Washington
Washington licenses private investigators and agencies through the Department of Licensing under RCW 18.165. A fee increase is proposed for January 1, 2027, with a hearing on October 27, 2026. Since 2023 covert tracking-device use is charged as stalking, which keeps the defense for licensed investigators, and new privacy laws reach health data, doxing, and license plate reader data.
At a glance
- Authority
- Washington State Department of Licensing, Private Investigator Program
- Statute
- Chapter 18.165 RCW
- Rules
- Chapter 308-17 WAC
- Who is licensed
- Private investigators, who must work for a licensed agency or be licensed as one (RCW 18.165.030(4)); armed private investigators (18.165.040); agencies, through a principal or qualifying agent (18.165.050); and certified trainers.
- Qualifications
- At least 18, or 21 for an armed license, and a U.S. citizen or resident noncitizen (18.165.030, .040). Investigators complete at least 4 hours of preassignment training and a test given by a certified trainer (WAC 308-17-300); an agency principal needs 3 years of investigative experience or must pass the principal exam (RCW 18.165.050). Fingerprint checks; a conviction bars licensing only if it directly relates to the work and withholding the license is needed to protect the public (18.165.030).
- Renewal
- Every year. Current fees: investigator $220, renewal $193; agency application including the first exam $640, renewal $385 (WAC 308-17-150). Increases are proposed; see below.
- Continuing education
- None. The statute allows the Department to adopt it by rule, but no rule requires it.
- Bond or insurance
- Agencies only: a $10,000 surety bond, or general liability insurance of at least $25,000 bodily or personal injury and $25,000 property damage (RCW 18.165.100).
- Out-of-state investigators
- An investigator registered in a state with requirements at least equal to Washington’s may work across state lines in Washington up to 30 days a year (RCW 18.165.120), and an out-of-state license is valid for 90 days on temporary assignment for the same employer (18.165.140).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
Fee increase proposed for 2027
The proposal adds a separate $25 application fee to each new investigator license, armed endorsement, and agency license; renewal fees stay single fees. An investigator license would rise from $220 to $250 plus the application fee, and renewal from $193 to $241; an agency license including the first exam from $640 to $775 plus the application fee, and renewal from $385 to $481; armed endorsements from $110 to $113 plus the application fee; and the late renewal penalty from $35 to $44. The Department says new fees would take effect January 1, 2027 if adopted.
For licensees: Written comments are due by the October 27, 2026 hearing; nothing changes unless the rule is adopted.
“Resident alien” becomes “resident noncitizen”
Changes the term in RCW 18.165.030(2), so an applicant must be a citizen or resident noncitizen of the United States. It is the only amendment to chapter 18.165 RCW from 2023 through October 2026.
For licensees: The requirement is unchanged in substance.
License plate reader data closed to public records requests
Agency automated license plate reader data is exempt from the Public Records Act except for bona fide research without individually identifiable information. Agencies may not sell or buy it, and vendors of license plate reader systems may not sell or give access to the data to any unauthorized person or entity. Willful unauthorized use, sale, or dissemination is a gross misdemeanor.
For licensees: Agency license plate reader data cannot be obtained through a public records request or bought from system vendors.
Vehicle owners told the requester is an investigator
Amends RCW 46.12.635(4), under which the Department releases vehicle and vessel owner records to attorneys and private investigators. When a request is granted, the notice sent to the owner now states the requester’s occupation, replacing the earlier process in which the owner had 5 days to ask the Department about the requester.
For licensees: Owners whose records are released are told the request came from a private investigator.
Immigration-status licensing law excludes investigators
Makes people not lawfully present eligible for most professional licenses and bars denial solely on immigration status, but RCW 18.415.010(6) says the chapter does not apply to private investigators (chapter 18.165 RCW) or security guards.
For licensees: The citizenship or resident requirement in RCW 18.165.030(2) still applies.
Tracking-device use charged as stalking; investigator defense applies
Adds a tracking-device means to the stalking statute, RCW 9A.46.110(1)(a)(iv): knowingly and without consent installing or monitoring an electronic tracking device, or causing one to be installed, placed, or used, to track another person’s location, where learning of it would reasonably cause substantial emotional distress or fear. It repealed the 2022 cyberstalking crime (former RCW 9A.90.130), which had no investigator exception. The existing defense in RCW 9A.46.110(3) for a licensed private investigator acting within the capacity of the license was not changed.
For licensees: Covert tracking is now charged under the stalking statute, whose defense covers licensed investigators acting within the capacity of their license.
My Health My Data Act: geofence and health data sale bans
Makes it unlawful for any person to set a geofence of 2,000 feet or less around an in-person health care provider to identify or track people seeking care, collect their health data, or send them related messages (RCW 19.373.080). From March 31, 2024, it is unlawful for any person to sell consumer health data without a signed authorization (19.373.070). The chapter has no investigator exemption.
For licensees: The geofence and sale bans apply to any person, including investigators.
Civil action for doxing
Creates a civil action for publishing a person’s identifying information without consent, with intent or knowledge that it will be used to harm them or with reckless disregard of that risk, when the publication causes listed harms. Exceptions include providing information to a government agency or company for a legitimate and lawful purpose through a private channel, in good faith. It is not a defense that the information was already public. There is no investigator exception.
For licensees: Delivering information privately to a client that is a business, agency, or other legal entity can fall within an exception when its conditions are met; publishing it does not.
Periodic review of professional licenses
Requires the Department of Licensing to review about 10 percent of the professional licenses it regulates each year, covering all of them within 10 years, and recommend whether to terminate, continue, or modify each. Private investigator licenses fall within the cycle; no review of them was found as of October 2026.
For licensees: The Department must notify licensees before a review of their license begins (RCW 18.410.020(2)).
Checked and unchanged
- The only rule change, WSR 26-02-056 (effective February 6, 2026), made wording in WAC 308-17-100, -140, and -190 gender-neutral without changing any requirement.
- Washington has no data broker registry law; bills in 2023–2024 and 2025–2026 (including HB 1887 and SHB 2483) did not pass.
Last updated October 18, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Washington private investigator licensing: Licensing Law Tracker,” uscli.org/licensing-tracker/washington (last updated October 18, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.