The requirements of this chapter do not apply to:

Terms Used In Washington Code 18.165.020

  • Attorney-at-law: A person who is legally qualified and licensed to practice law, and to represent and act for clients in legal proceedings.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • person: may be construed to include the United States, this state, or any state or territory, or any public or private corporation or limited liability company, as well as an individual. See Washington Code 1.16.080
(1) A person who is employed exclusively or regularly by one employer and performs investigations solely in connection with the affairs of that employer, if the employer is not a private investigator agency;
(2) An officer or employee of the United States or of this state or a political subdivision thereof, while engaged in the performance of the officer’s official duties;
(3) A person engaged exclusively in the business of obtaining and furnishing information about the financial rating of persons;
(4) An attorney-at-law while performing the attorney’s duties as an attorney;
(5) A licensed collection agency or its employee, while acting within the scope of that person’s employment and making an investigation incidental to the business of the agency;
(6) Insurers, agents, and insurance brokers licensed by the state, while performing duties in connection with insurance transacted by them;
(7) A bank subject to the jurisdiction of the department of financial institutions or the comptroller of currency of the United States, or a savings and loan association subject to the jurisdiction of this state or the federal home loan bank board;
(8) A licensed insurance adjuster performing the adjuster’s duties within the scope of the adjuster’s license;
(9) A secured creditor engaged in the repossession of the creditor’s collateral, or a lessor engaged in the repossession of leased property in which it claims an interest;
(10) A person who is a forensic scientist, accident reconstructionist, or other person who performs similar functions and does not hold himself or herself out to be an investigator in any other capacity;
(11) A person solely engaged in the business of securing information about persons or property from public records; or
(12) A certified public accountant regulated under chapter 18.04 RCW or the employee of a certified public accountant performing duties within the scope of public accountancy.