Washington State Human Rights Commission

Key Takeaways

• The Washington State Human Rights Commission is created by RCW 49.60.050 as a five member body appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate, one of whom the governor designates as chairperson.
• RCW 49.60.120 gives the commission power to receive, impartially investigate, and pass upon complaints alleging unfair practices, to adopt rules, and to appoint an executive director, investigators, and examiners.
• A complaint alleging an unfair practice in a real estate transaction must be filed within one year under RCW 49.60.230, while most other complaints under the act carry a six-month deadline.
• The commission enforces chapter 49.60 RCW across housing, employment, public accommodation, credit, and insurance, and it does not issue or discipline real estate licenses.

What It Means

The Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC) is the state agency that enforces the Washington Law Against Discrimination, chapter 49.60 RCW. RCW 49.60.050 creates it as a five member body appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate, with one member designated chairperson. Its reach is wider than housing, covering employment, public accommodation, credit, and insurance as well.

For real estate, the commission is the front door. It receives the complaint, investigates it impartially, and passes on it, powers RCW 49.60.120 spells out alongside the authority to adopt rules and to appoint an executive director, investigators, and examiners. A complaint does not become a charge on its own. A WSHRC investigator drafts the filing into a perfected charge document, which the complainant then signs.

The commission does not license or discipline brokers. That belongs to the Department of Licensing under chapter 18.85 RCW, so one incident can produce two separate proceedings against the same Broker. The two ask different questions: the commission asks whether an unfair practice occurred, and the Department of Licensing asks whether a licensee violated the license law.

How It Works in Washington

Anyone who believes an unfair practice in a real estate transaction has occurred can file with the commission, and the deadline is the first thing to check. RCW 49.60.230 requires a complaint alleging an unfair practice in a real estate transaction under RCW 49.60.222 through RCW 49.60.225 to be filed within one year after the practice occurred or terminated. Most other complaints under the act carry a six-month deadline, and the commission states the housing window as twelve months from the date of alleged harm.

The classes the commission can act on for housing come from RCW 49.60.222: sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, families with children status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, and use of a trained dog guide or service animal. That list runs longer than the federal one, so a complaint the Fair Housing Act would not support can still stand in Washington.

The commission has a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to process and investigate dual-filed housing complaints, so a single filing can move on both tracks. A Protected Class question is the threshold: the commission takes the matter only if the alleged harm ties to a class the act names.

Example

Dana Whitcomb, who is blind and uses a trained dog guide, offers $525,000 on a Spokane condominium listed at $529,000 on March 3, 2026. The listing broker relays the seller's answer that afternoon: the seller would take $525,000 from anyone else, but the unit is "no animals, no exceptions," and the offer is rejected in writing on that ground.

Use of a trained dog guide is a protected class under RCW 49.60.222, so refusing the transaction on that basis is an unfair practice. Dana files with the commission on July 20, 2026, about four and a half months after the rejection and well inside the one year RCW 49.60.230 allows, which would have run to March 3, 2027. A WSHRC investigator drafts the filing into a perfected charge document, Dana signs it, and because the commission dual-files with HUD, the same facts open a federal file without a second complaint. A Redlining claim would run on the same one year clock.

Common Mistakes and Exam Traps

• The commission is not the Department of Licensing. WSHRC decides whether an unfair practice occurred under chapter 49.60 RCW, and the Department of Licensing decides whether a license is disciplined under chapter 18.85 RCW.
• The housing deadline is not the general deadline. A real estate complaint gets one year under RCW 49.60.230, while most other complaints under the act get six months.
• The commission has five members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. It is not an elected board and not a division of the Department of Licensing.
• Washington's protected class list under RCW 49.60.222 is longer than the federal list, so an answer that limits the commission to the federal classes is wrong.