Washington State HOA Meeting Rules in 2026 (WUCIOA / RCW 64.90.445): Open Meetings, Notice & Minutes

Updated July 18, 2026.

This guide is general information for volunteer board members, not legal advice. Statute references are to the Revised Code of Washington (RCW); always read the current text and your association's governing documents, and consult an attorney for specific situations.

Washington used to be unusual: two different statutes governed HOA meetings depending on when your community was created — the Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW 64.38) for older associations, and the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act — WUCIOA (RCW 64.90) for communities created on or after July 1, 2018. That era is over. Effective January 1, 2026, ESSB 5129 (ch. 119, Laws of 2025) extended WUCIOA's meeting statute — RCW 64.90.445 — to every Washington association regardless of age, and the old HOA Act meeting section (former RCW 64.38.035) was repealed. The rest of RCW 64.38 sunsets on January 1, 2028. Step one for any Washington board today is simpler than it used to be: one statute governs your meetings — RCW 64.90.445 — read alongside your own bylaws, which may add stricter procedures.

Board meetings are open to owners

Under RCW 64.90.445(2)(a), all board and committee meetings must be open to unit owners, except during executive sessions. The chair may expel someone who keeps disrupting the meeting after a warning — but openness is the default, not a courtesy. The statute also closes the classic loophole: board members "may not use incidental or social gatherings to evade the open meeting requirements" (RCW 64.90.445(2)(c)). A "workshop," "study session," or group text where a quorum of directors hashes out association business is still a board meeting in substance — treat it like one.

Owners now get a voice, not just a view. The board must provide at least 15 minutes at the beginning of each board meeting for owner comment on agenda items before the board votes, with at least 90 seconds per owner per unit (RCW 64.90.445(2)(e)). And if materials were distributed to the board before the meeting, copies must be made reasonably available to owners — except unapproved minutes and materials for executive session (RCW 64.90.445(2)(g)).

Executive (closed) session: keep it narrow, vote in the open

The board may hold an executive session only during a regular or special board meeting, and only for the five purposes listed in RCW 64.90.445(2)(b):

1. Consulting the association's attorney on legal matters;
2. Existing or potential litigation, mediation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings;
3. Labor or personnel matters;
4. Contracts, leases, and other commercial transactions being negotiated, where premature disclosure would put the association at a disadvantage; and
5. Matters where public knowledge would violate a person's privacy — the prong that typically covers individual owner delinquencies and alleged violations.

A final vote or action may never be taken in executive session (RCW 64.90.445(2)(a)). Any binding vote happens back in open session, and the minutes reflect it.

One change worth knowing: until January 1, 2026, former RCW 64.38.035 required the motion to convene in closed session to "state specifically the purpose," with the motion and purpose recorded in the minutes. That statute has been repealed, and RCW 64.90.445 contains no equivalent requirement. Announcing the purpose when the board convenes is still the best practice — it is how the board documents that the session fit one of the five permitted categories, and many bylaws still require it — but the obligation now comes from good governance and your governing documents, not the RCW.

Keep the closed-door discussion out of the open minutes — see our guide to executive session minutes for how to document it properly.

Minutes: required, and owners can examine them

Minutes of all board and unit owner meetings — excluding executive sessions — must be maintained, and the decision on each matter voted on must be recorded (RCW 64.90.445(4)). Record the motion wording, who moved and seconded, and the vote result — if it isn't in the minutes, it's hard to prove it happened. Minutes are association records available for owner examination: under RCW 64.90.495 for WUCIOA communities, and under RCW 64.38.045 — one of the old HOA Act provisions still standing until January 1, 2028 — for pre-2018 associations. Start from what to include in HOA minutes or grab the free minutes template.

Member meeting notice: 14 to 50 days

For meetings of the association (like the annual meeting), notice must go to every owner not less than 14 and not more than 50 days before the meeting (RCW 64.90.445(1)(c)) — note the ceiling is now 50 days, not the 60 the old HOA Act allowed. Notice may be delivered by any method authorized under RCW 64.90.515, including electronic delivery. State the time, date, and place, plus the items on the agenda — including the text of any proposed amendment to the declaration or organizational documents, and any proposal to remove a board member.

Board meetings have their own rule: 14 days' notice stating the time, date, place, and agenda — unless the meeting appears on a schedule already given to owners. For events that genuinely could not have been foreseen, at least seven days' notice by electronic means is allowed (RCW 64.90.445(2)(f)). And meetings may now be held remotely — even if your governing documents never contemplated it — so long as the notice explains how to join, everyone can hear and comment, votes are taken by roll call or verbally, and anyone entitled to participate can do so by telephone (RCW 64.90.445(3)).

Our annual meeting guide covers the full run-of-show, and the free agenda template keeps the meeting itself on the rails.

Budgets get their own ratification ritual — for every association

Budget ratification under RCW 64.90.525 applies to all Washington associations — it has reached even pre-2018 communities since WUCIOA took effect in 2018, so this was never just a "new HOA" rule. Within 30 days after the board adopts a budget, it must provide a copy to every owner and set a ratification meeting not less than 14 nor more than 50 days after providing it. The budget is ratified unless owners holding a majority of the votes in the association (or a larger share, if your declaration says so) affirmatively reject it — whether or not a quorum shows up. If your board treats the budget like any other motion, review the procedure with counsel before the next budget cycle.

Quick compliance checklist for Washington boards

1. One statute now: as of January 1, 2026, RCW 64.90.445 governs meetings for every Washington association. Your bylaws may add stricter procedures — follow both.
2. Open every board and committee meeting to owner observation; no association business in "workshops," social gatherings, or group texts.
3. Give owners at least 15 minutes of comment time at the start of each board meeting, before any votes.
4. Executive session: only during a board meeting, only for the five listed purposes, no final votes behind closed doors — and state the purpose in the motion anyway. It's no longer a statutory command, but it remains best practice and many bylaws still require it.
5. Keep minutes of every meeting (except the executive-session discussion itself), record each decision voted on, and make minutes available to owners.
6. Member meetings: notice 14–50 days ahead, stating time, date, place, and agenda. Board meetings: 14 days' notice or a published schedule.
7. Budgets: adopt, provide to owners within 30 days, ratification meeting 14–50 days after that — rejected only by a majority of all votes in the association.

Minutes that hold up, without the homework

HOA Board Minutes is a completely free tool that keeps Washington boards on script — noticed agenda, motions and votes recorded in open session, executive session documented properly, and approved minutes exported to PDF or Word for the association record. Create a free account and run your next meeting by the book.

Primary sources: RCW 64.90.445 (meetings), RCW 64.90.515 (notice delivery), RCW 64.90.525 (budget ratification), RCW 64.90.495 and RCW 64.38.045 (records examination), and ESSB 5129, ch. 119, Laws of 2025, available at app.leg.wa.gov.