Washington Code 20.01.030 – Exemptions

This chapter does not apply to:

Terms Used In Washington Code 20.01.030

Agricultural product: means any unprocessed horticultural, vermicultural and its by-products, viticultural, berry, poultry, poultry product, grain, bee, or other agricultural products. See Washington Code 20.01.010
Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
Dealer: means any person other than a cash buyer, as defined in subsection (4) of this section, who solicits, contracts for, or obtains from the consignor thereof for reselling or processing, title, possession, or control of any agricultural product, or who buys or agrees to buy any agricultural product from the consignor thereof for sale or processing and includes any person, other than one who acts solely as a producer, who retains title in an agricultural product and delivers it to a producer for further production or increase. See Washington Code 20.01.010
Licensee: means any person or business licensed under this chapter as a commission merchant, dealer, limited dealer, broker, cash buyer, or agent. See Washington Code 20.01.010
Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
Person: means any natural person, firm, partnership, exchange, association, trustee, receiver, corporation, and any member, officer, or employee thereof or assignee for the benefit of creditors. See Washington Code 20.01.010
Processor: means any person, firm, company, or other organization that purchases agricultural crops from a consignor and that cans, freezes, dries, dehydrates, cooks, presses, powders, or otherwise processes those crops in any manner whatsoever for eventual resale. See Washington Code 20.01.010
Producer: means any person engaged in the business of growing or producing any agricultural product, whether as the owner of the products, or producing the products for others holding the title thereof. See Washington Code 20.01.010
Retail merchant: means any person operating from a bona fide or established place of business selling agricultural products twelve months of each year. See Washington Code 20.01.010

(1) Any cooperative marketing associations or federations incorporated under, or whose articles of incorporation and bylaws are equivalent to, the requirements of chapter 23.86 RCW, except as to that portion of the activities of the association or federation that involve the handling or dealing in the agricultural products of nonmembers of the organization: PROVIDED, That the associations or federations may purchase up to fifteen percent of their gross from nonmembers for the purpose of filling orders: PROVIDED FURTHER, That if the cooperative or association acts as a processor as defined in RCW 20.01.500(2) and markets the processed agricultural crops on behalf of the grower or its own behalf, the association or federation is subject to the provisions of RCW 20.01.500 through 20.01.560 and the license provision of this chapter excluding bonding provisions: PROVIDED FURTHER, That none of the foregoing exemptions in this subsection apply to any such cooperative or federation dealing in or handling grain in any manner, and not licensed under the provisions of chapter 22.09 RCW;

(2) Any person who sells exclusively his or her own agricultural products as the producer thereof;

(3) Any public livestock market operating under a bond required by law or a bond required by the United States to secure the performance of the public livestock market’s obligation. However, any such market operating as a livestock dealer or order buyer, or both, is subject to all provisions of this chapter except for the payment of the license fee required in RCW 20.01.040;

(4) Any retail merchant having a bona fide fixed or permanent place of business in this state, but only for the retail merchant’s retail business conducted at such fixed or established place of business;

(5) Any person buying farm products for his or her own use or consumption;

(6) Any warehouse operator or grain dealer licensed under the state grain warehouse act, chapter 22.09 RCW, with respect to his or her handling of any agricultural product as defined under that chapter;

(7) Any nursery dealer who is required to be licensed under the horticultural laws of the state with respect to his or her operations as such licensee;

(8) Any person licensed under the now existing dairy laws of the state with respect to his or her operations as such licensee;

(9) Any producer who purchases less than fifteen percent of his or her volume to complete orders;

(10) Any person, association, or corporation regulated under chapter 67.16 RCW and the rules adopted thereunder while performing acts regulated by that chapter and the rules adopted thereunder;

(11) Any domestic winery, as defined in RCW 66.04.010, licensed under Title 66 RCW, with respect to its transactions involving agricultural products used by the domestic winery in making wine;

(12) Any person licensed as a cannabis producer or processor under RCW 69.50.325 with respect to the operations under such license. The definitions in RCW 69.50.101 apply to this subsection (12).