Wash. Rev. Code » Title 9 · Chapter 9.91
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 9.91.010 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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Terms used in this section shall have the following definitions:
(1)(a) "Every person" shall be construed to include any owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, agent or employee whether one or more natural persons, partnerships, associations, organizations, corporations, cooperatives, legal representatives, trustees, receivers, of this state and its political subdivisions, boards and commissions, engaged in or exercising control over the operation of any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement.
(b) "Deny" is hereby defined to include any act which directly or indirectly, or by subterfuge, by a person or his or her agent or employee, results or is intended or calculated to result in whole or in part in any discrimination, distinction, restriction, or unequal treatment, or the requiring of any person to pay a larger sum than the uniform rates charged other persons, or the refusing or withholding from any person the admission, patronage, custom, presence, frequenting, dwelling, staying, or lodging in any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement except for conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons, regardless of race, creed, or color.
(c) "Full enjoyment of" shall be construed to include the right to purchase any service, commodity, or article of personal property offered or sold on, or by, any establishment to the public, and the admission of any person to accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement, without acts directly or indirectly causing persons of any particular race, creed, or color, to be treated as not welcome, accepted, desired, or solicited.
(d) "Any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement" is hereby defined to include, but not to be limited to, any public place, licensed or unlicensed, kept for gain, hire or reward, or where charges are made for admission, service, occupancy or use of any property or facilities, whether conducted for the entertainment, housing, or lodging of transient guests, or for the benefit, use or accommodation of those seeking health, recreation, or rest, or for the sale of goods and merchandise, or for the rendering of personal services, or for public conveyance or transportation on land, water or in the air, including the stations and terminals thereof and the garaging of vehicles, or where food or beverages of any kind are sold for consumption on the premises, or where public amusement, entertainment, sports, or recreation of any kind is offered with or without charge, or where medical service or care is made available, or where the public gathers, congregates, or assembles for amusement, recreation or public purposes, or public halls, public elevators, and public washrooms of buildings and structures occupied by two or more tenants, or by the owner and one or more tenants, or any public library or any educational institution wholly or partially supported by public funds, or schools of special instruction, or nursery schools, or day care centers or children's camps; nothing herein contained shall be construed to include, or apply to, any institute, bona fide club, or place of accommodation, which is by its nature distinctly private provided that where public use is permitted that use shall be covered by this section; nor shall anything herein contained apply to any educational facility operated or maintained by a bona fide religious or sectarian institution; and the right of a natural parent in loco parentis to direct the education and upbringing of a child under his or her control is hereby affirmed.
(2) Every person who denies to any other person because of race, creed, or color, the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
[ 2011 c 336 s 329; 1953 c 87 s 1; 1909 c 249 s 434; RRS s 2686.]

Notes:

Application forms, licenses—Mention of race or religion prohibited—Penalty: RCW 43.01.100.
Interference with board against discrimination: RCW 49.60.310.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1959–2022 · leading case: > FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES, TENINO AERIE NO. 564 v. Grand Aerie of Fraternal Order of Eagles, 59 P.3d 655 (Wash. 2002).
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> FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES, TENINO AERIE NO. 564 v. Grand Aerie of Fraternal Order of Eagles, 59 P.3d 655 (Wash. 2002). · cites it 3× “" [76] Historically, the civil rights statute, as amended in 1953, RCW 9.91.010, has provided a private cause of action for damages and remedies for persons suffering discrimination because of race.”
Fraternal Order of Eagles, Tenino Aerie No. 564 v. Grand Aerie of Fraternal Order of Eagles, 148 Wash. 2d 224 (Wash. 2002). · cites it 3× “” 76 Historically, the civil rights statute, as amended in 1953, RCW 9.91.010, has provided a private cause of action for damages and remedies for persons suffering discrimination because of race.”
