Washington — Collection Agency Act (ch. 19.16 RCW) + SOL

Authority

Chapter 19.16 RCW, the Washington Collection Agency Act — license (Department of Licensing, advised by the Washington State Collection Agency Board), $5,000 surety bond, and a 29-subsection prohibited-practices list in RCW 19.16.250. Enforcement runs through the Consumer Protection Act: RCW 19.16.440 declares unlicensed operation and any RCW 19.16.250/.260 violation a per-se unfair act under ch. 19.86 RCW, giving a private right of action with treble damages (RCW 19.86.090) and AG enforcement; RCW 19.16.450 adds a fee-forfeiture penalty and RCW 19.16.430 a criminal penalty for unlicensed operation. Agency rules: ch. 308-29 WAC.

Statute of limitations for suit on a debt: RCW 4.16.040 (six years — written contracts and accounts receivable) and RCW 4.16.080(3) (three years — contracts not in writing, expressly excepting accounts receivable). Negotiable instruments: RCW 62A.3-118. Revival: RCW 4.16.270 and 4.16.280, both rewritten by 2019 c 377 (HB 1730).

Verification note: all text below was pulled 2026-08-11 directly from the Washington State Legislature's official RCW/WAC server (app.leg.wa.gov), which serves statute text without a bot block. No archive fallback was needed. The one non-legislature source is dol.wa.gov, used only to confirm the identity of the licensing agency and the Collection Agency Board — every operative number on this page comes from the RCW or WAC text itself.

Operative text

Scope — RCW 19.16.100 (the Act does NOT reach original creditors)

(4) "Collection agency" means and includes: (a) Any person directly or indirectly engaged in soliciting claims for collection, or collecting or attempting to collect claims owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another person; (b) Any person who directly or indirectly furnishes or attempts to furnish, sells, or offers to sell forms represented to be a collection system or scheme intended or calculated to be used to collect claims even though the forms direct the debtor to make payment to the creditor and even though the forms may be or are actually used by the creditor himself or herself in his or her own name; (c) Any person who in attempting to collect or in collecting his or her own claim uses a fictitious name or any name other than his or her own which would indicate to the debtor that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such claim; (d) A debt buyer as defined in this section; (e) Any person or entity attempting to enforce a lien under chapter 60.44 RCW, other than the person or entity originally entitled to the lien. (5) "Collection agency" does not mean and does not include: (a) Any individual engaged in soliciting claims for collection, or collecting or attempting to collect claims on behalf of a licensee under this chapter, if said individual is an employee of the licensee; (b) Any individual collecting or attempting to collect claims for not more than one employer, if all the collection efforts are carried on in the name of the employer and if the individual is an employee of the employer; (c) Any person whose collection activities are carried on in his, her, or its true name and are confined and are directly related to the operation of a business other than that of a collection agency, such as but not limited to: Trust companies; savings and loan associations; … lawyers; insurance companies; credit unions; loan or finance companies; mortgage banks; and banks; … (f) Any person while acting as a debt collector for another person, both of whom are related by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, if the person acting as a debt collector does so only for persons to whom it is so related or affiliated and if the principal business of the person is not the collection of debts. — RCW 19.16.100(4)–(5)

Debt buyers were pulled into the definition by 2020 c 30:

(7) "Debt buyer" means any person or entity that is engaged in the business of purchasing delinquent or charged off claims for collection purposes, whether it collects the claims itself or hires a third party for collection or an attorney for litigation in order to collect such claims. — RCW 19.16.100(7); Application—2020 c 30: "It applies with respect to delinquent or charged off claims purchased for collection purposes by a debt buyer on or after June 11, 2020."

Out-of-state agencies are a separate licensed category:

(12) "Out-of-state collection agency" means a person whose activities within this state are limited to collecting debts from debtors located in this state by means of interstate communications, including telephone, mail, or facsimile transmission, from the person's location in another state on behalf of clients located outside of this state, but does not include any person who is excluded from the definition of the term "debt collector" under the federal fair debt collection practices act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1692a(6)). — RCW 19.16.100(12)

Medical debt has a statutory definition, amended by 2025 c 145:

(11) "Medical debt" means any debt owed by a consumer to a person whose primary business is providing medical services, products, or devices, or to the person's agent or assignee, for the provision of medical services, products, or devices. Medical debt includes, but is not limited to, medical bills that are not past due or that have been paid. … except that it does not include cosmetic surgery. — RCW 19.16.100(11)

