Free Washington 14-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit

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The 14-day notice to pay rent or vacate is the notice a Washington landlord must serve before filing an unlawful detainer for nonpayment of rent. RCW 59.18.057 gives the tenant 14 days to pay in full or vacate and requires the notice to follow a mandatory statutory form that includes specific resource statements. Generate a compliant notice below.

14-Day Notice RCW 59.18.057 Statutory Form Free PDF

A Washington 14-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate is the statutorily-required written notice a landlord must serve before filing an unlawful detainer (eviction) for nonpayment of rent. It is governed by RCW 59.18.057, which sets a 14-day period and a mandatory statutory form, with service rules at RCW 59.12.040 and the definition of recoverable rent at RCW 59.18.030. In 2019, Senate Bill 5600 replaced Washington’s old 3-day period with the current 14 days and added the required resource statements. The form below produces a notice that follows the RCW 59.18.057 statutory form; our Washington eviction notice laws guide covers the full process, and the Washington landlord-tenant laws hub covers the wider statute.

The 14-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate is the statutorily-required written notice a Washington landlord must serve on a tenant who has failed to pay rent when due. It is the procedural prerequisite to filing an unlawful detainer action under Washington’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. Without a properly-drafted, properly-served 14-day notice, no Washington court will move forward with an eviction for nonpayment of rent.

The notice does three things in one document. First, it demands the past-due rent. Under RCW 59.18.030(29), rent means the recurring and periodic charges identified in the rental agreement for use and occupancy, which may include utilities – and it expressly does not include nonrecurring charges for late payment, damages, deposits, legal costs, or other fees. The demand must be for rent only. A notice that folds in late fees, a deposit shortfall, or damage charges is defective and can sink the entire unlawful detainer.

Second, it gives the tenant a 14-day cure period. The tenant has 14 days after service to either pay the full amount of rent demanded or vacate the property. Mail-based service adds 5 days under RCW 59.12.040. The notice is the statutory cure opportunity; if the tenant pays in full within the period, the default is cured and the tenancy continues. Payment must be made under the rental agreement’s terms or by nonelectronic certified funds, such as a cashier’s check, money order, or other certified funds.

Third, it delivers the statutory-form language and resource statements. RCW 59.18.057 requires the 14-day notice to be in substantially the statutory form. That form is not optional boilerplate – it must state the reason for the notice, the certified-funds payment note, the consequence that failure to comply within 14 days may lead to eviction, and a block of resource statements pointing the tenant to Attorney General rental assistance, the right to counsel, the Eviction Defense Screening Line, 2-1-1, dispute-resolution centers, and interpreter services. A notice that omits the required statutory-form content can be found defective, and the form on this page carries all of it.

The 14-day pay-or-vacate notice sits inside a layered statutory framework. The core statute is RCW 59.18.057, which requires a landlord who alleges nonpayment to serve a 14-day notice to pay or vacate in substantially the statutory form before commencing an unlawful detainer. This is the section the 2019 Legislature rewrote in Senate Bill 5600, moving Washington from a 3-day to a 14-day period and adding the mandatory resource statements.

The definition of rent is at RCW 59.18.030(29). Rent means recurring and periodic charges identified in the rental agreement for use and occupancy of the premises, which may include utilities, and it does not include nonrecurring charges for costs incurred due to late payment, damages, deposits, legal costs, or other fees including attorneys’ fees. This definition is what makes a rent-only demand mandatory – the 14-day notice is a rent instrument, not a catch-all collection letter.

Service rules are at RCW 59.12.040, which authorizes three statutory methods: personal delivery to the tenant; leaving a copy with a person of suitable age and discretion at the residence and sending a copy by mail; or posting a copy in a conspicuous place on the premises, delivering a copy to a person residing there if one can be found, and mailing a copy. When service is by mail, five additional days must pass before an action can be commenced. Email, text message, and social media are not statutory service methods.

