Housing & Tenant · Eviction Notice

Eviction Notice in Washington

How many days of written notice a landlord must give before filing an eviction in Washington, broken down by reason, and what you can do about it, cited to the statute.

CitedStatute §59.18.057; §59.18.650; §59.…Source app.leg.wa.gov

Notice before an eviction can be filed · Washington

14 days, on a form the state writes for you

Pay or quit

Washington requires a 14-day notice to pay rent or vacate under RCW 59.18.057, using a statutory form the Attorney General publishes, and RCW 59.18.650 bars eviction without one of the causes the statute lists.

Nonpayment of rent14 days

Curable lease violation10 days

No-cause (month-to-month)Varies

Statute§59.18.057; §59.18.650; §59.…

Every notice period in Washington

The written notice for each reason a landlord can end a tenancy, and what each one means.

Reason for the notice	Notice in Washington	What it means
Nonpayment of rent	Can fix and stay14 days	The notice must use the statutory form headed FOURTEEN-DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR VACATE THE PREMISES, and any payment made must be applied first to the amount shown on the notice (RCW 59.18.057). Paying within 14 days keeps the tenancy.
Failure to perform other lease conditions	Can fix and stay10 days	Performing the condition within ten days saves the lease from forfeiture (RCW 59.12.030).
Waste, nuisance, or unlawful business	3 days	Waste, a nuisance, or carrying on an unlawful business supports a 3-day notice with no chance to cure (RCW 59.12.030).
Just-cause rules	Overlay	Washington has statewide just cause. RCW 59.18.650 confines residential eviction to an enumerated list of causes, each with its own advance-notice period, and nonpayment with a 14-day notice is one of them. Because the full list was not read verbatim this session, confirm the exact grounds before relying on them.
Local ordinance	Varies	Seattle and several other Washington cities layer additional just-cause and notice rules on top of the state scheme, so check your city before assuming the state rule is complete.
After the notice	Court	The Attorney General publishes the compliant notice form, including translations, which makes Washington the only state where the government supplies the document the landlord must use. An unlawful detainer action follows. Only a court can order a tenant removed.
Statute	Wash. Rev. Code §59.18.057; §59.18.650; §59.12.030	The controlling statute for these notice periods. Read the full text through the source link below.

Recent or pending change

A 2025 amendment is reported to require every termination notice to state the exact calendar date by which the tenant must pay, comply, or vacate, so that a notice saying only within 14 days would be defective. That detail was not confirmed against the session law this time, so verify it before relying on it.

What you can do right now

Concrete, neutral steps if you have received an eviction notice in Washington. This is legal information, not legal advice.

Compare your notice to the official form
Washington is the only state where the eviction notice is a government form. The Attorney General publishes the 14-day notice, in several languages. Pull up the official version and check the one you received against it, line by line.
Pay within 14 days
Paying the total shown on the notice within 14 days keeps the tenancy, and any payment you make must be applied first to that amount. Keep proof of payment, and note that the just-cause law limits the reasons you can be evicted at all.
Check the reason is a listed cause
Washington requires a statutory cause to evict. If the notice does not rest on one of the enumerated just-cause grounds, or your city adds protections, that may be a defense. Confirm the ground against the current list.
Get local legal help
A local Washington legal aid office can confirm the current form requirements, including any exact-date rule, and your city ordinance. Search for legal aid in your area and act before the court date.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Read your own lease and check for a local ordinance, since either can change the notice that applies to your home.

What Washington renters get wrong

Washington is the only state where the eviction notice is a government form rather than a letter the landlord composes. The Attorney General publishes it, in several languages, and the statute dictates the heading, FOURTEEN-DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR VACATE THE PREMISES (RCW 59.18.057). That single fact gives a Washington renter something no other state offers: a way to check the notice they received against the official version, line by line, before doing anything else. Paying the total shown within 14 days keeps the tenancy, and any payment must be applied first to the amount on the notice. Washington also has statewide just cause under RCW 59.18.650, which confines eviction to an enumerated list of reasons, each with its own notice period, so a landlord cannot simply end a tenancy because the term ran out. A lease-condition violation carries 10 days to cure, and waste, nuisance, or an unlawful business carries 3 days with no cure. Because the official statute site was unreachable when this was researched and the full just-cause list and a reported 2025 exact-date rule were not read verbatim, this page is marked as cited. Only a court can order a tenant out.

Common questions

Where can I see the official Washington 14-day notice form?

The Washington Attorney General publishes the statutory 14-day pay-or-vacate form, including translations into several languages. Because RCW 59.18.057 dictates the form and heading, you can compare the notice you received against the official version to check that it complies.

Is my notice valid if it does not use the statutory wording in Washington?

It may not be. RCW 59.18.057 requires the 14-day notice to use the statutory form, headed FOURTEEN-DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR VACATE THE PREMISES. A notice that departs from the required form can be challenged, so compare it to the official version.

Does Washington require a reason to evict me?

Yes. RCW 59.18.650 makes Washington a statewide just-cause state, limiting eviction to an enumerated list of causes, each with its own notice period. A landlord cannot end a tenancy simply because the lease term expired, so the stated ground matters.

What if my Washington notice does not give an exact date?

A 2025 amendment is reported to require the notice to state the exact calendar date by which you must pay, comply, or vacate, which would make a vague within 14 days notice defective. That detail should be confirmed against the current statute, so check it with local legal aid.

Primary source

→ Wash. Rev. Code §59.18.057; §59.18.650; §59.12.030

Revised Code of Washington (RCW 59.18.057) · app.leg.wa.gov

Cholilurrohman
The 14-day form and the just-cause structure are well documented, but the official RCW site was unreachable this session and the enumerated just-cause list in RCW 59.18.650, plus a reported 2025 exact-date requirement, were not read verbatim. Held as Cited pending an official read. Editorial standards →

Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.

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