Concerning open motion picture captioning in motion picture theaters.

More caption access for Washington moviegoers

Beginning January 1, 2026, Washington movie theaters must expand caption access; drive-in theaters are excluded. The law covers theaters that regularly show feature films for paid admission. They must provide working, well-maintained closed-caption devices at every screening of films available with closed captions under federal disability law. Open captions display dialogue and sound information on the movie screen. Open-caption requirements apply when films are produced and distributed with open captions and the theater's digital equipment supports them. Companies with at least five Washington theaters must follow a set schedule when a theater schedules at least five screenings of the film. They must offer at least two open-captioned screenings in each of the first two release weeks, then one each later week. In each of the first two weeks, at least one must start Friday between 5:59 p.m. and 11:01 p.m., or Saturday–Sunday between 10:59 a.m. and 11:01 p.m. Later weekly screenings must start Monday–Thursday between 5:59 p.m. and 10:01 p.m., Friday between 5:59 p.m. and 11:01 p.m., or Saturday–Sunday between 10:59 a.m. and 11:01 p.m. Companies with four or fewer Washington theaters must provide an open-captioned screening within eight calendar days after receiving a request, or follow the larger-company schedule. Theaters must post request contact details on their websites and advertise open-captioned screenings like other showings, marked “OC.” Overlapping screenings of the same film at the same theater count only once unless avoiding overlap is impractical. Theaters may offer extra open-captioned screenings and must keep records showing compliance for at least one year.