Tenant reinstatement is at RCW 59.18.410. Even after a nonpayment judgment, a Washington tenant may reinstate the tenancy by paying the rent due, court costs, late fees not exceeding $75 in total, and any awarded attorneys’ fees, generally within five court days after judgment. A court may also stay the writ of restitution and set a repayment plan – commonly one month’s rent within five court days and the balance over a defined period. For rent that accrued during certain periods, RCW 59.18.410 also requires the landlord to offer a reasonable repayment schedule before proceeding, generally not exceeding monthly payments equal to one-third of the monthly rent over the debt period, with the tenant having 14 days to accept.

The unlawful detainer process follows the notice. Once the 14-day period (plus any mail extension) expires without payment, the landlord files an unlawful detainer and serves a summons and complaint under RCW 59.18.365. The summons sets a written-response deadline, and the case proceeds to a show-cause hearing where the court decides whether to issue a writ of restitution directing the sheriff to restore possession. One operational rule binds all of this together: the notice must match the statute. Defects that might be excused elsewhere – the wrong form language, an overstated amount, ambiguous service – void the notice and restart the clock.

What sets Washington apart from many states is that the 14-day notice is not free-form. RCW 59.18.057 says the notice must be in substantially the statutory form, and the statute writes out the required content. A landlord who drafts a bare “you owe rent, pay in 14 days” notice – even with the right dollar amount and the right 14-day count – can still have the notice found defective for omitting the mandated language. The generator on this page reproduces the statutory-form content so the notice carries what RCW 59.18.057 requires.

The reason statement

The statutory form opens by telling the tenant why the notice was issued: that the landlord alleges the tenant is not in compliance with the rental agreement by failing to pay rent and/or utilities and/or recurring or periodic charges that are past due. This frames the notice as a rent instrument and ties it to the RCW 59.18.030(29) definition of rent.

The certified-funds payment note

The form includes a note that payment must be made pursuant to the terms of the rental agreement or by nonelectronic means including, but not limited to, a cashier’s check, money order, or other certified funds. This protects the tenant’s cure right – a landlord cannot defeat a timely cure by refusing a form of certified payment the statute expressly allows.

The 14-day consequence statement

The form states that any failure to comply with the notice within 14 days after service may result in a judicial proceeding that leads to eviction from the premises. This is the plain-language warning the statute requires, and it tells an ordinary tenant exactly what is at stake and how long they have.

The required resource statements

This is the block most often left off homemade notices, and its absence is a frequent defect. RCW 59.18.057 requires the notice to direct the tenant to specific help:

• Rental assistance – information on available programs through the Washington State Attorney General at www.atg.wa.gov/landlord-tenant.
• Right to counsel – a statement that state law provides the right to legal representation and that the court may be able to appoint a lawyer to represent the tenant without cost.
• Eviction Defense Screening Line – the statewide number 855-657-8387, along with 2-1-1 for additional resources.
• Dispute resolution – a reference to the dispute-resolution centers throughout the state at resolutionwa.org.
• Interpreter services – a statement that state law provides the right to receive interpreter services at court.

The Washington Attorney General publishes a plain-language version of the 14-day notice that carries this language, and courts expect the served notice to substantially track it. The form on this page includes each of these statements in the generated PDF so the notice does not fail for missing the mandated resource block.

The 14-day period under RCW 59.18.057 is counted in calendar days, not business days. Unlike the old 3-day rule and unlike some other states’ short notices, weekends and holidays are counted – the length of the period (14 days) already builds in the cushion that a shorter, business-day count would need.

The count starts the day after service. The day the notice is served is not counted; day one is the next day. The tenant must pay in full or vacate by the end of the 14th day. If the 14th day falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline generally rolls to the next day the court and offices are open, so it is safest to treat any deadline that lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday as extending to the next business day.

Worked example. A 14-day notice personally served on the 1st of a month starts the count on the 2nd and ends at the close of the 15th. The tenant must pay in full or vacate by the end of the 15th.

