Washington Age of Consent Laws: Statutes, Penalties and Reporting

Washington's child rape and child molestation offenses protect a child under 16 in three age bands, each stating an age-difference element of 24, 36 or 48 months (RCW 9A.44.073 to 9A.44.089), and sexual misconduct with a minor protects persons 16 and 17 in listed relationships (9A.44.093, 9A.44.096); most of the structure is tiered.

To report a concern: if a child is in immediate danger, call 911. The Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families lists 866-363-4276 on its official page as the number to call for holidays, evenings and weekends. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-422-4453, call or text) can help you figure out where and how to report. Online exploitation can be reported to the NCMEC CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678.

Information last verified on 2026-09-30. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer. It is legal-reference information, not legal advice.

This page covers Washington's criminal statutes on sexual offenses involving minors, mainly chapter 9A.44 RCW (sex offenses), chapter 9.68A RCW (sexual exploitation of children), chapter 9A.64 RCW (family offenses), chapter 9A.88 RCW and RCW 9A.40.100, with the sentencing and registration provisions in chapters 9A.20, 9.94A and 9A.44. Federal law is summarized on the age of consent laws by state hub. The text was read on the official Washington State Legislature site (app.leg.wa.gov) on 2026-09-30.

This page describes the main age-based sexual offense statutes. Other Washington statutes also protect minors, and one of them can apply even where none of the offenses described here does.

How Washington law protects minors by age

Washington organizes its offenses into degrees by the victim's age band, and each offense in the first three bands states an age-difference element. The table summarizes the main provisions.

Under 12

RCW 9A.44.073(1) provides: "A person is guilty of rape of a child in the first degree when the person has sexual intercourse with another who is less than twelve years old and the perpetrator is at least twenty-four months older than the victim." RCW 9A.44.083(1) provides that a person is guilty of child molestation in the first degree when the person "has, or knowingly causes another person under the age of eighteen to have, sexual contact with another who is less than twelve years old and the perpetrator is at least thirty-six months older than the victim." Terms such as sexual intercourse and sexual contact are defined in RCW 9A.44.010.

Ages 12 and 13

RCW 9A.44.076(1) applies to sexual intercourse "with another who is at least twelve years old but less than fourteen years old" where "the perpetrator is at least thirty-six months older than the victim." RCW 9A.44.086(1) applies to sexual contact with a person in the same age band where the perpetrator is at least 36 months older.

Ages 14 and 15

RCW 9A.44.079(1) applies to sexual intercourse "with another who is at least fourteen years old but less than sixteen years old" where "the perpetrator is at least forty-eight months older than the victim." RCW 9A.44.089(1) applies to sexual contact with a person in that age band where the perpetrator is at least 48 months older.

Ages 16 and 17: sexual misconduct with a minor

RCW 9A.44.093(1) provides that a person is guilty of sexual misconduct with a minor in the first degree when:

• (a) the person has, or knowingly causes another person under the age of eighteen to have, sexual intercourse with another person who is at least sixteen years old but less than eighteen years old, "if the perpetrator is at least sixty months older than the victim, is in a significant relationship to the victim, and abuses a supervisory position within that relationship";
• (b) the person is a school employee who has, or knowingly causes another person under 18 to have, sexual intercourse "with an enrolled student of the school who is at least sixteen years old and not more than twenty-one years old, if the employee is at least sixty months older than the student"; or
• (c) the person is a foster parent who has, or knowingly causes another person under 18 to have, sexual intercourse with his or her foster child who is at least 16.

RCW 9A.44.096 applies the same three categories to sexual contact, including "the person is a foster parent who has, or knowingly causes another person under the age of eighteen to have, sexual contact with his or her foster child who is at least sixteen." Under RCW 9A.44.010, a significant relationship includes a person who undertakes the responsibility, professionally or voluntarily, to provide education, health, welfare or organized recreational activities principally for minors, or who in the course of employment supervises minors.

