Washington Administrative Code

The chief administrative law judge directs OAH. Administrative law judges preside over hearings and issue initial or final orders, including findings of fact and conclusions of law. OAH is physically located in Olympia, Seattle, Spokane Valley, and Tacoma. Procedures governing ad…

(1) The public records officer is appointed by the chief administrative law judge and is located in the headquarters office.(2) The public records officer is responsible for implementing these rules and ensuring the fullest assistance to requestors.(3) The public records officer …

Public records are available for inspection during normal business hours. For the purposes of this chapter, normal business hours are 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. Records must be inspected at the headquarters office or…

(1) The office is the custodian of the official record only while a case is pending with the office. The referring agency is the custodian of the official record at all other times.(2) Requestors seeking to inspect or receive copies of the official record for cases pending with t…

(1) Prior to submitting a records request, requestors are encouraged to view documents available on the office website at www.oah.wa.gov.(2) Requestors seeking to inspect or receive copies of public records must give reasonable notice to the office that the request is for public …

(1) Within five business days of receipt of the request, the public records officer will acknowledge receipt and do one or more of the following:(a) Make the records available for inspection or copying;(b) Send copies of the records to the requestor, if copies are requested and t…

(1) The office will provide space to inspect public records.(2) The office will notify the requestor in writing that the records are available to inspect. Within 30 days after the office sends notification, the requestor must make arrangements with the office to inspect the recor…

(1) The office will maintain its records in a reasonably organized manner and will take reasonable actions to protect records from damage and disorganization.(2) Records will be made available to the requestor for inspection subject to the following restrictions:(a) The records m…

The public records officer may provide access to records in installments under RCW 42.56.080.[Statutory Authority: RCW 34.12.030(6). WSR 18-01-144, § 10-04-060, filed 12/20/17, effective 1/20/18. Statutory Authority: RCW 34.05.020, 34.12.030 and 42.17.250. WSR 99-20-115, § 10-04-…

(1) When providing electronic records, the public records officer will provide records in a file format that is generally commercially available.(2) If a record exists on a web page, the public records officer may respond by providing the link to the record.[Statutory Authority: …

(1) The office must determine if a public record requested is exempt from disclosure, in whole or in part, under chapter 42.56 RCW or other applicable law.(2) If an entire record is exempt from disclosure it will be withheld. For each record withheld, the public records officer w…

(1) There is no fee for inspecting public records.(2) The office will charge for providing copies of public records and will maintain a fee schedule on its website. The office may waive fees when the costs of processing the payment are reasonably likely to exceed the amount of th…

(1) A requestor whose request for a public record has been denied or who believes that the office has not made a reasonable estimate of the time to respond to the request may petition the chief administrative law judge for review of the denial or estimate.(a) The petition must be…

(1) The office's index of public records is available at www.oah.wa.gov.(2) The state general records retention schedule and the office's records retention schedule supplement the office's index.[Statutory Authority: RCW 34.12.030(6). WSR 18-01-144, § 10-04-085, filed 12/20/17, e…

Information about requesting public records from the office is at www.oah.wa.gov. Requests for public records and related questions should be directed to the public records officer, who may be contacted as follows:Public Records OfficerOffice of Administrative HearingsP.O. Box 42…

(1) Chapter 10-08 WAC contains the model rules of procedure which RCW 34.05.250 requires the chief administrative law judge to adopt for use by as many agencies as possible. The model rules deal with general functions and duties performed in common by the various agencies. The mo…

An application for an adjudicative proceeding may be on a form provided by the agency for that purpose or in other writing signed by the applicant or the applicant's representative. The application for an adjudicative proceeding should specify the issue to be decided in the proce…

(1) In any adjudicative proceeding all parties shall be served with a notice of hearing within the time required by law governing the respective agency or proceeding. If there is no requirement under other law, all parties shall be served with a notice of hearing not less than se…

(1) When an agency is notified or otherwise made aware that a limited-English-speaking person is a party in an adjudicative proceeding, all notices concerning the hearing, including notices of hearing, continuance, and dismissal, either:(a) Shall be written in the primary languag…

(1) Whenever a state agency as defined in RCW 34.12.020(4) conducts a hearing which is not presided over by officials of the agency who are to render the final decision, the agency shall use one of the following methods for requesting assignment of an administrative law judge:(a)…

In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by any applicable statute or rule, the day of the act, event, or default after which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included. The last day of the period so computed is to be included, unless it is a S…

If a party is represented, the representative should provide the presiding officer and other parties with the representative's name, address, and telephone number. The presiding officer may require the representative to file a written notice of appearance or to provide documentat…

If there are multiple adjudicative proceedings involving common issues or parties, upon motion of any party or upon their own motion, the presiding officer may, in their discretion, consolidate the proceedings.[Statutory Authority: RCW 34.12.030. WSR 24-14-111, § 10-08-085, filed…

(1) Postponements, continuances, extensions of time, and adjournments may be ordered by the presiding officer on their own motion or may be granted on timely request of any party, with notice to all other parties, if the party shows good cause.(2) A request for a continuance may …

(1) Filing.(a) Documents to be filed with the agency shall be deemed filed when received during regular business hours at any office of the agency. Documents to be filed with the presiding officer shall be deemed filed when received during regular business hours at the office of …