Entry gate — license (RCW 19.16.110), bond (RCW 19.16.190), fees (WAC 308-29-045)

No person shall act, assume to act, or advertise as a collection agency or out-of-state collection agency as defined in this chapter, except as authorized by this chapter, without first having applied for and obtained a license from the director. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to require a regular employee of a collection agency or out-of-state collection agency duly licensed under this chapter to procure a collection agency license. — RCW 19.16.110 ("director" = director of licensing, RCW 19.16.100(9))

(1) Except as limited by subsection (7) of this section, each applicant shall, at the time of applying for a license, file with the director a surety bond in the sum of five thousand dollars. The bond shall be annually renewable on January first of each year … Such bond shall run to the state of Washington as obligee for the benefit of the state and conditioned that the licensee shall faithfully and truly perform all agreements entered into with the licensee's clients or customers and shall, within thirty days after the close of each calendar month, account to and pay to his, her, or its client or customer the net proceeds of all collections made during the preceding calendar month … … (7) An out-of-state collection agency need not fulfill the bonding requirements under this section if the out-of-state collection agency maintains an adequate bond or legal alternative as required by the state in which the out-of-state collection agency is located. — RCW 19.16.190(1), (7)

Licenses run on a calendar year and the fee schedule is set by rule, not statute:

An annual license fee determined by the director as provided in RCW 43.24.086 shall be paid to the director on or before January first of each year. … If the annual license fee is not paid on or before January first, the licensee shall be assessed a penalty for late payment … If the fee and penalty are not paid by January thirty-first, it will be necessary for the licensee to submit a new application for a license … Any license or branch office certificate issued under the provisions of this chapter shall expire on December thirty-first following the issuance thereof. — RCW 19.16.140

Collection agency—Main office: Original application $890.00 · Renewal $515.00 · Reregistration fee after 30 days $1,405.00 Branch office (with WA main office): Original application $590.00 · Renewal $340.00 · Reregistration fee after 30 days $930.00 Out-of-state collection agency—Main office: Original application $445.00 · Renewal $257.50 · Reregistration fee after 30 days $702.50 Branch office—With out-of-state main office: Original application $295.00 · Renewal $170.00 · Reregistration fee after 30 days $465.00 License print fee $5.00 — WAC 308-29-045 (eff. 2022-12-31)

Penalty for operating unlicensed — RCW 19.16.430, and the licensing-prerequisite-to-suit bar — RCW 19.16.260(1)

(1) Any person who knowingly operates as a collection agency or out-of-state collection agency without a license or knowingly aids and abets such violation is punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or by imprisonment not exceeding one year or both. (2) Any person who operates as a collection agency or out-of-state collection agency in the state of Washington without a valid license issued pursuant to this chapter shall not charge or receive any fee or compensation on any moneys received or collected while operating without a license … All such moneys collected or received shall be forthwith returned to the owners of the accounts on which the moneys were paid. — RCW 19.16.430

(1)(a) No collection agency or out-of-state collection agency may bring or maintain an action in any court of this state involving the collection of its own claim or a claim of any third party without alleging and proving that he, she, or it is duly licensed under this chapter and has satisfied the bonding requirements hereof, if applicable: PROVIDED, That in any case where judgment is to be entered by default, it shall not be necessary for the collection agency or out-of-state collection agency to prove such matters. — RCW 19.16.260(1)(a)

Call frequency and call window — RCW 19.16.250(13), (17), (18), (19)

This is the section that puts Washington below the federal ceiling. Note it is framed as a presumption of harassment, and it counts communications of any kind, not just calls:

(13) Communicate with a debtor or anyone else in such a manner as to harass, intimidate, threaten, or embarrass a debtor, including but not limited to communication at an unreasonable hour, with unreasonable frequency, by threats of force or violence, by threats of criminal prosecution, and by use of offensive language. A communication shall be presumed to have been made for the purposes of harassment if: (a) It is made with a debtor or spouse in any form, manner, or place, more than three times in a single week, unless the licensee is responding to a communication from the debtor or spouse; (b) It is made with a debtor at his or her place of employment more than one time in a single week, unless the licensee is responding to a communication from the debtor; (c) It is made with the debtor or spouse at his or her place of residence between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. A call to a telephone is presumed to be received in the local time zone to which the area code of the number called is assigned for landline numbers, unless the licensee reasonably believes the telephone is located in a different time zone. If the area code is not assigned to landlines in any specific geographic area, such as with toll-free telephone numbers, a call to a telephone is presumed to be received in the local time zone of the debtor's last known place of residence, unless the licensee reasonably believes the telephone is located in a different time zone. — RCW 19.16.250(13)

