Washington Laws on Recording Police: Your Rights and Legal Limits (2026)

Washington residents have a First Amendment right to record police officers performing their duties in public. On-duty officers have a reduced expectation of privacy, and RCW 9.73.090 creates specific recording authorities for uniformed officers. Officers generally cannot order you to stop recording just because you are recording or make you delete footage, although they can give lawful orders to step back or move.

Recording police officers during public encounters is a protected right in Washington. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of individuals to document law enforcement activities in public spaces. At the same time, Washington law provides specific recording authorities to law enforcement under RCW 9.73.090, creating a two-way framework where both citizens and officers have defined recording rights and responsibilities.

Understanding these rules helps both citizens and law enforcement operate within the law. For citizens, knowing your rights prevents unnecessary confrontation. For officers, understanding the public's recording rights reduces the risk of constitutional violations.

Your Right to Record Police in Washington

The Constitutional Foundation

The right to record law enforcement officers performing their public duties is grounded in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Multiple federal circuits have recognized this right. The Ninth Circuit -- which covers Washington -- did so in Fordyce v. City of Seattle, 55 F.3d 436 (9th Cir. 1995), a case that arose from a Seattle protest march. Fordyce is the Ninth Circuit's foundational decision on the question, and the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed the right in Askins v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 899 F.3d 1035 (9th Cir. 2018). The U.S. Department of Justice has also affirmed the right in guidance documents and court filings.

Key principles:

• Public duty, public accountability: Police officers performing their duties in public have a reduced expectation of privacy regarding those activities.
• Documentation as protected speech: Recording government officials in the performance of their duties is a form of expression and newsgathering protected by the First Amendment.
• No prior restraint: Officers cannot prevent recording before it occurs based on a general concern about interference.

What You Can Record

You have the right to record:

• Traffic stops involving your own vehicle or others
• Arrests occurring in public view
• Protests and demonstrations where police are present
• Police interactions with members of the public on streets, sidewalks, and other public spaces
• Public meetings where law enforcement is present
• Any police activity visible from a location where you have a legal right to be

What Officers Cannot Do

Law enforcement officers in Washington cannot lawfully:

• Order you to stop recording just because you are recording
• Demand that you delete photos, video, or audio recordings
• Search your phone's contents without a warrant (Riley v. California, 2014), although they may hold the phone while they seek a warrant if they believe it holds evidence
• Arrest you solely for recording their activities
• Retaliate against you for exercising your recording rights

How the All-Party Consent Law Fits

Washington's all-party consent statute, RCW 9.73.030, makes it unlawful to record a private communication or private conversation without the consent of all participants. Open recording of officers performing their duties in public is generally not treated as capturing a private conversation, but whether a conversation is private depends on the circumstances, so secretly recording a conversation with an officer in a private setting carries more risk than openly recording a public encounter.

Your Responsibilities While Recording

While you have the right to record, you must follow certain rules:

• Do not physically interfere with police operations. Maintain a safe distance that allows officers to perform their duties.
• Do not obstruct police activities. Under RCW 9A.76.020, obstructing a law enforcement officer is a gross misdemeanor.
• Follow lawful orders to move back if you are too close to an active scene, as long as the order is related to safety or operational needs and not designed solely to prevent recording.
• Do not trespass on private property to get a better recording angle.

Law Enforcement Recording Authority Under RCW 9.73.090

Overview

While Washington's two-party consent law generally requires consent from all parties to record a private communication, RCW 9.73.090 carves out specific exceptions for law enforcement activities.

Emergency Call Recording

Under RCW 9.73.090(1)(a), incoming telephone calls to police and fire stations and similar facilities may be recorded without the caller's consent. This exception ensures that 911 calls and other emergency communications are preserved as evidence and for quality review.

Recording Arrested Persons

RCW 9.73.090(1)(b) also allows police officers responsible for making arrests or holding persons in custody before their first appearance in court to make video and/or sound recordings of arrested persons. Consent is not required, but the statute sets strict conditions: the arrested person must be informed that the recording is being made (and that notice must be on the recording), the recording must note its start and end times, the person must be fully informed of their constitutional rights at the start, and the recording may be used only for valid police or court activities. Within those conditions, this can cover:

• Statements made during arrest
• Booking conversations
• Communications in holding facilities

Patrol-Car (Dashboard) Camera Sound Recording

RCW 9.73.090(1)(c) covers sound recordings that correspond to video recorded by cameras mounted in law enforcement vehicles, the dashboard camera systems in patrol cars. The provision does not mention body-worn cameras. Under this provision:

