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The License-Plate Reader File · WashingtonIn reporting · updated Oct. 28, 2026

Who is reading your plate?
County by county.

Washington's Driver Privacy Act (SB 6002, signed March 30, 2026) limits police plate-reader searches to serious crimes, requires deletion after 21 days and bars use for immigration enforcement; several departments paused or ended their systems in 2025 and 2026, among them Seattle, Redmond, Lynnwood and Olympia.

License-plate readers in other states →

A county’s color reflects any documented agency in it: the sheriff’s office or a city police department. “Not yet checked” is not the same as “none”.

Using license-plate readers
In use; some cameras may have been switched off or removed.
Removing or limiting cameras
Removing cameras beyond state roads, or limiting use, while some remain.
Use suspended
Cameras switched off or use paused; no contract termination reported.
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Records or reports show the agency bought or used plate readers, but no source found confirms whether they are still in use.
Ended or removed
Contract terminated, program discontinued, or all cameras removed.

Statewide

  1. 2025 A University of Washington Center for Human Rights report on Flock networks in the state said as many as 80 public agencies in Washington reportedly use Flock, and examined how agencies share the data, including with federal agencies. (University of Washington Center for Human Rights, Oct. 21, 2025)
  2. Feb. 4, 2026 The state Senate passed Senate Bill 6002, sponsored by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma), 40-9. At that stage the bill required plate-reader data to be deleted within 21 days unless needed as evidence (a Senate committee had lengthened this from 72 hours), largely barred sharing, banned use for civil immigration enforcement and kept the data out of public records requests, apart from use in research. (Washington State Standard / KUOW, Feb. 5, 2026)
  3. March 2026 The state House passed SB 6002 84-10 in early March 2026. The House version added gross misdemeanors to the permitted investigative uses, and the bill returned to the Senate for concurrence. (Washington State Standard, March 6, 2026)
  4. March 30, 2026 Gov. Bob Ferguson signed SB 6002 on March 30, 2026, and it took effect at once. Police may now run plate searches only for felony or gross-misdemeanor cases, stolen cars, cars linked to people with arrest warrants, and missing or endangered people (with exceptions). Reads must be purged after 21 days unless kept as evidence, and they can be shared only for court cases. The law forbids using the readers for immigration enforcement or to monitor protected activity such as speech. It forbids collecting data near protected health care or immigration sites, schools, courts, food banks and houses of worship. Agencies must log who accessed the data and keep those logs for two years, and the data is closed to public records requests except for research. (Washington State Standard / KUOW, March 31, 2026)
  5. March 30, 2026 SB 6002 directs the Attorney General's Office to develop model plate-reader policies by July 1, 2027. Agencies must adopt them by December 2027. (Washington State Standard / KUOW, March 31, 2026; Washington State Standard, March 6, 2026)
  6. March 30, 2026 Flock Safety said it was already complying with parts of the law, such as purging data after 21 days. (Washington State Standard / KUOW, March 31, 2026)

Every county

All 39 counties
AdamsChecked: no program found———
AsotinChecked: no program found———
BentonUsing license-plate readers4Axon, Flock Safety39
ChelanUsing license-plate readers2Flock Safety20
ClallamUse suspended1Leonardo (ELSAG)3
ClarkProgram documented, current use unconfirmed1Axon—
ColumbiaChecked: no program found———
CowlitzUsing license-plate readers1Flock Safety—
DouglasUsing license-plate readers1Flock Safety—
FerryChecked: no program found———
FranklinUse suspended1Axon, Flock Safety—
GarfieldChecked: no program found———
GrantNot yet checked———
Grays HarborUsing license-plate readers1Flock Safety—
IslandChecked: no program found———
JeffersonChecked: no program found———
KingUsing license-plate readers8Axon, Flock Safety, Genetec95
KitsapChecked: no program found———
KittitasUsing license-plate readers1Flock Safety13
KlickitatChecked: no program found———
LewisUsing license-plate readers3Flock Safety20
LincolnUsing license-plate readers1Flock Safety—
MasonUsing license-plate readers1Flock Safety12
OkanoganChecked: no program found———
PacificChecked: no program found———
Pend OreilleChecked: no program found———
PierceUsing license-plate readers7Axon, Flock Safety312
San JuanChecked: no program found———
SkagitUsing license-plate readers2Flock Safety13
SkamaniaUse suspended1Flock Safety6
SnohomishUsing license-plate readers14Flock Safety156
SpokaneUsing license-plate readers4Flock Safety70
StevensChecked: no program found———
ThurstonUse suspended1Flock Safety15
WahkiakumChecked: no program found———
Walla WallaUse suspended2Flock Safety23
WhatcomChecked: no program found———
WhitmanChecked: no program found———
YakimaUsing license-plate readers2Flock Safety146

How this map is built

We start with each county’s sheriff’s office and its largest city police departments, then work outward. Each agency’s entry says whether it comes from agency records or from news reports, and links every source. Companies are tracked separately, so the map can show one company’s customers or all license-plate readers together.

Have a contract, invoice or records response for an agency here? Send it to tips@signaldata.org.

Sources