Cellular/wireless contacts carry two further caps — a per-week cap on charge-incurring contacts and a hard twice-per-day cap on calls, texts, and other electronic messages:

(17) Send any telegram or make any telephone calls to a debtor or concerning a debt or for the purpose of demanding payment of a claim or seeking information about a debtor, for which the charges are payable by the addressee or by the person to whom the call is made: PROVIDED, That: (a) This subsection does not prohibit a licensee from attempting to communicate by way of a cellular telephone or other wireless device: PROVIDED, That a licensee cannot cause charges to be incurred to the recipient of the attempted communication more than three times in any calendar week when the licensee knows or reasonably should know that the number belongs to a cellular telephone or other wireless device, unless the licensee is responding to a communication from the debtor or the person to whom the call is made. (b) The licensee is not in violation of (a) of this subsection if the licensee at least monthly updates its records with information provided by a commercial provider of cellular telephone lists … and does not otherwise know or reasonably should know that the number belongs to a cellular telephone. (c) This subsection may not be construed to increase the number of communications permitted pursuant to subsection (13)(a) of this section. — RCW 19.16.250(17)

(18) Call, or send a text message or other electronic communication to, a cellular telephone or other wireless device more than twice in any day when the licensee knows or reasonably should know that the number belongs to a cellular telephone or other wireless device, unless the licensee is responding to a communication from the debtor or the person to whom the call, text message, or other electronic communication is made. … Nothing in this subsection may be construed to increase the number of communications permitted pursuant to subsection (13)(a) of this section. — RCW 19.16.250(18)

(19) Intentionally block its telephone number from displaying on a debtor's telephone. — RCW 19.16.250(19)

First-notice itemization and disclosure — RCW 19.16.250(8), (9)

(8) Give or send to any debtor or cause to be given or sent to any debtor, any notice, letter, message, or form, other than through proper legal action, process, or proceedings, which represents or implies that a claim exists unless it shall indicate in clear and legible type: (a) The name of the licensee and the city, street, and number at which he or she is licensed to do business; (b) The name of the original creditor to whom the debtor owed the claim if such name is known to the licensee or employee: PROVIDED, That upon written request of the debtor, the licensee shall provide this name to the debtor or cease efforts to collect on the debt until this information is provided; (c) If the notice … is the first notice to the debtor or if the licensee is attempting to collect a different amount than indicated in his or her or its first notice to the debtor, an itemization of the claim asserted must be made including: (i) Amount owing on the original obligation at the time it was received by the licensee for collection or by assignment; (ii) Interest or service charge, collection costs, or late payment charges, if any, added to the original obligation by the original creditor, customer or assignor before it was received by the licensee for collection … PROVIDED, That upon written request of the debtor, the licensee shall make a reasonable effort to obtain information on such items and provide this information to the debtor; (iii) Interest or service charge, if any, added by the licensee or customer or assignor after the obligation was received by the licensee for collection; (iv) Collection costs, if any, that the licensee is attempting to collect; (v) Attorneys' fees, if any …; and (vi) Any other charge or fee …; … (e) If the notice, letter, message, or form is the first notice to the debtor, an itemization of the claim asserted must be made including the following information: (i) The original account number or redacted original account number assigned to the debt, if known to the licensee or employee: PROVIDED, That upon written request of the debtor, the licensee must make a reasonable effort to obtain this information or cease efforts to collect on the debt until this information is provided; and (ii) The date of the last payment to the creditor on the subject debt by the debtor, if known to the licensee or employee: PROVIDED, That upon written request of the debtor, the licensee must make a reasonable effort to obtain this information or cease efforts to collect on the debt until this information is provided. — RCW 19.16.250(8)

The interest rate itself must also be disclosed, by rule:

Whenever a collection agency is required pursuant to RCW 19.16.250 (8)(c) to disclose to the debtor that interest charges are being added to the original obligation, the collection agency must also disclose to the debtor the rate of interest. The rate of interest cannot exceed the legal maximum rate established in chapter 19.52 RCW. — WAC 308-29-070