• An officer wearing a sound recording device that records audio for a vehicle-mounted camera must be in uniform
• The sound recording device must operate simultaneously with the video camera when the system has been activated for an event
• Officers cannot intentionally turn off the sound recording during the recording of an event; once the event has been captured, the officer may turn off the audio and return the system to "pre-event" mode
• The officer must inform the person being recorded by sound that a sound recording is being made, and that statement must be included in the recording, except when the person is being recorded under exigent circumstances (no notice is required for the video alone)
• The agency may not duplicate and release these recordings to the public until final disposition of any criminal or civil litigation arising from the recorded event

Important Limitations on Police Recording

The law enforcement recording exceptions are not unlimited:

• Officers conducting undercover investigations do not have a blanket exception. An officer's one-party recording of a nonconsenting suspect generally needs a judge's authorization under RCW 9.73.090(2). Narrow exceptions cover certain drug and commercial-sexual-abuse-of-a-minor investigations, where a senior officer can authorize recording under RCW 9.73.210 (to protect a consenting party's safety) or RCW 9.73.230 (with probable cause, a written report, and later judicial review).
• The patrol-car sound recording exception in RCW 9.73.090(1)(c) requires officers wearing the sound device to be in uniform. It does not extend to plainclothes officers.
• Officers must comply with their department's body camera policies, which may impose additional requirements beyond the statute.

Custodial Interrogation Recording Requirements

The Uniform Electronic Recordation Act (RCW 10.122)

Washington adopted the Uniform Electronic Recordation of Custodial Interrogations Act, codified at RCW 10.122. This law requires law enforcement to electronically record custodial interrogations in certain cases.

When Recording Is Required

Electronic recording is required for custodial interrogations involving:

• Juvenile suspects of any crime
• Adult suspects of felony offenses

The recording must capture the entire interrogation, including any Miranda warnings given and the suspect's responses.

Notice Requirements

Officers must inform the individual that the interrogation is being recorded. However, the individual's consent is not required. The statute overrides the normal two-party consent requirement of RCW 9.73.030 for these specific situations.

Consequences of Failing to Record

If law enforcement fails to record a custodial interrogation as required:

• The court must consider the failure when evaluating the admissibility of any statement made during the interrogation
• If the court admits the statement, the defendant may present to the jury the fact that the interrogation was not recorded as required (RCW 10.122.130)
• Recording is excused in listed situations, including exigent circumstances, the suspect's refusal to be recorded, and equipment failure (RCW 10.122.050 through 10.122.100)

Body Camera Policies in Washington

Statewide Framework

Washington does not have a single statewide body camera mandate, but the legislature has established a framework for agencies that choose to use them. Key statutory provisions include:

• RCW 9.73.090: Authorizes sound recording tied to vehicle-mounted cameras by uniformed officers (it does not mention body-worn cameras)
• RCW 42.56.240: Addresses public records requests for body camera footage
• RCW 10.109: Provides guidelines for law enforcement use of body cameras

When Officers Must Activate Cameras

Department policies typically require officers to activate body cameras during:

• Traffic stops
• Arrests and detentions
• Use-of-force incidents
• Searches of persons or property
• Responses to calls for service
• Interactions with the public during law enforcement activities

When Officers May Deactivate Cameras

Officers may deactivate cameras in limited situations:

• When speaking with confidential informants
• During conversations with undercover officers
• In situations where recording would compromise a sensitive investigation
• At the request of a crime victim, in some circumstances

Prohibition on Intentional Deactivation During Events

For sound recorded with patrol-car cameras, RCW 9.73.090(1)(c) bars officers from intentionally turning off the sound recording device during the recording of an event. That rule is written for vehicle-mounted camera systems; for body-worn cameras, deactivation rules come from department policy.

Public Records and Body Camera Footage

Public Records Act

Body camera footage is subject to Washington's Public Records Act (RCW 42.56). Members of the public may request body camera footage through a public records request.

Exemptions and Redactions

Certain portions of body camera footage may be exempt from disclosure or require redaction:

• Faces of witnesses and bystanders may be redacted to protect privacy
• Footage inside private residences may be partially exempt
• Recordings involving minors may be withheld or redacted
• Ongoing investigation footage may be temporarily withheld
• Footage capturing intimate images is exempt from disclosure

Response Timeline

Under the Public Records Act, agencies must respond to records requests within five business days, though the actual production of footage may take longer depending on the volume of material and required redactions.

Recording Police During Protests

Protected Activity

Recording police during protests and public demonstrations is constitutionally protected activity. Washington has a strong tradition of protecting protest rights, and courts have consistently held that documenting police conduct at protests serves important democratic accountability functions.

