Washington Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass Laws (2026)

Washington's disorderly conduct statute, RCW 9A.84.030, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. It is not a catch-all: it covers four specific acts, including abusive language only when the speaker "thereby intentionally creates a risk of assault," and noise only near a funeral, burial, viewing, procession or memorial service.

Criminal trespass has two degrees. Knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in a building is first-degree criminal trespass under RCW 9A.52.070, a gross misdemeanor (up to 364 days and $5,000); other premises are second-degree criminal trespass under RCW 9A.52.080, a misdemeanor. Neither degree is a felony. For other states, see our guide to disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-18. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Washington's state criminal statutes on disorderly conduct and the other offenses in chapter 9A.84 RCW, related public-order offenses in other titles (emergency proclamations, false reports and bomb threats, transit, courts, schools and health care facilities), the liquor code's public-drinking rule, and criminal trespass under chapter 9A.52 RCW and the hunting-trespass section of Title 77. It does not cover local noise ordinances and quiet hours (see Washington noise laws), the full procedure for removing squatters (see Washington squatters' rights), use of force against an intruder (see Washington self-defense laws), civil trespass lawsuits, city or county ordinances, or federal property rules.

What counts as disorderly conduct in Washington

RCW 9A.84.030(1) lists four alternative ways to commit the offense. A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if the person:

• (a) Abusive language. "Uses abusive language and thereby intentionally creates a risk of assault." The clause requires more than abusive words: the language must intentionally create a risk of assault.
• (b) Disrupting a meeting. "Intentionally disrupts any lawful assembly or meeting of persons without lawful authority."
• (c) Blocking traffic. "Intentionally obstructs vehicular or pedestrian traffic without lawful authority."
• (d) Funerals and memorial services. Intentionally engages "in fighting or in tumultuous conduct or makes unreasonable noise, within five hundred feet of" a funeral or burial, a funeral home during a viewing, a funeral procession (if the person knows it is taking place), or a building where a funeral or memorial service is being conducted, and "knows that the activity adversely affects" the service.

Each clause carries its own mental state: "intentionally" in (a) through (d), and in (d) knowledge that the activity adversely affects the service as well. The funeral clause was added by 2007 c 2. The section does not define "public" or a public place, and no clause makes ordinary loud music or a noisy party a crime under this section; for the noise rules and quiet hours that do apply, see our Washington noise ordinance laws.

Is disorderly conduct a misdemeanor in Washington?

Yes. RCW 9A.84.030(2) says: "Disorderly conduct is a misdemeanor." The section has no infraction form, no gross-misdemeanor or felony form, and no step-up after a warning or a prior conviction. Under RCW 9A.20.021(3), a misdemeanor defined in Title 9A is punishable by up to 90 days in the county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. A separate disorderly conduct offense that applies after a state of emergency is proclaimed, RCW 43.06.240, carries up to 364 days in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both (see below).

Fighting, swearing and drinking in public

• Fighting. Fighting is named in the statute only in the funeral clause, within 500 feet of a service. A fight elsewhere may fall under other offenses, such as the group-force offense below or the assault statutes; see Washington assault laws.
• Swearing or yelling. Abusive language is disorderly conduct only when it "thereby intentionally creates a risk of assault" (RCW 9A.84.030(1)(a)).
• Drinking in public. Chapter 66.44 RCW, the liquor code's enforcement chapter, contains no public-drunkenness crime. Its public-place rule, RCW 66.44.100, provides that, except as the liquor title permits (including under RCW 66.24.800), "no person shall open the package containing liquor or consume liquor in a public place," and a violation is "a class 3 civil infraction under chapter 7.80 RCW," not a crime. RCW 71.24.575 also bars counties and cities from making drinking or being found intoxicated an element of a criminal or civil offense, apart from impaired-operation offenses and rules on when, where and by whom alcohol may be sold or used.