Fee and charge cap — RCW 19.16.250(21), (22)

(21) Collect or attempt to collect in addition to the principal amount of a claim any sum other than allowable interest, collection costs or handling fees expressly authorized by statute, and, in the case of suit, attorney's fees and taxable court costs. A licensee may collect or attempt to collect collection costs and fees, including contingent collection fees, as authorized by a written agreement or contract, between the licensee's client and the debtor, in the collection of a commercial claim. The amount charged to the debtor for collection services shall not exceed thirty-five percent of the commercial claim. (22) Procure from a debtor or collect or attempt to collect on any written note, contract, stipulation, promise or acknowledgment under which a debtor may be required to pay any sum other than principal, allowable interest, except as noted in subsection (21) of this section, and, in the case of suit, attorney's fees and taxable court costs. — RCW 19.16.250(21)–(22)

Time-barred debt — RCW 19.16.250(23) (suit/arbitration ban; no collection-letter disclosure)

(23) Bring an action or initiate an arbitration proceeding on a claim when the licensee knows, or reasonably should know, that such suit or arbitration is barred by the applicable statute of limitations. — RCW 19.16.250(23)

The only SOL disclosure Washington mandates is a pleading disclosure by debt buyers, not a letter disclosure:

(2) No debt buyer may: … (c) Bring any legal action against a debtor without providing a disclosure in the complaint, in no smaller than ten point type, stating each of the following: … (vi) That the action is being commenced within, and is not barred by, an applicable statute of limitations. — RCW 19.16.260(2)(c)(vi)

Litigation conduct — RCW 19.16.250(27) and debt-buyer pleading — RCW 19.16.260(2)

(27) Serve a debtor with a summons and complaint unless the summons and complaint have been filed with the court and bear the case number assigned by the court. — RCW 19.16.250(27) (added 2019 c 201, abolishing "pocket service" in debt collection)

(2) No debt buyer may: (a) Bring any legal action against a debtor without attaching to the complaint a copy of the contract or other writing evidencing the original debt that contains the signature of the debtor, or: (i) If a claim is based on a credit card debt for which a signed writing evidencing the original debt does not exist, a copy of the most recent monthly statement recording a purchase transaction, payment, or other extension of credit and, if the claim is based on a breach of contract, a copy of the terms and conditions in place at the time of the most recent monthly statement … must also be attached; … (b) Request a default judgment against a debtor in any legal action without providing to the court evidence that satisfies the requirements of rule 803(a)(6) of the rules of evidence and RCW 5.45.020 … including the documents required by (a) of this subsection, and: (i) The original account number at charge-off; (ii) The original creditor at charge-off; (iii) The amount due at charge-off …; (iv) An itemization of post charge-off additions, if any; (v) The date of the last payment, if applicable, or the date of the last transaction; (vi) If the account is not a revolving credit account, the date the debt was incurred; and (vii) A copy of the assignment or other writing establishing that the debt buyer is the owner of the debt. If the debt was assigned more than once, each assignment … must be attached to establish an unbroken chain of ownership … — RCW 19.16.260(2) (Effective until January 1, 2027)

Medical and hospital debt — RCW 19.16.250(28), (29) (2025 c 145, eff. 2025-07-27)

(28)(a) If the claim involves medical debt: (i) Fail to include, with the first written notice to the debtor, a statement that informs the debtor of the debtor's right to request the original account number or redacted original account number assigned to the debt, the date of the last payment, and an itemized statement as provided in (a)(ii) of this subsection (28); (ii)(A) Fail to provide to the debtor, upon written or oral request by the debtor for more information than is contained in a general balance due letter, an itemized statement free of charge. Unless and until the licensee provides the itemized statement, the licensee must cease all collection efforts. The itemized statement must include: (I) The name and address of the medical creditor; (II) The date, dates, or date range of service; (III) The health care services provided to the patient …; (IV) The amount of principal for any medical debt or debts incurred; (V) Any adjustment to the bill, such as negotiated insurance rates or other discounts; (VI) The amount of any payments received …; (VII) Any interest or fees; and (VIII) Whether the patient was found eligible for charity care or other reductions and, if so, the amount due after all charity care and other reductions have been applied …; … (C) Properly executed postjudgment writs, including writs of garnishment and execution, are not required to be ceased and second or subsequent requests for information already provided do not require the cessation of collection efforts; (iii) Report adverse information to consumer credit reporting agencies or credit bureaus. (b) The legislature finds that the practices covered by this subsection are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW. A violation of this subsection is not reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of business and is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce … — RCW 19.16.250(28) (bold added for emphasis; the emphasis is not in the statute)

