What Washington's mini-TCPA means for your campaigns

Washington's HB-1497 is broader than other mini-TCPAs

Washington state enacted HB-1497, effective June 9, 2022. It shares some features with Florida's mini-TCPA — namely the 8 am to 8 pm permitted calling window — but it differs in important ways. Washington's law reaches beyond sales calls to cover any organization soliciting for money, including charities and nonprofits. That is a significantly wider net than Florida, Oklahoma, or Oregon.

Notably, Washington does not carry the 3-calls-in-24-hours restriction that other mini-TCPA states impose. There is also no express-consent requirement matching Florida's provisions. Washington's focus is more on how calls are conducted than how many are placed.

The two rules that change your call flow

Washington adds two operational requirements that no other mini-TCPA state currently mandates:

• Caller identification within 30 seconds: the caller must identify themselves and the organization they are calling from within 30 seconds of the call connecting.
• 10-second termination requirement: if the called party states or indicates they want to end the call at any point, the telephone solicitor must end the call within 10 seconds.

The 10-second termination rule has direct implications for agent training and Agent script design. Scripts must be written so agents can recognize a verbal or implied opt-out signal quickly and terminate the call. Long rebuttals or hold patterns after a stated objection are not compliant.

How VICIdial handles Washington's requirements

sequenceDiagram
  participant D as Dialer
  participant A as Agent
  participant C as Contact
  D->>C: Call connects
  Note over A,C: 30-second window opens
  A->>C: Identify name and organization within 30s
  C->>A: States intent to end call
  Note over A: 10-second termination window
  A->>D: Wrap up call
  D->>C: Disconnects within 10 seconds

For the calling-hours restriction, set a Call times rule covering Washington's Pacific Time zone. Use the same offset values as Oregon: UTC-8 in winter, UTC-7 in summer. The rule must ensure no calls connect before 8 am or after 8 pm local time.

Washington does not require a count-limit override in VICIdial because there is no 3-calls-in-24-hours restriction under HB-1497. Skip that configuration step for Washington-only campaigns. Focus instead on the Agent script and on training your team on the 10-second termination requirement.

Who the law covers

HB-1497 applies to telephone solicitors calling Washington phone numbers. Washington area codes include 206, 253, 360, 425, and 509. Because the law covers organizations soliciting for money — not just commercial sellers — nonprofit Campaign operators and charity fundraisers dialing Washington numbers are subject to HB-1497. Review whether your calling activity qualifies before assuming an exemption applies.

Caller ID and ANI requirements

The caller-identification requirement under HB-1497 pairs naturally with your ANI configuration in VICIdial. The number your dialer presents as CID (caller ID) should be a number that a called party can use to identify your organization. Spoofed or non-working caller-ID numbers are already problematic under federal rules, but Washington's identification-within-30-seconds requirement adds a performance obligation on top — the agent must verbally confirm who is calling, not just rely on the number display.

For the complete state-law compliance framework, see the VICIdial compliance overview. For a state that does share Washington's calling-hours rules plus the 3-call cap, see Florida mini-TCPA rules.

Need hosted VICIdial configured for Washington and other state regulations? See pricing to explore your options.