Other public-order offenses in Washington

Chapter 9A.84 RCW has four sections: criminal mischief (9A.84.010), failure to disperse (9A.84.020), disorderly conduct (9A.84.030) and false reporting (9A.84.040). The chapter has no offense named breach of the peace, riot or unlawful assembly.

• Criminal mischief, RCW 9A.84.010. This is Washington's riot-type offense. A person commits it if, "acting with three or more other persons, he or she knowingly and unlawfully uses or threatens to use force, or in any way participates in the use of such force, against any other person or against property." It is a gross misdemeanor, and "a class C felony if the actor is armed with a deadly weapon."
• Failure to disperse, RCW 9A.84.020. A person congregates with a group of three or more other persons, there are acts of conduct within the group that create "a substantial risk of causing injury to any person, or substantial harm to property," and the person refuses or fails to disperse when ordered to by a peace officer or other public servant enforcing the law. It is a misdemeanor.
• Disorderly conduct during a state of emergency, RCW 43.06.240. After the governor proclaims a state of emergency, a broader disorderly conduct offense applies: willfully causing public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk of it, by fighting or violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior, unreasonable noise, an offensively coarse utterance, gesture or display, abusive language, dispersing a lawful meeting, or creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition, or refusing a peace officer's dispersal order while engaged in that conduct with at least one other person. It is punishable by up to 364 days in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. Under RCW 43.06.220, the governor may order a curfew or ban gatherings in the emergency area, and willfully violating such an order is a gross misdemeanor.
• False reporting, RCW 9A.84.040. Knowingly making or circulating a false report or warning, knowing it is likely to cause an evacuation, public inconvenience or alarm, or an emergency response. It is a gross misdemeanor (third degree). If the report was made with reckless disregard for others' safety and caused an emergency response, it is a class C felony when someone suffers substantial bodily harm as a result (second degree) and a class B felony when someone dies (first degree). Separately, RCW 9.61.160 makes threatening to bomb or injure a school, place of worship or public assembly, government property, or any other building, common carrier or structure or any place used for human occupancy a class B felony, and a hoax is not a defense.
• Unlawful transit conduct, RCW 9.91.025. On a transit vehicle or at a transit station, knowingly doing any of the listed acts, including unreasonably disturbing others by loud, raucous, unruly, harmful or harassing behavior, obstructing transit vehicles or passenger traffic, or drinking or holding an open alcoholic beverage without authorization. It is a misdemeanor.
• Picketing to obstruct justice, RCW 9.27.015. Picketing, parading or demonstrating in or near a courthouse, or near a building or residence used by a judge, juror, witness or court officer, while interfering with or obstructing the administration of justice, is a gross misdemeanor.
• Interference with a health care facility, RCW 9A.50.020. Willfully or recklessly interfering with access to a health care facility, or disrupting its normal functioning, by methods that include physically obstructing passage, "making noise that unreasonably disturbs the peace within the facility," or trespassing on the facility or its common areas. RCW 9A.50.030 makes it a gross misdemeanor with mandatory minimums: at least $250 and 24 consecutive hours in jail for a first offense, at least $500 and 7 consecutive days for a second, and at least $1,000 and 30 consecutive days for a third or later offense.
• Refusing to leave school property, RCW 28A.635.020. Subsection (1) makes it unlawful to willfully disobey an order from the district's chief administrative officer, or an authorized designee, to leave school property if the person is under the influence of alcohol or drugs or is committing, threatening or inciting an act that would disturb or obstruct school functions. Subsection (2) makes it unlawful to refuse to leave public property immediately adjacent to school property when ordered by a law enforcement officer, if the person is engaging in conduct that creates a substantial risk of injury or property harm or that "amounts to disorderly conduct under RCW 9A.84.030." Subsection (3) states that the section does not penalize lawful speech, press or assembly that does not materially disturb school functions. A violation is a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.
• Disturbing a school, RCW 28A.635.030. Willfully creating a disturbance on school premises during school hours or at school activities or meetings is a misdemeanor, "the penalty for which shall be a fine in any sum not more than fifty dollars."
• Interfering by force or violence at a school, RCW 28A.635.090. Interfering by force or violence with a school employee or contractor, a student, or an official for students' extracurricular athletic activities, during the peaceful discharge of their duties or studies, is a gross misdemeanor; the section sets a fine of not more than $500, jail of not more than six months, or both, and requires that a convicted person other than a student be excluded from the school or the athletic activities for 12 to 18 months. The current coverage and the exclusion rule took effect June 11, 2026 (2026 c 155).
• Intimidating by threat of force or violence at a school, RCW 28A.635.100. Intimidating the same school employees, contractors, students or athletic officials by threat of force or violence is also a gross misdemeanor, with a fine of not more than $500, jail of not more than six months, or both.
• Insulting a teacher, RCW 28A.635.010. Insulting or abusing a teacher on school premises while the teacher is carrying out official duties is a misdemeanor with a fine of $10 to $100.