(29) If the claim involves hospital debt: (a) Fail to include, with the first written notice to the debtor, a notice that the debtor may be eligible for charity care from the hospital, together with the contact information for the hospital; (b) Collect or attempt to collect a claim related to hospital debt during the pendency of an application for charity care sponsorship or an appeal from a final determination of charity care sponsorship status. However, this prohibition is only applicable if the licensee has received notice of the pendency of the application or appeal. — RCW 19.16.250(29)

Credit reporting — RCW 19.16.250(10)(a), (11) and WAC 308-29-080

(10) … (a) Except as provided in subsection (28)(a)(iii) of this section, a licensee or employee of a licensee may inform a credit reporting bureau of the existence of a claim. If the licensee or employee of a licensee reports a claim to a credit reporting bureau, the licensee shall, upon receipt of written notice from the debtor that any part of the claim is disputed, notify the credit reporting bureau of the dispute by written or electronic means and create a record of the fact of the notification and when the notification was provided; — RCW 19.16.250(10)(a)

If a collection agency informs a credit-reporting agency of the existence of a claim, the collection agency shall promptly notify the credit-reporting agency that the claim has been satisfied. In the absence of other applicable law, "promptly" shall mean within forty-five days after satisfaction of the claim. — WAC 308-29-080

Statute of limitations — RCW 4.16.040 (six years, including accounts receivable)

The following actions shall be commenced within six years: (1) An action upon a contract in writing, or liability express or implied arising out of a written agreement, except as provided for in RCW 64.04.007(2). (2) An action upon an account receivable. For purposes of this section, an account receivable is any obligation for payment incurred in the ordinary course of the claimant's business or profession, whether arising from one or more transactions and whether or not earned by performance. (3) An action for the rents and profits or for the use and occupation of real estate. — RCW 4.16.040; Application—2007 c 124: "This act applies to all causes of action on accounts receivable, whether commenced before or after July 22, 2007."

Statute of limitations — RCW 4.16.080(3) (three years, oral/implied — expressly subordinated to 4.16.040(2))

The following actions shall be commenced within three years: … (3) Except as provided in RCW 4.16.040(2), an action upon a contract or liability, express or implied, which is not in writing, and does not arise out of any written instrument; — RCW 4.16.080(3)

Negotiable instruments — RCW 62A.3-118

(a) Except as provided in subsection (e), an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay a note payable at a definite time must be commenced within six years after the due date or dates stated in the note or, if a due date is accelerated, within six years after the accelerated due date. (b) Except as provided in subsection (d) or (e), if demand for payment is made to the maker of a note payable on demand, an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay the note must be commenced within six years after the demand. If no demand for payment is made to the maker, an action to enforce the note is barred if neither principal nor interest on the note has been paid for a continuous period of ten years. … (d) An action to enforce the obligation of the acceptor of a certified check or the issuer of a teller's check, cashier's check, or traveler's check must be commenced within three years after demand for payment is made to the acceptor or issuer, as the case may be. (g) Unless governed by other law regarding claims for indemnity or contribution, an action (i) for conversion of an instrument, for money had and received, or like action based on conversion, (ii) for breach of warranty, or (iii) to enforce an obligation, duty, or right arising under this Article and not governed by this section must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues. — RCW 62A.3-118

Judgments — RCW 4.16.020(2) (ten years)

The period prescribed for the commencement of actions shall be as follows: Within ten years: … (2) For an action upon a judgment or decree of any court of the United States, or of any state or territory within the United States … unless the period is extended under RCW 6.17.020 or a similar provision in another jurisdiction. — RCW 4.16.020(2)

Revival — RCW 4.16.270 (partial payment) and RCW 4.16.280 (written acknowledgment), both as amended by 2019 c 377

When any payment has been or shall be made upon any existing contract prior to its applicable limitation period having expired, whether the contract is a bill of exchange, promissory note, bond, or other evidence of indebtedness, if the payment is made after it is due, the limitation period shall restart from the time the most recent payment was made. Any payment on the contract made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period. — RCW 4.16.270 (2019 c 377 s 1) (bold added for emphasis)