Browning v. Slenderella Sys. of Seattle, 341 P.2d 859 (Wash. 1959). · cites it 8× “The pertinent part of the applicable statute is RCW 9.91.010 (2), providing, "Every person who denies to any other person because of race, creed, or color, the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges of any place of public resort,…”
Schwenk v. Boy Scouts of Am., 551 P.2d 465 (Or. 1976). · cites it 2× “entions by defendant to the effect that to interpret the Oregon Public Accommodation Act to cover it would render the statute unconstitutional and would violate constitutional Rights of Association as protected by the Constitution of the United States and the State of Oregon, as…”
Fell v. Spokane Transit Auth., 128 Wash. 2d 618 (Wash. 1996). “” See also RCW 9.91.010 (criminal statute punishing discrimination, including discrimination in public accommodations).”
Fell v. Spokane Transit Auth., 911 P.2d 1319 (Wash. 1996). “" See also RCW 9.91.010 (criminal statute punishing discrimination, including discrimination in public accommodations).”
Miles v. F.E.R.M. Enterprices, Inc., 627 P.2d 564 (Wash. Ct. App. 1981). “3 Browning sued under RCW 9.91.010(2), which states: "Every person who denies to any other person because of'race, creed, or color, the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges of any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or…”
Evergreen Sch. Dist. No. 114 v. Human Rights Comm'n, 695 P.2d 999 (Wash. Ct. App. 1985). “6 We reverse that portion of the Superior Court's order affirming the hearing tribunal's conclusion that Evergreen committed an unfair practice and vacate the tribunal's cease and desist order in its entirety.”
Price v. Evergreen Cemetery Co. of Seattle, 357 P.2d 702 (Wash. 1960). · cites it 5× “The keynote of the two statutes, RCW 9.91.010 (2) and RCW 68.05.260, is that both statutes make certain types of discrimination wrongful.”
Carter v. Univ. of Washington Sch. of Dentistry (W.D. Wash. 2022). · cites it 2× “Johnson”; (2) RCW 9.91.010; 15 and (3) RCW 49.06.050. He asks the Court “for twenty thousand dollars for four teeth 16 implants” and “for nine-hundred and ninety-nine million dollars for both mental and emotional 17 distress.”
W.H. v. Olympia Sch. Dist. (Wash. 2020). “In March of 1890—mere months after Washington became a state— the legislature passed a law criminalizing discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in places of public accommodation.”
Carter v. Univ. of Washington Sch. of Dentistry (W.D. Wash. 2021). “Plousard’s conduct was in violation of 19 (1) RCW 9.91.010, which provides that any person who denies another the “full 20 enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of any 21 place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement” on…”
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9.91.010(1)(d) — 1 case
> FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES, TENINO AERIE NO. 564 v. Grand Aerie of Fraternal Order of Eagles, 59 P.3d 655 (Wash. 2002). “" [76] Historically, the civil rights statute, as amended in 1953, RCW 9.91.010, has provided a private cause of action for damages and remedies for persons suffering discrimination because of race.”
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9.91.010(2) — 2 cases
Miles v. F.E.R.M. Enterprices, Inc., 627 P.2d 564 (Wash. Ct. App. 1981). “3 Browning sued under RCW 9.91.010(2), which states: "Every person who denies to any other person because of'race, creed, or color, the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges of any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or…”
Price v. Evergreen Cemetery Co. of Seattle, 357 P.2d 702 (Wash. 1960). “The keynote of the two statutes, RCW 9.91.010 (2) and RCW 68.05.260, is that both statutes make certain types of discrimination wrongful.”
— Wash. Rev. Code § 9.91.010(l)(d) — 1 case
Fraternal Order of Eagles, Tenino Aerie No. 564 v. Grand Aerie of Fraternal Order of Eagles, 148 Wash. 2d 224 (Wash. 2002). “” 76 Historically, the civil rights statute, as amended in 1953, RCW 9.91.010, has provided a private cause of action for damages and remedies for persons suffering discrimination because of race.”
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