State notification register
Washington data breach notification law: no later than 30 days after discovery.
Washington's breach-notification obligations are set by RCW 19.255.010. This page summarises the deadline to notify affected residents, the attorney general notification threshold, whether a private right of action exists, and the penalties for late or missing notification. Every provision is cited to its source statute and was verified in June 2026.
Individual deadline
30 days
From discovery / determination
AG notification
500
More than 500 Washington residents
Private action
Yes
Civil lawsuits under the Consumer Protection Act
Statute
WA
RCW 19.255.010
Section WA.1
What the statute requires
Under RCW 19.255.010, a business that owns or licenses computerized personal information of Washington residents must notify affected individuals no later than 30 days after discovery.
Attorney general or state-agency notification is more than 500 washington residents. Where required, the timeline is: within the same 30-day window.
Section WA.2
What triggers notification
Like most US state statutes, notification is triggered by the unauthorized acquisition of unencrypted, unredacted computerized personal information that compromises its security, confidentiality, or integrity. Two concepts recur across the states and apply here.
Encryption safe harbor
Personal information that was encrypted, and where the encryption key was not also acquired, generally does not trigger notification. A stolen device with full-disk encryption is typically a non-event; an unencrypted record, or an encrypted record where the key was exposed alongside it, is a reportable breach.
Who must be notified
- [1] Affected Washington residents: 30 days
- [2] Attorney general / state agency: more than 500 washington residents
- [3] Consumer reporting agencies where the breach is large-scale
Section WA.3
Penalties and enforcement
Consumers may recover damages, costs, and attorney fees; AG may seek penalties and injunctive relief.
Private right of action: Yes. Civil lawsuits under the Consumer Protection Act; actual damages plus up to $1,000 punitive for willful violations.
Primary source:Washington statute RCW 19.255.010; verified June 2026 against state statutory summaries and the underlying statute text.
Section WA.4
How this compares to the strictest states
The strictest US deadlines are 30 days (California, Florida, Washington, Colorado, Maine, New York, New Jersey). The majority of states use a qualitative "without unreasonable delay" standard with no fixed day cap. Here is where Washington sits.
Washington imposes a fixed 30-day deadline. That places it among the strictest states in the country.
Cross-references
Index / All 50 states + DC
→The full register: deadline and AG threshold for every state.
Schedule 09 / Notification laws
→Global frameworks and the cost of notification.
01 / Breach cost calculator
→Estimate your Washington breach exposure, including notification cost.
Regulation / GDPR
→The 72-hour clock and 4%-of-revenue fine framework.
Cost / Notification
→Why notification is roughly 6% of total breach cost.
Schedule F / Reference Q&A
Frequently Asked Questions
Primary source:Washington data breach notification statute (RCW 19.255.010). Provisions verified June 2026 against state statutory summaries (Recording Law US data-privacy series, 2026 edition), the IAPP US State Data Breach Notification Chart, Foley & Lardner's chart, and the underlying statute text.