No acknowledgment or promise shall be sufficient evidence of a new or continuing contract whereby to take the case out of the operation of this chapter, unless it is contained in some writing signed by the party to be charged thereby; except, an acknowledgment or promise made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period. This section shall not alter the effect of any payment of principal or interest. — RCW 4.16.280 (2019 c 377 s 2)

Tolling — RCW 4.16.180 (absence from state / concealment)

If the cause of action shall accrue against any person who is a nonresident of this state, or who is a resident of this state and shall be out of the state, or concealed therein, such action may be commenced within the terms herein respectively limited after the coming, or return of such person into the state, or after the end of such concealment; and if after such cause of action shall have accrued, such person shall depart from and reside out of this state, or conceal himself or herself, the time of his or her absence or concealment shall not be deemed or taken as any part of the time limit for the commencement of such action. — RCW 4.16.180

Penalties, private right of action, AG enforcement

The operation of a collection agency or out-of-state collection agency without a license as prohibited by RCW 19.16.110 and the commission by a licensee or an employee of a licensee of an act or practice prohibited by RCW 19.16.250 or 19.16.260 are declared to be unfair acts or practices or unfair methods of competition in the conduct of trade or commerce for the purpose of the application of the consumer protection act found in chapter 19.86 RCW. — RCW 19.16.440

If an act or practice in violation of RCW 19.16.250 or 19.16.260 is committed by a licensee or an employee of a licensee in the collection of a claim, neither the licensee, the customer of the licensee, nor any other person who may thereafter legally seek to collect on such claim shall ever be allowed to recover any interest, service charge, attorneys' fees, collection costs, delinquency charge, or any other fees or charges otherwise legally chargeable to the debtor on such claim: PROVIDED, That any person asserting the claim may nevertheless recover from the debtor the amount of the original claim or obligation. — RCW 19.16.450

Any person who is injured in his or her business or property by a violation of RCW 19.86.020 … may bring a civil action in superior court to enjoin further violations, to recover the actual damages sustained by him or her, or both, together with the costs of the suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee. In addition, the court may, in its discretion, increase the award of damages up to an amount not to exceed three times the actual damages sustained: PROVIDED, That such increased damage award for violation of RCW 19.86.020 may not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars … — RCW 19.86.090

The provisions of this chapter shall be cumulative and nonexclusive and shall not affect any other remedy available at law: PROVIDED, That the violation of RCW 19.16.250 shall be construed as exclusively civil and not penal in nature. — RCW 19.16.900

Administrative discipline runs through the Uniform Regulation of Business and Professions Act:

(1) Upon finding unprofessional conduct … the disciplinary authority may issue an order providing for one or any combination of the following: … (h) Payment of a fine for each violation found by the disciplinary authority, not to exceed five thousand dollars per violation. … — RCW 18.235.110(1)(h)

Remote work — WAC 308-29-085

Washington is one of the few states with an express virtual-office rule for collection employees. Key operative constraints:

(4) … (c) It must be located within the United States and, within one hundred miles of the licensee's business office. … (g) No more than one employee may work from a virtual office from the same physical location, except that cohabitating employees may each maintain a virtual office from their shared residence. … (5) … (b) In addition, an employee must complete a minimum of forty-five days of direct oversight and mentoring in the licensee's business office prior to working from a virtual office. … (7) Call recording and monitoring. Licensees must consistently record and monitor calls in which employees are performing collection activities. Call recordings must be maintained for a minimum of four years and call monitoring must be regularly performed, a portion of which must be in real time. … — WAC 308-29-085

Pending — Uniform Consumer Debt Default Judgments Act, ch. 4.74 RCW (2026 c 107, effective 2027-01-01)

Washington has enacted a new default-judgment chapter that takes effect January 1, 2027 and simultaneously strips the debt-buyer pleading requirements out of RCW 19.16.260(2) (leaving 19.16.260 as a licensing-prerequisite section only).

