How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in Washington

The public records law that gets you the video

Washington Public Records Act, Rev. Code Wash. ch. 42.56

5 business days to respond, or estimate

Every state and local agency, including every county, city, town and special district, is covered (RCW 42.56.010(1)). A “public record” is any writing about the conduct of government that an agency prepares, owns, uses or retains “regardless of physical form,” and a “writing” includes “motion picture, film and video recordings” and sound recordings (RCW 42.56.010(3), (4)), so police and agency video is covered. The Act must be liberally construed and its exemptions narrowly construed (RCW 42.56.030). A request must be for identifiable records; no official form is required, though an agency may recommend its own form or web page, and agencies must honor requests made in person during office hours, by mail or by email; an agency may not ask why you want a record, except to decide whether a statute such as the body camera rule limits disclosure to certain people (RCW 42.56.080(1), (2)). Within five business days of receiving the request, the agency must provide the record, provide a link to it online, acknowledge the request and give a reasonable estimate of the time it needs, acknowledge it and ask you to clarify an unclear request, or deny it (RCW 42.56.520(1)); the Attorney General’s Open Government Resource Manual notes that the day of receipt is not counted. More time may be based on clarifying the request, locating and assembling records, notifying affected third persons, or deciding whether an exemption applies (RCW 42.56.520(2)). A denial must be in writing with the specific reasons (RCW 42.56.520(4)), naming the specific exemption and briefly explaining how it applies (RCW 42.56.210(3)), and an agency must release the nonexempt part of a record after deleting what is exempt (RCW 42.56.210(1)). If a record is scheduled for destruction when you request it, the agency must keep it and may not destroy or erase it until the request is resolved (RCW 42.56.100). Fees: inspection and locating records are free, except body camera redaction costs (below) and customized service charges; copies may cost no more than actual costs under the agency’s published schedule, and an agency that has not calculated actual costs may charge no more than 15 cents a page for photocopies, 10 cents a page for scanning, 5 cents for each four electronic files, 10 cents a gigabyte for electronic delivery, and the actual cost of any storage media or device, container and postage, or a flat fee of up to two dollars instead (RCW 42.56.120(1), (2)). You may ask for a summary of charges before copies are made, and an agency may require a deposit of up to 10 percent of the estimated cost (RCW 42.56.120(2)(f), (4)). Example, WSDOT: requests go through its Public Disclosure Request Center or by mail to WSDOT Public Records Office, PO Box 47410, Olympia, WA 98504-7410, (360) 705-7424. Example, Washington State Patrol: requests go through its online Public Records Center.

Police body camera and dashcam video

Body cam: parties get it; dashcam held

Body cameras: body worn camera recordings are exempt only to the extent nondisclosure is essential to protect a person’s right to privacy, and release is presumed highly offensive to the extent the video shows, among other things, areas of a medical facility where a patient is being treated or health care information, the interior of a home, an intimate image, a minor, the body of a deceased person, or the identity of or statements by a domestic violence or sexual assault victim or witness; those presumptions can be rebutted with specific evidence (RCW 42.56.240(14), (14)(a), (b)). Your request must name a person involved, give the incident or case number, give the date, time and location, or identify an officer involved (RCW 42.56.240(14)(d)). A person directly involved in the recorded incident, that person’s attorney, and a person or attorney seeking video relevant to a criminal case involving that person have the right to obtain the recording, subject to any exemption, and the agency may not charge them for redaction, though it may require them to identify themselves (RCW 42.56.240(14)(e)). Other requesters may be charged the reasonable cost of redaction, using the least costly commercially available method (RCW 42.56.240(14)(f)). Example, Washington State Patrol only: its Public Records Center says that since January 13, 2025 it charges $1.04 per minute of redaction time for body worn camera footage when applicable, and that a backlog means a body camera request may take about 10 to 12 months. Agencies must keep body camera recordings at least 60 days and may then destroy them under their records retention schedule (RCW 42.56.240(14)(j)); an agency that deploys body cameras must have written policies on their use (RCW 10.109.010). Patrol car (dashboard) cameras: “No sound or video recording made under this subsection (1)(c) may be duplicated and made available to the public by a law enforcement agency subject to this section until final disposition of any criminal or civil litigation which arises from the event or events which were recorded” (RCW 9.73.090(1)(c)). The Washington Supreme Court held in Fisher Broadcasting-Seattle TV LLC v. City of Seattle, No. 87271-6 (June 12, 2014), that this is a limited exception that “applies only where there is actual, pending litigation,” not a blanket exemption for any video that might become the subject of litigation, and noted that it does not bar release to all parties involved in that litigation and may not bar release under a court order. We found no Washington statute setting a minimum retention period for dashcam video, so request it within days.

When police can hold video back

Open, active cases; ends when closed

The Act exempts “specific intelligence information and specific investigative records compiled by investigative, law enforcement, and penology agencies,” but only where nondisclosure “is essential to effective law enforcement or for the protection of any person’s right to privacy” (RCW 42.56.240(1)). The Attorney General’s Open Government Resource Manual (2016 edition) summarizes the case law: the contents of an open, ongoing criminal investigation are generally exempt because premature disclosure could jeopardize it (Newman v. King County, 1997); because that categorical exemption applies only to open investigations, once an investigation is completed the available records must be produced unless another exemption applies (Sargent v. Seattle Police Department, 2013); and routine administrative reports that are not the result of a specific complaint or allegation are not investigative records under the exemption. Separate from the investigation exemption, patrol car video may be withheld until final disposition of criminal or civil litigation arising from the crash, but only while that litigation is actually pending (RCW 9.73.090(1)(c); Fisher Broadcasting v. City of Seattle, 2014). Exempt material must be deleted and the rest released (RCW 42.56.210(1)), and the denial must name the exemption and explain how it applies (RCW 42.56.210(3)). If video is withheld because an investigation is open or a case is pending, ask again when it closes, and say in your request that you want the video kept: an agency may not destroy a requested record until the request is resolved (RCW 42.56.100).