Worked example with mail service. A 14-day notice served by the leave-and-mail or post-and-mail method adds 5 days under RCW 59.12.040, so a mailed notice deposited on the 1st effectively gives the tenant 19 days before an action can be commenced. Many Washington landlord-tenant attorneys recommend adding a few days of cushion beyond the statutory minimum, because a notice that gives more time than required works in the tenant’s favor and creates no procedural defect, while a notice that is even one day short can be thrown out. The extra days also protect against any miscount – the single most common reason a correctly-drafted notice is later dismissed.

Do not file early. The unlawful detainer cannot be filed until the full 14 days (plus any 5-day mail extension) have expired without payment. Filing on the 14th day, or filing a mailed notice without the 5-day add-on, defeats the action. Wait until the day after the deadline to file.

Complete the form below to generate a Washington 14-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate that follows the RCW 59.18.057 statutory form. The form computes the deadline date, includes the certified-funds payment note and the 14-day consequence statement, and prints the required resource statements. Serve in accordance with RCW 59.12.040. If served by mail, the 5-day extension applies before an action can be commenced.

RCW 59.12.040 authorizes three methods of service for a 14-day pay-or-vacate notice. Email, text message, social media, and verbal notification are not statutory methods and do not satisfy the rule. When service is by mail, five additional days must pass before an action can be commenced.

Proof or declaration of service

A declaration or proof of service must be completed by the person who served the notice. The declaration states the date, time, location, method, and recipient (or the person a copy was left with) of service. The signed original is filed with the unlawful detainer complaint as an exhibit. Because the notice is the foundation of the action, a well-documented proof of service is as important as the notice itself.

Documentation retention

Retain the signed original notice, the proof of service, and any photographs of posting. If the unlawful detainer is filed, the notice and proof become court exhibits. If the tenant pays within the period, the documentation supports the cure record and closes the file cleanly.

Because the 14-day notice is a rent instrument, the single most consequential drafting decision is what goes into the demand. RCW 59.18.030(29) draws a hard line: rent is the recurring and periodic charges named in the rental agreement for use and occupancy, and it may include utilities where the lease treats them as rent. It is not late-payment charges, damages, deposits, legal costs, or other fees, including attorneys’ fees.

A demand that overstates the amount by bundling in a late fee or a damage charge is a defect that can void the notice. Pursue non-rent charges separately – through a damages claim, the deposit accounting, or the money judgment in the unlawful detainer where allowed – never through the 14-day pay-or-vacate demand itself. The form on this page labels the amount field “rent only” for exactly this reason.

Washington gives a nonpayment tenant meaningful chances to keep the tenancy even after the 14-day notice expires, which is another reason the notice has to be clean – the entire chain rests on it.

Reinstatement after judgment. Under RCW 59.18.410, a tenant may reinstate the tenancy by paying, generally within five court days after judgment, the rent due, court costs incurred, late fees not exceeding $75 in total, and any awarded attorneys’ fees. If the tenant pays that amount, the tenancy is restored and the writ does not issue.

Court-set repayment plans. A court may stay the writ of restitution and order a repayment plan instead of immediate removal. A common structure requires one month’s rent within five court days of the order, with the balance paid over a defined period. If the tenant defaults on a court-ordered payment, the landlord may seek to enforce the writ, typically after a short additional notice.

Repayment-plan offers for accrued debt. For rent that accrued during certain periods, RCW 59.18.410 requires the landlord to offer the tenant a reasonable repayment schedule before proceeding with an unlawful detainer for that debt, generally not exceeding monthly payments equal to one-third of the monthly rent over the debt period. The tenant has 14 days to accept; if the tenant does not accept, the landlord may proceed. Because these repayment rules have shifted with legislation and emergency measures over time, verify the current statute and any local ordinance before relying on a specific schedule.

The 14-day notice is step one. If the tenant does not pay or vacate within the period, the eviction moves to court.

Summons and complaint. After the period expires, the landlord files an unlawful detainer complaint and serves the tenant with a summons under RCW 59.18.365. The summons states the parties, the court, the nature of the action, and a written-response deadline by which the tenant must respond in writing to avoid a default. The summons must be served by an authorized method, and a mailed response must generally be sent a set number of days before the deadline.