This act takes effect January 1, 2027. — Effective date—2026 c 107 [2026 c 107 s 15], note following RCW 4.74.900

This chapter applies to an action commenced on or after January 1, 2027. — RCW 4.74.904

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, this chapter applies to the award of a default judgment in an action for collection of: (a) An unsecured consumer debt; (b) A secured consumer debt if the action is brought solely to obtain a money judgment; or (c) A deficiency that remains after disposition of property that secured a consumer debt. — RCW 4.74.020(1)

(1) A default judgment in an action to which this chapter applies may be entered only if the complaint or amended complaint complies with this section and includes the notice required under RCW 4.74.040. (2) If the plaintiff amends a complaint before a responsive pleading is made, causing it to comply with this section or include the notice required under RCW 4.74.040 where it did not previously, the personal jurisdiction of the court over the defendant is voided and is acquired again only when the amended complaint is served on the defendant as though it was the original complaint. (3) The complaint or amended complaint must state: … (e) The date of the last payment, if applicable, or the date of the last transaction; (f) The date of charge off or, if the debt was not charged off, the date of default; (g) The amount of the outstanding balance; … (l) Facts sufficient to demonstrate that the action is being commenced within the statute of limitation period applicable to the debt; … — RCW 4.74.030

RCW 4.74.040 requires a prescribed plain-language "Consumer Notice" in no less than 10-point type, warning among other things that a judgment "could remain in effect for up to 20 years." RCW 4.74.050 makes noncompliance by a purchased-debt holder a per-se CPA violation and subjects it to the RCW 19.16.450 fee-forfeiture penalty.

Plain English

Interpretation — the quotes above win on any conflict.

• Washington licenses collection agencies. Department of Licensing issues the license (RCW 19.16.110); the Collection Agency Board advises. The entry gate is a license plus a $5,000 surety bond (RCW 19.16.190) — a much smaller bond than Massachusetts' $25,000, but unlike Texas, Washington requires an actual license. Out-of-state agencies get their own cheaper license category and can satisfy the bond with their home-state bond.
• The Act does NOT cover original creditors. A creditor collecting its own paper in its own true name is outside "collection agency" (RCW 19.16.100(5)(c)) — unless it uses a fictitious name suggesting a third party is collecting (19.16.100(4)(c)). Debt buyers are covered (19.16.100(4)(d), (7)). This is the opposite of Texas and Florida, where the conduct rules bind original creditors too.
• Operating unlicensed is expensive in three separate ways: a gross-misdemeanor-scale criminal penalty (RCW 19.16.430(1)), total forfeiture of all fees plus return of collected money (19.16.430(2)), and a per-se CPA violation (19.16.440) exposing the agency to treble damages and fees (19.86.090). An unlicensed agency also cannot maintain a collection suit (19.16.260(1)).
• Call frequency is materially stricter than Reg F. Washington presumes harassment at more than 3 communications with the debtor or spouse in a single week, in any form, manner, or place — versus Reg F's 7 calls per 7 days. Contacts at the workplace are capped at 1 per week. Calls/texts to a known cell number are capped at 2 per day, and charge-incurring cell contacts at 3 per calendar week.
• The call-time window is a trap: Washington's is narrower than federal, so federal controls the morning. Washington presumes harassment for residence contacts between 9:00 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. — but the FDCPA/Reg F ban runs until 8:00 a.m. The operative safe window in Washington is therefore 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m., the federal one. Do not build to 7:30 a.m.
• SOL is six years for essentially all commercial paper, including credit cards — not because of case law, but because RCW 4.16.040(2) independently gives six years to "an action upon an account receivable," defined to reach "any obligation for payment incurred in the ordinary course of the claimant's business or profession, whether arising from one or more transactions and whether or not earned by performance." RCW 4.16.080(3)'s three-year oral/implied bucket is expressly carved back by "Except as provided in RCW 4.16.040(2)." The three-year period survives only for non-account-receivable oral obligations (e.g. a personal loan between individuals not made in the course of a business).
• Revival is one-directional and statutory. A payment made before the period runs restarts the clock from the most recent payment (RCW 4.16.270). A payment or a signed written acknowledgment made after expiry does not restart, revive, or extend anything (RCW 4.16.270, 4.16.280). Washington is a "dead is dead" state as of 2019.
• No time-barred-debt disclosure in collection letters. Washington bars suing or arbitrating a known-stale claim (19.16.250(23)) but — unlike Texas §392.307(e) or Reg F's §1006.26 disclosure regime — imposes no statutory letter disclosure. The only SOL statement Washington compels is in a debt buyer's complaint (19.16.260(2)(c)(vi); from 2027, RCW 4.74.030(3)(l)).
• Medical debt is a distinct regime as of July 27, 2025. Collectors must flag the itemization right in the first written notice, must cease all collection until an itemized statement is furnished on request, and may not report medical debt to credit bureaus at all.

