Why is 18.85 RCW being revised?

In December 2003, the Washington Department of Licensing, Real Estate Program appointed a task force, co-chaired by Real Estate Commissioners Jim Carollo and Cindy White, to study in detail whether the real estate license law (18.85 RCW), originally written in 1925 and amended piecemeal since then, was capable of administering current industry practices. If it was judged deficient, the task force was asked to propose either comprehensive revision to the existing statute or a total rewrite of the legislation. Task force members represented the full spectrum of real estate licensees and the firms with which they are affiliated.

That task force completed its assignment in December 2005, recommending significant modernization of the existing law, but stopping well short of developing a totally new regulatory framework. This Web site is part of a major effort to explain the proposed changes in the license law and to obtain feedback from stakeholders (current licensees, service providers to the real estate brokerage industry, as well as consumers).