Domestic violence registry

AN ACT Relating to creating a domestic violence offense registry; 1
amending RCW 4.24.130; adding new sections to chapter 10.99 RCW; 2
adding a new section to chapter 43.43 RCW; and creating new sections.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that domestic 5
violence is a serious and pervasive issue facing many Washington 6
families and communities, and many of the most severe crimes that 7
occur in this state are those involving intimate partner and family 8
violence. Domestic violence offenses carry wide-ranging effects, 9
including injury to mental and physical health, erosion of economic 10
and housing stability, and vicarious victimization of children, who 11
are often bystander witnesses. Washington state data demonstrates a 12
high rate of reoffense among perpetrators of domestic violence, and 13
there is currently no way of knowing whether any particular person 14
has an offense history in absence of a criminal background check or 15
court records request.16
The establishment of a searchable public registry of persons who 17
have been convicted of repeated or felony-level domestic violence 18
offenses is an important step toward preventing future victimization 19
and reducing overall rates of domestic violence. The legislature does 20
not intend for the registry to be punitive or an extension of 21
H-3127.1
HOUSE BILL 2663
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Rule and Walen
Read first time 01/26/26. Referred to Committee on Community Safety.
p. 1 HB 2663
punishment. Instead, it serves as a reasonable regulatory scheme 1
designed to facilitate public access to identification and relevant 2
criminal history information for a subset of people who have been 3
convicted of repeated or felony-level offenses. Members of the public 4
have a compelling interest in identifying persons convicted of 5
repeated or felony-level domestic violence offenses so that they may 6
make informed decisions in furtherance of personal security.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 10.99 8
RCW to read as follows: 9
The definitions in this section apply throughout this section and 10
sections 3 and 5 through 9 of this act unless the context clearly 11
requires otherwise. 12
(1) "Conviction" means any adult conviction, juvenile 13
adjudication, or finding of not guilty by reason of insanity.14
(2) "Domestic violence offense" means any conviction for a crime 15
in which domestic violence as defined in RCW 9.94A.030 was pleaded 16
and proven. 17
(3) "Qualifying domestic violence offense" means a conviction for 18
any domestic violence offense that either: 19
(a) Is a felony; or 20
(b) Is not a felony and the convicted person has one or more 21
prior or simultaneously entered convictions for a domestic violence 22
offense or any federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense that 23
under the laws of this state would be classified as a domestic 24
violence offense if the offense occurred in Washington.25
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 10.99 26
RCW to read as follows: 27
(1) On or after the effective date of this section, when a person 28
is convicted of a qualifying domestic violence offense, the court 29
must enter an order requiring that the person appear on the domestic 30
violence offense registry established under section 4 of this act.31
(2) A court entering an order under subsection (1) of this 32
section shall provide notice to the person that he or she will appear 33
on the domestic violence offense registry for the applicable time 34
period established in section 5 of this act. The notice must be 35
included on any guilty plea forms and judgment and sentence forms 36
provided to the person. 37
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(3) The clerk of the court in which the person was convicted of 1
the qualifying domestic violence offense must forward, electronically 2
or otherwise, to the Washington state patrol, a copy of the judgment 3
and sentence and, to the extent known, the information described in 4
section 4(2) of this act. 5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 43.43 6
RCW to read as follows: 7
(1) The Washington state patrol must maintain a central registry 8
of persons convicted of qualifying domestic violence offenses. The 9
central registry must be made available to the public through a 10
searchable web site. 11
(2) To the extent information is available, the web site must 12
include, but is not limited to, the following information pertaining 13
to each person convicted of a qualifying domestic violence offense:14
(a) Name; 15
(b) Date of birth; 16
(c) All domestic violence offense convictions, including 17
conviction dates and county and state of conviction;18
(d) Address by hundred block; 19
(e) Photograph; and 20
(f) Any other identifying data the Washington state patrol deems 21
necessary for the public to properly identify the person, but shall 22
not include the person's social security number. 23
(3) The Washington state patrol may use any verified photo of the 24