Criminal trespass in Washington

Washington has two general trespass crimes, graded by place:

• First degree, RCW 9A.52.070: a person "knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a building." Gross misdemeanor.
• Second degree, RCW 9A.52.080: a person "knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in or upon premises of another under circumstances not constituting criminal trespass in the first degree." Misdemeanor.

Both require knowledge, and both reach remaining as well as entering. "Premises" includes "any building, dwelling, structure used for commercial aquaculture, or any real property" (RCW 9A.52.010(3)).

Notice: when you are on land "unlawfully"

The chapter-wide definition in RCW 9A.52.010(2) controls. A person enters or remains unlawfully "when he or she is not then licensed, invited, or otherwise privileged to so enter or remain." The definition then sets notice rules by type of land:

• Open, unused land. A person on "unimproved and apparently unused land, which is neither fenced nor otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders," is there with license and privilege "unless notice against trespass is personally communicated to him or her by the owner of the land or some other authorized person, or unless notice is given by posting in a conspicuous manner."
• Fenced land. "A field fenced in any manner is not unimproved and apparently unused land."
• Farm and aquaculture land. Land used for commercial aquaculture or for growing a crop other than timber is not unimproved and apparently unused land "if a crop or any other sign of cultivation is clearly visible or if notice is given by posting in a conspicuous manner."
• Land open at certain times. Permission to be on improved, apparently used land that is open to the public at particular times is not permission to be there at other times "if notice of prohibited times of entry is posted in a conspicuous manner."
• Buildings partly open to the public. Permission to be in a building that is only partly open to the public is not permission to be in the part that is not open.

The statute sets no sign size, wording or spacing; it requires only posting "in a conspicuous manner."

Does Washington have a purple paint law?

No. Chapter 9A.52 RCW gives notice through personal communication, conspicuous posting, fencing or enclosure, and visible cultivation, and contains no paint-mark provision. The hunting-trespass section, RCW 77.15.435, uses the same "enters or remains unlawfully" wording and has no posting or paint rule of its own.

Asked to leave a store or other business

The trespass definition turns on whether a person is "then licensed, invited, or otherwise privileged" to enter or remain, and it covers remaining. RCW 9A.52.090 lists the statutory defenses to both degrees of criminal trespass. Section 9A.52.090(2) provides that it is a defense that "the premises were at the time open to members of the public and the actor complied with all lawful conditions imposed on access to or remaining in the premises." The other defenses are that a building involved in a first-degree charge "was abandoned"; that the actor "reasonably believed that the owner of the premises, or other person empowered to license access thereto, would have licensed him or her to enter or remain"; and, for a person attempting to serve legal process, a defense that "applies only if the actor did not enter into a private residence or other building not open to the public and the entry onto the premises was reasonable and necessary for service of the legal process."