Do traffic cameras in Washington record?

WSDOT: not recorded or retained

WSDOT states: “We do not retain or record video footage of the roadway from our network of intersection and freeway cameras. Unfortunately, this means we cannot provide videos on specific dates or times for traffic collisions or other events.” The still images WSDOT does keep are still photos of the state highway system taken from an imagery collection van on a two-year cycle, not footage of crashes. If you still want to confirm whether any image of the crash exists, send a public records request to WSDOT’s Public Records Office (Public Disclosure Request Center, or PO Box 47410, Olympia, WA 98504-7410, (360) 705-7424); the agency must answer within five business days (RCW 42.56.520). WSDOT’s cameras are not the only public cameras: a city or county may run its own traffic cameras, so send that agency a request as well. We found no Washington statute setting how long any traffic camera video is kept.

Red-light and speed cameras

Local red-light and speed cameras

Red-light and speed cameras are authorized, locally. Any city or county may authorize automated traffic safety cameras by ordinance, after an analysis of proposed locations, and must post its camera policies and an annual report on its website; cameras may not be used on an on-ramp to a limited access facility (RCW 46.63.220(2), (3), (4), (6)). Red-light cameras are limited to intersections of two or more arterials with traffic signals whose yellow intervals meet state standards (RCW 46.63.230). Speed cameras may be used in hospital, public park and school speed zones, school walk zones, crash prevention zones, roadway work zones while workers are present, and state highways classified as city streets, plus one more camera per 10,000 population where the local legislative authority finds higher crash risk (RCW 46.63.250). Cameras may also enforce railroad grade crossing signals (RCW 46.63.240), and, in cities over 500,000 residents and in some transit settings, blocking-the-box, crosswalk, transit lane and bus stop violations, plus ferry queue violations (RCW 46.63.260). The cameras may record only the vehicle and its plate, only while an infraction is occurring, and may not show the faces of the driver or passengers (RCW 46.63.220(8)). The notice of infraction goes to the registered owner within 14 days, with a certificate based on the images, and the images must be available for inspection and as evidence in the proceeding on that infraction (RCW 46.63.220(9)). Otherwise the images and any personally identifying data “are not open to the public,” may not be used in court in a pending action unless it relates to the camera violation, and may not be kept longer than necessary to enforce it (RCW 46.63.220(11)). The fine may not exceed $145, adjusted for inflation every five years beginning January 1, 2029, but may be doubled in a school speed zone or crash prevention zone (RCW 46.63.220(16)). State highway work zones: WSDOT runs speed safety cameras, with the State Patrol reviewing violations, and the penalty is $125 for a first violation and $248 for each later one; the images are for the exclusive use of the State Patrol and WSDOT and are not open to the public (RCW 46.63.200(3), (5), (8)(c)); that section expires June 30, 2030. WSDOT says trailer-mounted work zone cameras began circulating among active work zones in spring 2025. School buses: a school district may use stop-arm cameras with board approval, and their images are likewise not open to the public (RCW 46.63.180(1)(d)). So if you were not the ticketed owner, the camera images of your crash are generally not available to you through a public records request.

If your request is denied

Agency review, then court within 1 year

Ask the agency first: every agency must have a procedure for the most prompt possible review of a denial, and that review is deemed complete at the end of the second business day after the denial, which is final agency action for judicial review (RCW 42.56.520(4)). The Attorney General’s Open Government Resource Manual explains that this means you may go to court two business days after the initial denial even if the internal review is not finished, and that you and the agency can agree to extend the time for its review; check the agency’s own rules. Attorney General review: if a state agency, such as the State Patrol or WSDOT, denies a record as exempt, you may ask the Attorney General to review it, and the Attorney General will give you a written opinion on whether the record is exempt (RCW 42.56.530). The manual says this review is nonbinding, is not required before going to court, does not cover delays or failures to respond, and is not available for local agencies, although the office may give local requesters information and technical assistance. Court: file in the superior court of the county where the record is kept (a suit against a county may also be filed in the superior court of either of the two nearest judicial districts, RCW 36.01.050); the agency bears the burden of proving the withholding is allowed by statute, the court decides de novo and may view the video privately, and you may also challenge an unreasonable time or cost estimate (RCW 42.56.550(1) to (3)). If you prevail you are awarded all costs, including reasonable attorney fees, and the court may award up to $100 for each day you were denied the record (RCW 42.56.550(4)); for body camera video withheld or released under the privacy presumptions, no fees or awards are available unless the agency acted in bad faith or with gross negligence (RCW 42.56.240(14)(c)). Deadline: you must file within one year of the agency’s claim of exemption or its last production of a record on a partial or installment basis (RCW 42.56.550(6)). You may want to ask a lawyer before filing suit.

What to do now

1. 1

   Send a public records request today

   Email or use the online portal of the police agency that responded. Ask for body camera and patrol car video, naming a person involved, the case number, or the date, time and location.

2. 2

   Say you were directly involved

   A person directly involved in the incident, or that person’s attorney, has a right to the body camera video and cannot be charged redaction costs. Agencies must keep it at least 60 days.

3. 3

   Skip WSDOT video, check local cameras

   WSDOT says it does not record its freeway and intersection cameras. Ask any city camera operator promptly, and post the crash on the bounty board for nearby dashcam and business footage.

4. 4

   Challenge a denial within one year

   Ask the agency to review it, ask the Attorney General if a state agency denied it, or file in superior court within one year of the denial.

Frequently asked questions