Law / United States / 
Washington
Commercial Electronic Mail Act, Email
RCW 19.190.010, .020, .030, .040, .050
In force.
A commercial messages rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition, Disclosure
As of .
What it requires
- Do not initiate, conspire to initiate, or assist in transmitting a commercial email message, from a Washington computer or to an address you know or have reason to know is a Washington resident's, that uses a third party's internet domain name without permission or otherwise misrepresents or obscures the message's point of origin or transmission path.
- Do not use a subject line that, based on your actual knowledge or knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances, contains false or misleading information.
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionYes
Statutory damages
Damages to the recipient of a commercial email message sent in violation of this chapter are $100 or actual damages, whichever is greater; damages to an interactive computer service are $1,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater. A violation is a per se unfair or deceptive act under the Consumer Protection Act, chapter 19.86 RCW.
- As of
- Currency
- USD
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Private civil action as an unfair or deceptive act under the Consumer Protection Act, chapter 19.86 RCW
What this law does
Chapter 19.190 RCW, the Commercial Electronic Mail Act, prohibits initiating, conspiring to initiate, or assisting the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message, one sent to promote real property, goods, or services for sale or lease, from a Washington computer or to an address the sender knows or has reason to know is held by a Washington resident, where the message uses a third party's internet domain name without permission or otherwise misrepresents or obscures the point of origin or transmission path, or carries a subject line that, based on the sender's actual knowledge or knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances, contains false or misleading information.
Unlike the federal CAN-SPAM Act, the statute does not mandate an opt-out mechanism, a physical address, or an advertisement label. Both of its prohibitions are framed as rules against falsity or deception, the kind of state email rule that CAN-SPAM's preemption clause leaves in force while superseding the rest.
A violation is a per se unfair or deceptive act under the Consumer Protection Act, chapter 19.86 RCW, and damages to the recipient are $100 or actual damages, whichever is greater (as amended by chapter 135, Laws of 2026, which applies to every action commenced on or after , whenever the cause of action arose), and to an interactive computer service $1,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater.
An interactive computer service may also block or filter mail it reasonably believes violates the chapter without being liable for that action.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app sends automated outreach.