person convicted of a qualifying domestic violence offense that is 25
available, including but not limited to the photograph taken at the 26
person's booking. 27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 10.99 28
RCW to read as follows: 29
A person convicted of a qualifying domestic violence offense 30
shall continue to appear on the domestic violence offense registry 31
for the longest qualifying duration provided in this section.32
(1) A person convicted of a qualifying domestic violence offense 33
shall appear on the registry indefinitely if: 34
(a) The person's present qualifying domestic violence offense 35
conviction is for a class A felony; or 36
(b) The person was previously convicted of a domestic violence 37
offense that is a class A felony or has one or more prior federal or 38
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out-of-state convictions for an offense that would be a class A 1
felony domestic violence offense if committed in Washington.2
(2) Unless subsection (1) of this section applies, a person 3
convicted of a qualifying domestic violence offense shall appear on 4
the registry for a period of 15 consecutive years in the community 5
without being convicted of any felony or any domestic violence 6
offense if: 7
(a) The person's present qualifying domestic violence offense 8
conviction is for a class B felony; or 9
(b) The person was previously convicted of a domestic violence 10
offense that is a class B felony or has one or more prior federal or 11
out-of-state convictions for an offense that would be a class B 12
felony domestic violence offense if committed in Washington.13
(3) Unless subsection (1) or (2) of this section applies, a 14
person convicted of a qualifying domestic violence offense shall 15
appear on the registry for a period of 10 consecutive years in the 16
community without being convicted of any felony or any domestic 17
violence offense. 18
(4) The time periods in subsections (2) and (3) of this section 19
run from the last date of release from confinement following the 20
conviction for the qualifying offense, if any, or the date of entry 21
of the judgment and sentence for the qualifying offense, whichever is 22
later. 23
(5) Nothing in this section prevents a person from being removed 24
from the registry under the process provided in section 7 of this 25
act. 26
(6) Nothing in RCW 9.94A.637 relating to discharge of a person 27
shall be construed as operating to relieve the person of his or her 28
inclusion on the domestic violence offense registry pursuant to this 29
chapter. 30
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 10.99 31
RCW to read as follows: 32
(1) Upon the request of a person who appears on the domestic 33
violence offense registry, the Washington state patrol shall 34
investigate whether the person's registration period has ended by 35
operation of law pursuant to section 5 of this act.36
(a) Using available records, the Washington state patrol shall 37
verify that the person has spent the requisite time in the community 38
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and has not been convicted of any felony or any domestic violence 1
offenses during that time. 2
(b) If the Washington state patrol determines the person's 3
registration period has ended by operation of law, the Washington 4
state patrol shall remove the person from the central registry.5
(2) Nothing in this section prevents the Washington state patrol 6
from investigating, upon its own initiative, whether a person's 7
registration period has ended by operation of law pursuant to section 8
5 of this act. 9
(3) The Washington state patrol and its employees are immune from 10
civil liability for damages for removing a person from the central 11
registry of persons convicted of qualifying domestic violence 12
offenses or the failure to remove a person from the registry 13
according to the time frames provided in section 5 of this act.14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 10.99 15
RCW to read as follows: 16
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a 17
person on the domestic violence offense registry may petition the 18
superior court for removal from the registry when he or she has spent 19
10 consecutive years in the community without being convicted of any 20
felony or any domestic violence offense during that time period.21
(2) A person whose appearance on the domestic violence offense 22
registry is based exclusively on one or more domestic violence 23
offenses committed as a juvenile may petition for removal from the 24
registry under the following timelines: 25
(a) If the offense or offenses requiring registration include any 26
class A felony domestic violence offense, the person may petition 27
when: (i) At least five years have passed since the petitioner's 28
adjudication and completion of any term of confinement for the 29
offense or offenses giving rise to inclusion on the registry; and 30
(ii) the petitioner has not been adjudicated or convicted of any 31