Special trespass offenses

• School bus trespass, RCW 9A.52.092 (2024 c 302). Knowingly and maliciously entering or remaining unlawfully in a school bus, doing another act that creates a substantial risk of harm to passengers or the driver, and causing a substantial interruption or impairment of the bus's services. All three elements are joined by "and." Gross misdemeanor. The section does not apply to students enrolled in the school the bus serves, officers or authorized personnel on duty, people with written consent, or emergencies where entering is necessary to protect the safety or well-being of students or others (RCW 9A.52.092(4)).
• Hunting on another's property, RCW 77.15.435. Knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully on the premises of another to hunt wildlife, retrieve hunted wildlife or collect wildlife parts is a misdemeanor. If the person kills wildlife there, or retrieves wildlife the person killed, the Department of Fish and Wildlife "shall revoke all hunting licenses and tags and order a suspension of the person's hunting privileges for two years." Section 77.15.435(2) provides defenses, including that the premises were open to the public for hunting and the actor complied with all lawful conditions, or that the actor reasonably believed the premises were not privately owned.
• Health care facilities and schools. Trespassing on a health care facility is one of the listed methods of the gross misdemeanor in RCW 9A.50.020, and refusing an order to leave school property is a gross misdemeanor under RCW 28A.635.020 (both above).

Neither chapter 9A.52 nor chapter 9A.84 contains a critical-infrastructure trespass offense.

Squatters and the owner's declaration

RCW 9A.52.105 lets a property owner give a peace officer a declaration signed under penalty of perjury, in the form in RCW 9A.52.115. On receiving it, and subject to the section's limits, the officer may remove the person "with or without arresting" them and order them to stay off the premises "or be subject to arrest for criminal trespass." For a building that is residential real property, only an officer with probable cause to believe the person is guilty of first-degree criminal trespass may arrest or exclude anyone under penalty of criminal trespass (RCW 9A.52.105(2)). The rest of the procedure is on our Washington squatters' rights page. For the rules on force against an intruder, see Washington self-defense laws.

Is trespassing a felony in Washington?

Criminal trespass itself is not: the first degree is a gross misdemeanor and the second degree a misdemeanor. Entering or remaining unlawfully becomes burglary when it is done "with intent to commit a crime against a person or property therein." Residential burglary (RCW 9A.52.025) and second-degree burglary of other buildings (RCW 9A.52.030) are class B felonies, and first-degree burglary, where the actor or another participant is armed with a deadly weapon or assaults someone, is a class A felony (RCW 9A.52.020). Vehicle prowling in the second degree, entering a vehicle with intent to commit a crime, is a gross misdemeanor that becomes "a class C felony upon a third or subsequent conviction" (RCW 9A.52.100(3)). Vehicle prowling in the first degree, the same conduct in a motor home or in a vessel with a cabin that has permanent sleeping quarters or cooking facilities, is a class C felony (RCW 9A.52.095).

Washington disorderly conduct and trespass penalties at a glance

The jail and fine ranges for misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors and felony classes come from RCW 9A.20.021, which sets maximum sentences for crimes defined in Title 9A RCW. The school, emergency, transit and hunting offenses outside Title 9A state their own penalties or refer to chapter 9A.20 or RCW 9.92.030, as the table notes. For the full class table, see Washington felony and misdemeanor classes.

Recent changes

• 2024: school bus trespass. 2024 c 302 added RCW 9A.52.092, a gross misdemeanor.
• 2025: public drinking rule. 2025 c 361 amended RCW 66.44.100 to add the exception for drinking allowed under RCW 66.24.800. The current version is effective until December 31, 2027; a second version, without the RCW 66.24.800 reference, takes effect that day. Drinking or opening liquor in public remains a class 3 civil infraction in both versions.
• 2026: school interference and intimidation. Chapter 155, Laws of 2026 (Senate Bill 5272), effective June 11, 2026, extended RCW 28A.635.090 and 28A.635.100 to employees and contractors of public and private elementary and secondary schools, students, and officials of student athletic events, and, in RCW 28A.635.090, required that a person other than a student who is convicted of interference by force or violence be excluded from the school or the athletic activities for 12 to 18 months.
• 2025: transit conduct. 2025 c 234 amended RCW 9.91.025, unlawful transit conduct, which remains a misdemeanor.

