Law / United States / 
Washington
Commercial Electronic Mail Act, Text Messages
In force since .
A commercial messages rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition, Consent
What it requires
- Do not initiate or assist in transmitting a commercial electronic text message to a telephone number assigned to a Washington resident for cellular telephone or pager service with text-messaging capability, unless an exception applies.
- You may send one only where the subscriber has clearly and affirmatively consented in advance to receive it, or, if you are the subscriber's own cellular or pager carrier, at no cost to the subscriber, unless the subscriber has said it does not want further commercial text messages from you.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text. Also read by: Wright v. Lyft, Inc., 189 Wn.2d 718, 406 P.3d 1149 (2017) (recorded ).
In the frameworks
- NIST Privacy Framework
- CT.PO-P1Policies, processes, and procedures for authorizing data processing (e.g., organizational decisions, individual consent), revoking authorizations, and maintaining authorizations are established and in place.
- FINOS AIGF
- AIR-PREV-005System Acceptance Testing
Our reading of where this law's duties sit in each framework. It never says that running a control meets the law. How we read a framework against the law
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Private right of actionYes
Penalty structure
The chapter sets no penalty of its own. RCW 19.190.060(2) declares a violation an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, and RCW 19.86.140 sets a civil penalty of not more than $7,500 for each violation of RCW 19.86.020, which the attorney general may petition for; an enhanced penalty of $5,000 applies to unlawful acts that target or impact specific individuals or communities based on demographic characteristics.
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 7,500
Statutory damages
Damages to the recipient of a commercial text 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
- Per person minimum
- 100
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Private civil action as an unfair or deceptive act under the Consumer Protection Act, chapter 19.86 RCW; the Attorney General may petition for the civil penalty under RCW 19.86.140
Settledness
A recipient of a text sent in violation of the chapter recovers through the Consumer Protection Act, where RCW 19.190.040 establishes the injury and causation elements as a matter of law.
- As of
- Case link
- https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/941629.pdf
- Case citation
- Wright v. Lyft, Inc., 189 Wn.2d 718, 406 P.3d 1149 (2017)
- Open questions
- Does a text that recruits workers or businesses and does not itself offer property, goods or services for sale or lease come within "commercial electronic text message" as RCW 19.190.010(3) defines it?
What this law does
RCW 19.190.060 prohibits a person conducting business in the state from initiating or assisting in the transmission of a commercial electronic text message to a telephone number assigned to a Washington resident for cellular telephone or pager service equipped with text-messaging capability, an outright ban rather than a disclosure-and-opt-out model.
RCW 19.190.070 excepts a message a cellular or pager carrier sends at no cost to its own existing subscriber, unless that subscriber has said it does not want further commercial text messages, and any message the subscriber has clearly and affirmatively consented in advance to receive. A person offering cellular or pager service is not liable merely for serving as an intermediary between the sender and the recipient unless it is assisting in the transmission.
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, for actions commenced on or after ), and to an interactive computer service $1,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app sends automated texts.
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