felony or any domestic violence offense within the five years before 32
the petition. 33
(b) For all other domestic violence offenses committed by a 34
juvenile not included in (a) of this subsection, the person may 35
petition when: (i) At least 24 months have passed since the 36
petitioner's adjudication and completion of any term of confinement 37
for the offense giving rise to inclusion on the registry; and (ii) 38
the petitioner has not been adjudicated or convicted of any felony or 39
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any domestic violence offense within the 24 months before the 1
petition. 2
(3) A petition for relief from registration must be made to the 3
court in which the petitioner was ordered to be included on the 4
domestic violence offense registry. The prosecuting attorney of the 5
county must be named and served as the respondent in any petition. 6
The prosecuting attorney must make reasonable efforts to notify the 7
victim via the victim's choice of telephone, letter, or email, if 8
known. 9
(4)(a) The court may order the petitioner's removal from the 10
registry only if the petitioner shows by clear and convincing 11
evidence that the petitioner is sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant 12
removal from the registry. If the petitioner's inclusion on the 13
registry is based entirely on offenses committed while the petitioner 14
was a juvenile, the petitioner's burden of proof shall be a 15
preponderance of the evidence that the petitioner is sufficiently 16
rehabilitated to warrant removal from the registry.17
(b) In determining whether the petitioner is sufficiently 18
rehabilitated to warrant removal from the registry, the following 19
factors are provided as guidance to assist the court in making its 20
determination: 21
(i) The nature of the domestic violence offenses committed, 22
including the number of victims and the length of the offense 23
history; 24
(ii) Any subsequent criminal history; 25
(iii) The petitioner's compliance with any applicable supervision 26
requirements; 27
(iv) The length of time since the charged incident(s) occurred;28
(v) Any input from community corrections officers, law 29
enforcement, treatment providers, or other criminal justice 30
professionals; 31
(vi) The petitioner's stability in employment and housing;32
(vii) The petitioner's community and personal support system;33
(viii) Any risk assessments or evaluations prepared by a 34
qualified professional; and 35
(ix) Any other factors the court may consider relevant.36
(5) If a person's entry on the domestic violence offense registry 37
lists an offense for which the conviction is subsequently overturned 38
or otherwise set aside by court order on grounds consistent with 39
innocence, the person may petition the court for removal of the 40
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offense from the registry. If the court finds that the offense 1
conviction has been overturned or otherwise set aside by court order 2
on grounds consistent with innocence, the court may order that the 3
offense be removed from the registry. 4
(6) If a person is granted an order of removal from the registry 5
or removal of an offense from the registry pursuant to this section, 6
the order of removal does not constitute a certificate of 7
rehabilitation, or the equivalent of a certificate of rehabilitation, 8
for the purposes of restoration of firearm possession under RCW 9
9.41.040. 10
(7) If the court orders removal from the registry or removal of 11
an offense from the registry, the court must send a copy of the order 12
to the Washington state patrol. The Washington state patrol must 13
remove the person from the registry within 30 calendar days.14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 10.99 15
RCW to read as follows: 16
The Washington state patrol must notify persons registered on the 17
domestic violence offense registry of any changes to the registration 18
requirements. 19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 10.99 20
RCW to read as follows: 21
A person on the domestic violence offense registry who applies to 22
change his or her name under RCW 4.24.130 or any other law shall 23
submit a copy of the application to the Washington state patrol not 24
fewer than five days before the entry of an order granting the name 25
change. A person on the registry may not be granted an order changing 26
his or her name under RCW 4.24.130 or any other law if the court 27
finds that doing so will interfere with legitimate law enforcement 28
interests, except that no order may be denied when the name change is 29
requested in recognition of marriage or dissolution of marriage. A 30
court granting an order changing the name of a person on the registry 31
must submit a copy of the order to the Washington state patrol within 32
72 hours of the entry of the order. 33
Sec. 10. RCW 4.24.130 and 2023 c 34 s 1 are each amended to read 34
as follows: 35
(1) Any person desiring a change of the person's name or that of 36
the person's child or of an individual subject to guardianship for 37
