This bill amends Washington’s address confidentiality program statutes (RCW 40.24.010, .020 reenacted and amended, .030, .040, .050, .060, .070, .080, and .100) to revise application, certification, interagency, and confidentiality procedures. It requires the secretary of state to prescribe the program application form and to provide, during application, a signed directive form that authorizes the Department of Licensing (DOL) to replace an applicant’s vehicle/vessel registration and driver’s license/identicard address with the substitute address; the directive may include only specified identity and ownership information and DOL must update records within 30 days of receiving a completed and signed directive. The bill also reenacts and defines program terms (including “actual address,” “substitute address,” and victimization categories such as domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, stalking, and trafficking) and lists required application elements and acknowledgments. The bill makes procedural changes to certification and renewal: the secretary of state must certify applicants and household members as participants, certifications last four years unless withdrawn or invalidated earlier, and the secretary must adopt renewal rules. Certification is canceled for listed reasons (for example, legal change of identity, requested cancellation, knowingly false application information, death) and may be canceled if a participant changes name or residential address without giving written notice to the secretary of state within 72 hours, or if forwarded mail is returned nondeliverable. Participants are responsible for requesting that state and local agencies use the substitute address; agencies must accept a substitute address when presented with a current valid authorization card unless the secretary of state determines the agency has a bona fide statutory or administrative need for the actual address and no workaround exists. Public records containing a participant’s residential address are exempt from public inspection under chapter 42.56 RCW. The bill limits disclosure of participant files to narrow circumstances: to law enforcement in specified situations, by court order as provided in RCW 40.24.075, and to the Washington State Patrol for uses authorized in RCW 80.36.570 with use restrictions and required distinctions; the secretary of state may adopt rules to support these provisions and is shielded from liability for good faith compliance. Other changes require the secretary of state to receive and forward mail for participants, set rules for election officials to use actual addresses for precinct designation while keeping them confidential from the public and using substitute addresses for correspondence (with substitute addresses not used for voter registration), bar inclusion of participant information from public voter lists when a valid program card is submitted, require training and designation of application assistants and nonprofit partners, and direct the secretary of state to enter an agreement with the Office of Civil Legal Aid to provide informational and self-help resources to help participants own property without public disclosure; the secretary may not provide direct legal representation and no fee may be charged for the legal assistance described. The bill makes providing knowingly false information on an application punishable under RCW 40.16.030 or other applicable statutes. Some cross-references and text are missing from the provided excerpts (for example, certain subsection contents and the completion of a sentence about certification without signing the DOL directive), so additional provisions or clarifications may exist in the unprovided portions.

If enacted, the bill makes the secretary of state run a clearer, more active address confidentiality program: the office will create standardized application and directive forms, accept and forward a participant’s mail, designate substitute addresses, certify participants for four years, and train designated application assistants. Department of Licensing must change driver’s license and vehicle/vessel registration addresses within 30 days after receiving a signed directive from the secretary of state, and most state and local agencies must accept a participant’s substitute address for public records when the participant shows a valid program card, with limited exceptions for bona fide agency needs. Participants who register to vote and present a valid program card will have their names and addresses kept off public voter lists, election officials will use actual addresses only for precincting (kept confidential), and the Washington State Patrol may receive participant information only for limited, specified uses. There is a penalty for knowingly giving false information, and the secretary of state must arrange legal self-help resources with civil legal aid (but may not provide direct legal representation). The people most affected are victims who seek to hide their residential addresses, who will likely get stronger, longer-lasting privacy protections but must follow rules (for example, notify the office within 72 hours of certain changes or risk cancellation). The secretary of state and Department of Licensing will take on new ongoing responsibilities and likely need staff, rulemaking, and procedures to implement the 30-day update requirement and mail forwarding. State and local agencies and election officials must change how they handle addresses and records, which could create operational costs or require new policies to identify legitimate exceptions. Some implementation details and earlier eligibility language are missing from the provided text, so exact procedures and any impacts tied to those omitted provisions are unclear.