How the age-difference provisions work

In Washington the age difference is an element written into each offense in the first three age bands: 24 months for first-degree rape of a child, 36 months for first-degree child molestation and for both second-degree offenses, and 48 months for both third-degree offenses. Sexual misconduct with a minor uses a 60-month difference together with a significant relationship and abuse of a supervisory position, or a school-employee or foster-parent status. The statutes do not describe these as defenses.

Other Washington statutes that protect minors

The following additional statutes apply to minors and can apply even where none of the offenses above does.

• Incest. RCW 9A.64.020 covers sexual intercourse (first degree, class B felony) and sexual contact (second degree, class C felony) with an ancestor, descendant, brother or sister. The statute states that "Descendant" includes stepchildren and adopted children under 18 years of age.
• Communication with a minor for immoral purposes. RCW 9.68A.090 makes it a gross misdemeanor to communicate with a minor, or with someone the person believes to be a minor, for immoral purposes. It is a class C felony if the person has a prior conviction under the section or of a felony sexual offense under chapter 9.68A, 9A.44 or 9A.64 RCW, or if the communication is by electronic means as subsection (2) provides.
• Commercial sexual abuse of a minor and related offenses. RCW 9.68A.100 (commercial sexual abuse of a minor) is a class B felony, 9.68A.101 (promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor) a class A felony, 9.68A.102 (promoting travel for commercial sexual abuse of a minor) a class C felony and 9.68A.103 (permitting commercial sexual abuse of a minor) a gross misdemeanor. Each of those four sections states that consent of the minor is not a defense.
• Sexual exploitation and depictions offenses. RCW 9.68A.040 (sexual exploitation of a minor, class B felony), 9.68A.050 (dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, class B felony in the first and second degree), 9.68A.070 (possession) and 9.68A.075 (viewing) protect minors from sexual exploitation and from depictions of it. Section 9.68A.053 separately grades dealing in depictions by a person under 18. Chapter 9.68A was amended by 2026 c 223, effective June 11, 2026, so that a fabricated depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct is covered where the minor is identifiable or the matter is obscene (RCW 9.68A.011).
• Indecent exposure. RCW 9A.88.010 makes indecent exposure a gross misdemeanor on the first offense if the person exposes himself or herself to a person under the age of 14.
• Custodial sexual misconduct. RCW 9A.44.160 (sexual intercourse, class B felony) and 9A.44.170 (sexual contact, class C felony) apply where the victim is a resident of an adult or juvenile correctional facility or under correctional supervision and the perpetrator is correctional agency staff with the ability to influence that confinement or supervision, or where the victim is detained, under arrest or in the custody of a law enforcement officer who is the perpetrator. Consent of the victim is not a defense.
• Trafficking. RCW 9A.40.100 covers trafficking in the first and second degree, including causing a person under 18 to engage in a sexually explicit act or commercial sex act, a class A felony. Where the victim is a minor, force, fraud or coercion are not necessary elements and consent does not constitute a defense (subsection 5).

Penalties

Each section assigns a felony class or a gross misdemeanor grade. The maximums come from RCW 9A.20.021.

Rape of a child in the first or second degree and child molestation in the first degree are also sentenced under RCW 9.94A.507, which provides for a minimum term and a maximum term, the maximum being the statutory maximum for the offense. If there has been a finding under RCW 9.94A.836 that the offense was predatory, the minimum term is the maximum of the standard sentence range or 25 years, whichever is greater. Subsection (2) provides that an offender convicted of those offenses who was 17 or younger at the time of the offense is not sentenced under that section.

Sex offender registration

Under RCW 9.94A.030, a sex offense includes "A felony that is a violation of chapter 9A.44 RCW other than RCW 9A.44.132," a violation of RCW 9A.64.020 and "A felony that is a violation of chapter 9.68A RCW other than RCW 9.68A.080." RCW 9A.44.128 adds, for registration, any violation of RCW 9A.44.096 (sexual misconduct with a minor in the second degree), RCW 9.68A.090 and a violation of 9A.40.100(1)(b)(ii) (trafficking).