Traps / edge cases

• The 3-per-week cap counts communications, not calls. RCW 19.16.250(13)(a) says "in any form, manner, or place" — letters, emails, texts, and voicemails all count against the same three. A frequency count that only counts dial attempts will under-count Washington exposure badly.
• "A single week" is undefined; "any calendar week" is used two subsections later. RCW 19.16.250(13)(a)/(b) say "a single week" while 19.16.250(17)(a) says "any calendar week." Whether (13) means a rolling 7-day window or a calendar week is not resolved by the statute. Safe implementation: enforce the stricter reading (rolling 7-day) — treating it as a calendar week that resets Sunday would permit 6 contacts across a 48-hour span. Flagged as interpretation, not statute.
• The caps stack and explicitly do not add up. Both (17)(c) and (18) say they "may not be construed to increase the number of communications permitted pursuant to subsection (13)(a)." So the cell-phone allowances (2/day, 3/calendar week) are ceilings within the 3-per-week total, not additions to it. The binding number for a cell-only debtor is 3 per week, not 3 + 2/day.
• Inbound calls reset nothing but are excepted. Every cap carves out "unless the licensee is responding to a communication from the debtor" — a return call to a debtor-initiated contact does not count. Counters need an inbound-response flag, not just a raw contact log.
• These are presumptions, not bright-line caps. RCW 19.16.250(13) presumes harassment above the thresholds; it does not say fewer contacts are safe. This is the mirror image of Reg F, which presumes compliance at or below 7-in-7. Staying under 3 in Washington is not a safe harbor, only the absence of a presumption against you.
• The morning window really is federal. Washington's 7:30 a.m. floor is more permissive than the FDCPA's 8:00 a.m. Reading the state statute alone produces a 30-minute window of federal violations. This is the single most likely way to get Washington wrong.
• Account receivable swallows the oral/open-account distinction. Any SOL logic that routes Washington credit-card or open-account debt to a 3-year bucket because no signed agreement was produced is wrong. RCW 4.16.040(2) does not condition the six years on a writing — it conditions it on the obligation having been incurred in the ordinary course of the claimant's business. The 2007 amendment is expressly retroactive.
• Demand notes have a hidden absolute bar. RCW 62A.3-118(b): six years from demand, but if no demand is ever made, the note is barred once "neither principal nor interest on the note has been paid for a continuous period of ten years." A pure demand-date model will miss this.
• Certified/cashier's/teller's/traveler's checks run three years, not six (RCW 62A.3-118(d)) — the one negotiable-instrument category that is not six.
• Medical-debt credit reporting is a flat prohibition, not a waiting period. RCW 19.16.250(28)(a)(iii) bars reporting adverse medical-debt information outright, and 19.16.250(10)(a) was amended to subordinate the general credit-reporting permission to it. Any "report after N days" logic must be disabled entirely for Washington medical debt.
• The medical-debt cease obligation has no dispute-window limit. An oral request for more information than a balance-due letter triggers a cease-collection duty that runs "unless and until" the itemized statement is provided. Postjudgment writs are the only carve-out.
• Fee forfeiture under RCW 19.16.450 is permanent and travels with the claim. If a licensee violates 19.16.250 or .260, nobody who later holds that claim can ever recover interest, fees, or costs on it — the original principal is all that survives. This is a placement-level poison pill, not a per-actor penalty, and it matters when buying or forward-placing Washington paper.
• Pocket service is prohibited. Since 2019, a Washington debt-collection summons and complaint must be filed and bear a case number before service (19.16.250(27)).
• A January 1, 2027 cliff exists. Chapter 4.74 RCW (2026 c 107) applies to actions commenced on or after that date and moves — and expands — the debt-buyer pleading rules. Note the unusual jurisdictional sanction in RCW 4.74.030(2): amending a defective complaint voids personal jurisdiction until the amended complaint is re-served. This page's litigation-conduct section will need re-verification before 2027-01-01.

Related

• ../federal/fdcpa/overview.md
• ../federal/reg-f/call-frequency.md
• ../federal/reg-f/time-barred-debt.md
• ./tx.md · ./ma.md · ./ca.md · ./ny.md · ./fl.md · ./_matrix.md