Show-cause hearing. Washington unlawful detainer cases typically proceed to a show-cause hearing, where both sides appear and the court decides whether the landlord is entitled to a writ of restitution or whether there are disputed issues requiring a trial. This is where a defective 14-day notice surfaces – if the notice omitted the statutory-form language, overstated the demand, or was served improperly, the tenant can raise it and the court can dismiss.

Writ of restitution. If the landlord prevails, the court issues a writ of restitution directing the sheriff to restore possession to the landlord. Only the sheriff may physically remove a tenant; self-help lockouts, utility shutoffs, and removing belongings are illegal in Washington and expose the landlord to damages. Even at this stage, the tenant may retain reinstatement rights under RCW 59.18.410. Our Washington eviction notice laws guide walks through the full court sequence.

• Overstating the amount demanded. Including late fees, deposits, damage charges, or legal costs in the demand voids the notice. RCW 59.18.030(29) limits the demand to rent – recurring periodic charges only.
• Omitting the RCW 59.18.057 statutory-form language. A bare “pay in 14 days” notice that leaves off the reason statement, the certified-funds note, the consequence statement, or the required resource statements can be found defective.
• Miscounting the 14-day period. The 14 days run in calendar days from the day after service. Filing before the period expires – or before the mail extension expires – defeats the action.
• Forgetting the 5-day mail extension. Leave-and-mail and post-and-mail add 5 days under RCW 59.12.040 before an action can be commenced. Filing without the add-on gets the unlawful detainer dismissed for filing too early.
• Using a non-statutory service method. Email, text, and social media do not satisfy RCW 59.12.040. Only personal delivery, leave-and-mail, or post-and-mail qualify.
• Refusing a certified-funds cure. The statutory form promises the tenant may pay by certified funds. Refusing a timely, full certified payment undermines the notice and the action.
• Skipping a required repayment-plan offer. Where RCW 59.18.410 requires a repayment offer for accrued debt, proceeding without one can defeat the action.
• Self-help removal. Changing locks, shutting off utilities, or removing belongings is illegal in Washington. Only a sheriff acting on a writ of restitution may remove a tenant.

Washington tenants served with a 14-day pay-or-vacate notice have significant statutory rights. Understanding them helps landlords see why procedural precision matters.

Right to cure by paying in full. If the tenant pays the full amount of rent demanded within the 14 days (plus mail extension if applicable), the default is cured and the tenancy continues; the landlord cannot refuse a timely full payment made by the rental agreement’s terms or by certified funds. Right to challenge an overstated demand. If the demand includes late fees, deposits, damages, or legal costs, the tenant can defend on the basis that the notice was defective under RCW 59.18.030(29).

Right to the statutory-form resources. The RCW 59.18.057 form tells the tenant about rental assistance, the right to counsel, the Eviction Defense Screening Line, 2-1-1, dispute-resolution centers, and interpreter services. A tenant who did not receive these statements has a basis to challenge the notice. Right to reinstate. Under RCW 59.18.410, the tenant can reinstate even after judgment by paying the rent due, court costs, late fees up to $75, and awarded attorneys’ fees within five court days, or through a court-ordered repayment plan.

Right to a court process. A Washington landlord cannot remove a tenant without a court judgment and a sheriff-served writ of restitution. Self-help is illegal and gives the tenant damages. Right to anti-retaliation protection. Washington law prohibits retaliatory action against a tenant for asserting rights or reporting conditions, so a notice issued in response to a habitability complaint or code-enforcement contact can give the tenant a defense.

Right to fair-housing protection. The federal Fair Housing Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination prohibit eviction decisions based on protected characteristics, including source of income in Washington. Several Washington cities, including Seattle, add local just-cause and notice protections on top of state law, so verify local ordinances for the specific city before serving.

Several Washington cities, including Seattle, layer local just-cause and notice requirements on top of state law. Always verify local ordinances before serving, and see our guide to Washington eviction procedure for the full process.

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