Washington Background Check Guide · 2025
Whether you're applying for a tech role at Microsoft or Amazon, a healthcare position at Swedish or UW Medicine in Seattle, an aerospace job at Boeing, or a teaching license through the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the employer is pulling your record through WATCH, Washington Access to Criminal History, run by the Washington State Patrol. WATCH is one of the cheapest official background-check tools in the country at $11 per name search.
This guide explains how Washington's record system works, what shows up, and how the New Hope Act (RCW 9.96.060), substantially expanded in 2019, can vacate eligible convictions from your record.
WATCH data is fed from 39 counties, the Washington State Patrol, dozens of municipal police agencies, and the Administrative Office of the Courts. At $11 per online check with instant results, running a self-check before any job application is the cheapest sanity check available.
Common Washington record errors: cases dismissed in district or municipal court but never closed at the WSP level, deferred sentence cases that should be vacated but weren't, and identity-match issues with similar names. The $11 WATCH check identifies these quickly, and the WSP has a formal correction process.
A vacatur order under RCW 9.96.060 has to make its way from the sentencing court to the WSP to actually clear the record from WATCH. Running a self-check 30–60 days after the court grants vacatur confirms it actually applied.
Washington's major employers, Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, Starbucks, Costco, all run thorough background checks. The state's licensed professions (nursing, medicine, real estate, security) require fingerprint-based WSP + FBI checks. Knowing what's on your record beforehand lets you address concerns proactively.
Washington's tight rental markets, particularly in King County, depend heavily on commercial screening services that aggregate WATCH and court data. Seattle's Fair Chance Housing Ordinance restricts how landlords can use criminal records, but errors still cause denials. Fixing them at the source is the only durable solution.
Felony convictions (Classes A, B, C) and most gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor convictions processed in Washington superior, district, and municipal courts appear on the WATCH record unless vacated. The report shows offense, court, conviction date, and sentence.
Arrest records, including arrests not leading to conviction, appear on the WATCH record. Under RCW 10.97.060, non-conviction records can be deleted on petition.
Open and pending charges appear on the WATCH record. If a case was dismissed and the disposition wasn't transmitted to the WSP, the record may still show "open" until corrected.
Convictions vacated under RCW 9.96.060 are removed from the WATCH record and the person is treated as if the conviction never occurred for most purposes. The record is destroyed, not merely sealed.
Federal court records, out-of-state convictions, juvenile records (sealed by default in Washington), most traffic offenses (excluding DUI), and civil cases fall outside the WSP system. A complete personal check usually combines the state report with federal and multi-state sources.
The fastest official route is the WATCH portal at watch.wsp.wa.gov. Pay $11 by debit or credit card, enter the subject's name and date of birth, and receive results electronically. The $11 fee applies whether a record is found or not.
For a paper trail, download the Request for Criminal Conviction History form from the WSP website and mail it with $32 to the WSP Identification and Background Section in Olympia. Turnaround is typically 2–3 weeks.
For the most accurate record, and what licensed professions require, submit fingerprints with the $58 fee. The fingerprint-based check is more thorough than name-based because it catches aliases and prevents identity-mismatch errors.
The Washington Courts Public Search at courts.wa.gov provides public access to superior, district, and municipal court case information. The Judicial Information System (JIS) provides comprehensive case histories.
For a single report combining Washington WSP data with federal courts, multi-state records, and sex offender registries, a professional service is fastest. Background-Check.com consolidates all of this in one report.
For nationwide coverage based on fingerprints, request an Identity History Summary directly from the FBI.
Washington uses "vacating" instead of expungement. A vacatur destroys the conviction record and lets the person legally state they have not been convicted. The 2019 New Hope Act significantly expanded eligibility:
The 2019 reform allowed the waiting period to start before all fees and fines are paid, removing a significant barrier. Vacatur is petition-based, file in the court of conviction.
Effective June 7, 2018, Washington's Fair Chance Act applies to private employers of any size. Employers cannot:
Seattle's Fair Chance Employment Ordinance goes further, requiring legitimate business reasons before any adverse action and mandating an individualized assessment process.
Allows non-conviction records, arrests not leading to conviction, dismissed cases, acquittals, to be deleted from criminal history databases on petition.
Third-party background checks in Washington are governed by the FCRA: written consent required, pre-adverse-action notice required, right to dispute errors, and 7-year cap on non-conviction reporting.
Enforced by the Washington State Human Rights Commission, which follows EEOC individualized-assessment guidance for employer use of conviction records.
For $11 with instant results, the answer is yes, particularly given the New Hope Act's expanded vacatur eligibility. If you have any misdemeanor more than 3 years old, any felony more than 5 years old, or any vacatur you've never verified at the WSP level, the WATCH check is the simplest way to confirm what employers and licensing boards will actually see.
For a comprehensive personal report combining Washington WSP data with federal records, sex offender registries, and out-of-state convictions, run a multi-source check through Background-Check.com.
The fastest route is the WSP WATCH portal at watch.wsp.wa.gov: $11, instant electronic results. For deeper coverage, run a fingerprint-based check ($58), search the WA Courts Public Search, or use a professional multi-state service.
Washington has no state cap on conviction reporting. The federal FCRA caps non-conviction records (arrests not leading to conviction) at 7 years on third-party employment reports. Vacated convictions are removed entirely.
Convictions vacated under RCW 9.96.060 are removed from the WSP database and should not appear on FCRA-compliant employer background reports. If you see a vacated record on your WATCH check, contact the WSP Identification and Background Section to correct it.
WATCH online: $11. Mail-in name-based: $32. Fingerprint-based: $58. FBI Identity History Summary: $18. Professional comprehensive multi-state checks: $20 to $80.
Yes. The federal FCRA requires written consent for third-party background checks. Washington's Fair Chance Act also prohibits private employers from asking about criminal history before determining the applicant is otherwise qualified. You always have the right to see any report used in a hiring decision and dispute inaccuracies.