you are requesting. You can search the Revised Code of Washington, the Washington Administrative Code, County and/or Municipal Codes at LegalWa.

Helpful Resources:

Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, Open Government Internet Manual.
A brochure written for consumers by the Office of the Attorney General, this guide gives an excellent overview of the law and the procedures for obtaining public records and the available options you may have if a request is denied.

Municipal Research & Services Center of Washington, Public Records Disclosure.
After a brief overview of the law, the MRSC lists links to laws and cases related to public records disclosure in Washington, documents and forms for requesting documents from various counties and cities in Washington, and articles that may help give a more in depth understanding of the laws and procedures.

King County Administrative Policies and Procedures, Requests for Disclosure of Public Records, Doc. No. INF 17-2-1 (AEP).
This document by the King County Executive’s office discusses the procedures that King County agencies must follow when they receive a request for a public record.

Most Frequently Requested Public Records Available Online: The following list of resources only represents a few of the Washington public records available on the Internet. To obtain records from other agencies, begin by finding the appropriate agency. A list of state agencies and departments can be found at the Access Washington Website. Links to King County agencies can be found at the King County Website.

Washington Department of Licensing, Professional License Search. Locates licensing information for professional and occupational licenses issued by the Department of Licensing.

Washington State Bar Association, Lawyer Directory. Information on members of the Washington State Bar Association.

Washington Secretary of State, Social Security Death Index. Index of Washington social security benefits paid beginning 1962.

Washington State Department of Revenue, Business Records Database. Contains public information on businesses registered in Washington.

King County, Frequently requested County Records. Includes Court records, legislative records, licenses-certificates-permits, Property-Land Records, Election Records, Police Records, Tax-Financial records, personal records. Links to agencies in charge of handling the records and agency contact information.

King County Recorder’s Office, Official Public Records. Allows a search on county public records including deeds, mortgage documents, easements, assumed names, powers of attorney, bills of sale and liens. County land records and marriage records can also be searched here.