RCW 9A.84.030 was last amended in 2007, and RCW 9A.52.070 and 9A.52.080 in 2011. Federal law separately governs conduct on federal property and at the U.S. Capitol; our state-by-state disorderly conduct and trespass guide covers that layer.

Related Washington and state-by-state guides

• Disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state
• Washington noise ordinance laws
• Washington felony and misdemeanor classes
• Washington squatters' rights
• Washington assault laws
• Washington self-defense laws
• Oregon disorderly conduct and trespass laws

This article provides general legal information about Washington law as of 2026-10-18. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Washington.

Last updated: 2026-10-18.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is disorderly conduct a misdemeanor in Washington?

Yes. RCW 9A.84.030(2) makes disorderly conduct a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both under RCW 9A.20.021(3). The section has no felony or gross-misdemeanor form. A separate disorderly conduct offense that applies after a state of emergency is proclaimed, RCW 43.06.240, carries up to 364 days in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

Can you get disorderly conduct for swearing in Washington?

The abusive-language clause, RCW 9A.84.030(1)(a), applies only when a person uses abusive language and thereby intentionally creates a risk of assault. Profanity that does not meet that condition is outside the clause.

Is being drunk in public illegal in Washington?

Chapter 66.44 RCW contains no public-drunkenness crime. Opening a package of liquor or drinking liquor in a public place, except as the liquor title permits, is a class 3 civil infraction under RCW 66.44.100. RCW 71.24.575 also bars counties and cities from making drinking or being found intoxicated an element of a criminal or civil offense, apart from impaired-operation offenses and rules on when, where and by whom alcohol may be sold or used.

Is loud noise disorderly conduct in Washington?

Only near funerals: RCW 9A.84.030(1)(d) covers unreasonable noise within 500 feet of a funeral, burial, viewing, funeral procession or memorial service when the person knows it adversely affects the service. Everyday noise and quiet hours are set mostly by local codes.

What are the degrees of criminal trespass in Washington?

First degree (RCW 9A.52.070) is knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in a building, a gross misdemeanor with up to 364 days and $5,000. Second degree (RCW 9A.52.080) covers other premises and is a misdemeanor with up to 90 days and $1,000.

Is trespassing a felony in Washington?

No degree of criminal trespass is a felony. Entering or remaining unlawfully with intent to commit a crime inside is burglary: residential and second-degree burglary are class B felonies, and first-degree burglary (armed or assaulting someone) is a class A felony.

Do I need a no trespassing sign in Washington?

For unimproved, apparently unused land that is not fenced, notice must be given in person or by posting in a conspicuous manner (RCW 9A.52.010(2)). A fenced field, or farmland with a crop or other sign of cultivation clearly visible, does not need a sign. The statute sets no sign size or spacing.

Does Washington have a purple paint law?

No. Chapter 9A.52 RCW gives trespass notice through personal communication, conspicuous posting, fencing and visible cultivation, and contains no paint-mark provision.

What happens if a store tells you to leave in Washington?

Trespass turns on whether a person is then licensed, invited or otherwise privileged to enter or remain (RCW 9A.52.010(2)). RCW 9A.52.090(2) provides a defense only where the premises were open to the public and the actor complied with all lawful conditions on access to or remaining in them.

Is failure to disperse a crime in Washington?

Yes, a misdemeanor under RCW 9A.84.020. It applies to a person in a group with three or more others whose conduct creates a substantial risk of injury or property harm, who refuses or fails to disperse when a peace officer or other public servant orders it.