(1) Subpoenas shall be issued and enforced, and witness fees paid, as provided in RCW 34.05.446 and 5.56.010.(2) Every subpoena shall identify the party causing issuance of the subpoena and shall state the name of the agency and the title of the proceeding and shall command the p…

(1) The presiding officer upon their own motion or upon request of a party may direct the parties or their representatives to engage in a prehearing conference or conferences to consider:(a) Simplification of issues;(b) The necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings…

A motion for summary judgment may be granted and an order issued if the written record shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.[Statutory Authority: RCW 34.05.020, 34.05.250, 34.12.030 and 3…

(1) All rulings upon objections to the admissibility of evidence shall be made in accordance with the provisions of RCW 34.05.452.(2) Where practicable, the presiding officer may order:(a) That all documentary evidence which is to be offered during the hearing or portions of the …

(1) When an impaired person as defined in chapter 2.42 RCW or a non-English-speaking person as defined in chapter 2.43 RCW is a party or witness in an adjudicative proceeding, the appointing authority shall appoint an interpreter to assist the party or witness throughout the proc…

(1) Every person called as a witness in a hearing shall swear or affirm that the testimony they are about to give in the hearing shall be the truth according to the provisions of RCW 5.28.020 through 5.28.060. If the witness is testifying from outside the jurisdiction, the presid…

All hearings shall be recorded by manual, electronic, or other type of recording device.[Statutory Authority: RCW 34.05.250. WSR 89-13-036 (Order 6), § 10-08-170, filed 6/15/89. Statutory Authority: RCW 34.04.020 and 34.04.022. WSR 82-22-052 (Order 3), § 10-08-170, filed 11/1/82.…

(1) The presiding officer may conduct all or part of the hearing by telephone, television, or other electronic means, if the rights of the parties will not be prejudiced and if each participant in the hearing has an opportunity to participate in, to hear, and, if technically and …

Photographic and recording equipment shall be permitted at hearings; however, the presiding officer may impose such conditions upon their use as they deem necessary to prevent disruption of the hearing.[Statutory Authority: RCW 34.12.030. WSR 24-14-111, § 10-08-190, filed 7/2/24,…

The presiding officer shall have authority to:(1) Determine the order of presentation of evidence;(2) Administer oaths and affirmations;(3) Issue subpoenas pursuant to RCW 34.05.446;(4) Rule on procedural matters, objections, and motions;(5) Rule on motions for summary judgment;(…

Every decision and order, whether initial or final, shall:(1) Be correctly captioned as to the name of the agency and name of the proceeding;(2) Designate all parties and representatives participating in the proceeding;(3) Contain appropriate numbered findings of fact meeting the…

(1) Any party to an adjudicative proceeding may file a petition for review of an initial order.(2) The petition for review shall be filed with the agency head within twenty days of the date of service of the initial order unless a different place and time limit for filing the pet…

A petition for reconsideration of a final order under RCW 34.05.470 shall be filed with the office of the person or persons who entered the order.[Statutory Authority: RCW 34.05.250. WSR 89-13-036 (Order 6), § 10-08-215, filed 6/15/89.]

If a petition for review or appeal is made of an initial order, by stipulation the parties may agree to shorten the record to be filed with the entity considering the petition for review or appeal. Either party unreasonably refusing to stipulate to such a limitation, including sh…

Corrections in the official transcript may be made only to make it conform to the evidence presented at the hearing. If the parties agree and the presiding officer approves, transcript corrections may be incorporated into the record at any time during the hearing or after the clo…

Nothing in chapter 10-08 WAC is intended to diminish the constitutional rights of any person or to limit or modify additional requirements imposed by statute, including the Administrative Procedure Act.[Statutory Authority: RCW 34.04.020 and 34.04.022. WSR 82-22-052 (Order 3), § …

RCW 34.05.060 authorizes agencies to establish by rule specific procedures for attempting and executing informal settlement of matters. The following procedures are available for informal dispute resolution that may make more elaborate proceedings under the Administrative Procedu…

A petition for a declaratory order shall generally adhere to the following form:(1) At the top of the page shall appear the wording "Before the (name of agency)." On the left side of the page below the foregoing the following captions shall be set out: "In the matter of the petit…

If a petition for a declaratory order is set for specified proceedings under RCW 34.05.240 (5)(b), the agency shall give not less than seven days advance written notice of the proceedings to the petitioner and all persons described in RCW 34.05.240(3). The notice shall contain th…

A declaratory order entered by an agency or a decision by the agency to decline to enter a declaratory order shall be in writing and shall be served upon the petitioner and all other persons described in RCW 34.05.240(3).[Statutory Authority: RCW 34.05.250. WSR 89-13-036 (Order 6…

The purpose of this chapter is to comply with and implement RCW 43.21C.120 directing every state agency to adopt rules pertaining to the integration of the policies and procedures of the State Environmental Policy Act into the various programs under its jurisdiction for implement…

Pursuant to WAC 197-11-800, the office of administrative hearings has reviewed its authorized activities and found them to be exempt under the provisions of chapter 197-11 WAC.[Statutory Authority: RCW 34.05.020, 34.12.030 and 43.21C.120. WSR 99-20-115, § 10-12-020, filed 10/6/99…