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whom the person has been appointed as guardian, may apply therefor to 1
the district court of any judicial district in the state, by petition 2
setting forth the desire for such change; thereupon such court in its 3
discretion may order a change of the name and thenceforth the new 4
name shall be in place of the former. 5
(2) An offender under the jurisdiction of the department of 6
corrections who applies to change the offender's name under 7
subsection (1) of this section shall submit a copy of the application 8
to the department of corrections not fewer than five days before the 9
entry of an order granting the name change. No offender under the 10
jurisdiction of the department of corrections at the time of 11
application shall be granted an order changing the offender's name if 12
the court finds that doing so will interfere with legitimate 13
penological interests, except that no order shall be denied when the 14
name change is requested for religious or legitimate cultural reasons 15
or in recognition of marriage or dissolution of marriage. An offender 16
under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections who receives 17
an order changing the offender's name shall submit a copy of the 18
order to the department of corrections within five days of the entry 19
of the order. Violation of this subsection is a misdemeanor.20
(3) A sex offender subject to registration under RCW 9A.44.130 21
who applies to change the sex offender's name under subsection (1) of 22
this section shall follow the procedures set forth in RCW 23
9A.44.130(7). 24
(4) A person subject to registration under section 3 of this act 25
who applies to change his or her name under subsection (1) of this 26
section shall follow the procedures set forth in section 9 of this 27
act.28
(5) The district court shall collect the fees authorized by RCW 29
36.18.010 for filing and recording a name change order, and transmit 30
the fee and the order to the county auditor. The court may collect a 31
reasonable fee to cover the cost of transmitting the order to the 32
county auditor. Upon affidavit by the person seeking the name change 33
or a qualified legal service provider that the person is unable to 34
pay the fees due to financial hardship, the court shall waive all 35
fees for filing and recording a name change order and direct the 36
county auditor or recording officer to process the name change order 37
at no expense to the person. The court may not waive the fees if the 38
person has received victim compensation for name change fees. For 39
purposes of this subsection, "qualified legal service provider" means 40
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a not-for-profit legal services organization in Washington state 1
whose primary purpose is to provide legal services to low-income 2
clients. 3
(((5))) (6)(a) Name change petitions may be filed and shall be 4
heard in any superior court in the state: 5
(i) When a person desiring a change of the person's name:6
(A) Is an emancipated minor under chapter 13.64 RCW; or7
(B) Has received asylum, refugee, or special immigrant juvenile 8
status; or 9
(ii) If the reason for the person's name change, or the name 10
change of the person's child or of an individual subject to 11
guardianship for whom the person has been appointed as guardian, is:12
(A) Related to gender expression or identity as defined in RCW 13
49.60.040; or 14
(B) Due to an experience of or reasonable fear of domestic 15
violence, stalking, unlawful harassment, or coercive control as those 16
terms are defined in RCW 7.105.010. 17
(b) When a person for whom a name change is sought is a child 18
named in a proceeding under Title 13 or 74 RCW in which the court has 19
exercised original, exclusive jurisdiction, the juvenile court has 20
jurisdiction to either adjudicate a name change petition or grant 21
concurrent jurisdiction to another court to hear the petition.22
(c) Upon granting the name change, the superior court shall seal 23
the file to protect the person's privacy or that of the person's 24
child or of an individual subject to guardianship for whom the person 25
has been appointed as guardian. In all cases filed under this 26
subsection (((5))) (6), whether or not the name change petition is 27
granted, there shall be no public access to any court record of the 28
name change filing, proceeding, or order, unless the name change is 29
granted but the file is not sealed. The name change file shall not 30
thereafter be open to inspection except: (i) Upon order of the court 31
for good cause shown; or (ii) upon the request of the person whose 32
name change was granted or the person's guardian or representative.33
(d) This subsection (((5))) (6) does not apply to a person who is 34
subject to the requirements of subsection (2) or (3) of this section.35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. The Washington state patrol may adopt 36
rules necessary to implement this act.37
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