Practical Tips for Recording at Protests

• Stay on public property: Record from sidewalks, public parks, or other areas where you have a legal right to be.
• Maintain distance: Stay far enough from police lines that you cannot be accused of interference.
• Be visible: Open, visible recording is less likely to provoke confrontation than concealed recording.
• Back up footage: Use cloud storage or streaming to preserve footage in case your device is seized.
• Know the obstruction law: RCW 9A.76.020 makes it a gross misdemeanor to obstruct a law enforcement officer. Recording alone is not obstruction, but physically blocking an officer while recording could be.

Recording at Open Public Meetings

Washington's Open Public Meetings Act does not contain a statute that expressly grants a right to record. Instead, a 1998 opinion from the Washington Attorney General (AGO 1998 No. 15) concluded that a person may audio- or video-record an open public meeting as long as the recording does not disrupt the proceedings. RCW 42.30.040 reinforces this by barring a governing body from conditioning attendance at a meeting on registering, completing a questionnaire, or fulfilling any other precondition -- a rule the Attorney General's guidance treats as prohibiting a blanket no-recording condition on attendance. Members of the public attending a city council session, county commission hearing, school board meeting, or other open public meeting may generally audio- or video-record the proceedings with a stationary device that does not disrupt the meeting. The governing body may impose reasonable restrictions tied to preventing disruption -- such as requiring that equipment not obstruct the view of other attendees -- but it cannot prohibit recording outright.

Because the meeting is open to the public, participants have no reasonable expectation of privacy. Washington's all-party consent requirement under RCW 9.73.030 does not apply to recording official government proceedings at open public meetings.

For executive sessions and closed meetings, recording rights do not apply.

What to Do If Police Interfere with Your Recording

During the Encounter

If a police officer attempts to stop you from recording:

1. Stay calm and respectful
2. State clearly: "I am exercising my First Amendment right to record in a public space."
3. Do not physically resist if an officer attempts to take your device. Verbal objection is sufficient.
4. Note the officer's name and badge number if possible
5. Note the time, date, and location of the encounter
6. Ask for the legal basis of any order to stop recording

After the Encounter

If your recording rights were violated:

• File a complaint with the officer's department or the city's civilian oversight board
• Contact the ACLU of Washington (aclu-wa.org) for legal assistance
• Consult an attorney about potential civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983
• Preserve all evidence, including any footage you managed to retain

Penalties for Interfering with Police

Under RCW 9A.76.020, obstructing a law enforcement officer is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. This statute applies when a person willfully hinders, delays, or obstructs any law enforcement officer in the discharge of their official duties.

However, simply recording an officer's actions from a reasonable distance is not obstruction. The recording must actually interfere with the officer's ability to perform their duties.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I record police officers in Washington?

Yes. The First Amendment protects your right to record police officers performing their duties in public. You may record from any location where you have a legal right to be, as long as you do not physically interfere with police operations. Officers generally cannot order you to stop recording just because you are recording or make you delete footage. They can give lawful orders to step back, and under Riley v. California (2014) they generally need a warrant to search your phone, although they may hold it while they get one.

Do police officers have to wear body cameras in Washington?

Washington does not have a universal body camera mandate for all officers. Individual departments set their own body camera policies. RCW 9.73.090(1)(c) addresses a different system: sound recorded with cameras mounted in patrol cars. Under that provision the officer wearing the sound device must be in uniform, cannot intentionally turn off the sound recording during an event, and must tell the person that a sound recording is being made unless there are exigent circumstances.

Can police record me without my consent in Washington?

In specific situations, yes. Under RCW 9.73.090, law enforcement can record incoming emergency calls, arrested persons before their first court appearance (the person must be told they are being recorded), and sound tied to patrol-car cameras (the person must be told a sound recording is being made unless there are exigent circumstances) without consent. Custodial interrogations for felonies and juvenile cases must also be recorded under RCW 10.122, and the suspect's consent is not required.

Can I request body camera footage from Washington police?

Yes. Body camera footage is subject to Washington's Public Records Act (RCW 42.56). You can submit a public records request to the relevant law enforcement agency. Some portions of footage may be redacted or exempt from disclosure to protect witness privacy, ongoing investigations, or images of minors.

What happens if police delete my recording in Washington?

If a police officer deletes your recording, searches your phone without a warrant, or takes it without a lawful basis, you may have grounds for a civil rights complaint. You can file a complaint with the officer's department, contact the ACLU of Washington for legal assistance, or consult an attorney about a civil rights claim under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. Preserving backup copies through cloud storage is recommended.