• Duration. RCW 9A.44.140 provides that for an adult convicted of a class A felony, or of any sex offense with one or more prior convictions for a sex offense or kidnapping offense, the duty to register continues indefinitely. For a class B felony without such a prior conviction, it ends 15 years after the last date of release from confinement, and for a class C felony, a violation of 9.68A.090 or 9A.44.096, it ends ten years after the last date of release, each on the conditions stated in the section. A person determined to be a sexually violent predator under chapter 71.09 RCW registers for life.
• Adult relief. RCW 9A.44.142 provides for a petition when the person has spent ten consecutive years in the community without a disqualifying offense, unless the person is a sexually violent predator or was convicted as an adult of a class A sex offense committed with forcible compulsion on or after June 8, 2000.
• Juveniles. Under RCW 9A.44.130(1)(b), a person who is not an adult registers only in the circumstances that subsection lists, including a class A or class B sex offense committed at 16 or 17 without a special sex offender disposition alternative, rape in the first degree committed at 14 or 15, rape in the second degree committed at 14 or 15 without that alternative, a sex offense committed after a prior sex offense conviction or deferred disposition, a revoked disposition alternative for those offenses, and a court finding under (1)(b)(viii) for a person 14 through 17. RCW 9A.44.143 provides that the court may relieve a juvenile petitioner of the duty to register if at least 24 months have passed since adjudication and completion of any confinement, on the conditions the section states, and the timing is longer for class A offenses committed at 15 or older. Under 9A.44.140(4)(a), a person required to register as a juvenile under 9A.44.130(1)(b) has a duty that ends three years after release or entry of disposition for a class A offense committed at 15, 16 or 17, and two years after release or entry of disposition otherwise (9A.44.140(4)(b)).

Recent changes

The eight sections in chapter 9A.44 RCW that set the age bands (9A.44.073 through 9A.44.096) were last amended by 2021 c 142, and their history notes list no 2025 or 2026 session law. The duration section, RCW 9A.44.140, was last amended by 2023 c 150. 2026 c 223 (Second Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5105), effective June 11, 2026, amended sections of chapter 9.68A RCW (9.68A.011, 9.68A.040, 9.68A.050, 9.68A.053, 9.68A.060, 9.68A.070, 9.68A.075 and 9.68A.110) on sexually explicit depictions of minors, including fabricated depictions.

How to report

If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. The Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families report abuse page lists 866-363-4276 for holidays, evenings and weekends. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-422-4453, call or text) and the NCMEC CyberTipline (report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678) are also available.

Disclaimer

This page is general legal information about Washington criminal statutes as verified on 2026-09-30. It is not legal advice. Statutes change, summaries simplify, and the statute text controls. Anyone with a specific situation should consult a lawyer licensed in Washington.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How does the age difference work in Washington's child rape and molestation offenses?

Each of the six offenses (9A.44.073, .076, .079, .083, .086 and .089) states an age-difference element in months: 24 months for first-degree rape of a child, 36 months for first-degree molestation and for both second-degree offenses, and 48 months for both third-degree offenses. The difference is part of the definition of the offense.

Who is in a significant relationship under RCW 9A.44.093?

Section 9A.44.093(1)(a) applies where the perpetrator is at least 60 months older than a victim 16 or 17, is in a significant relationship to the victim and abuses a supervisory position within that relationship. Under 9A.44.010, a significant relationship includes a person who undertakes the responsibility, professionally or voluntarily, to provide education, health, welfare or organized recreational activities principally for minors, or who in the course of employment supervises minors.

Where can the Washington statute text be found?

The Revised Code of Washington is published by the Washington State Legislature at app.leg.wa.gov. Chapter 9A.44 RCW contains the sex offenses, chapter 9.68A RCW the sexual exploitation of children offenses, and chapter 9A.64 RCW the family offenses.