Which buildings are covered
| Building type | Covered when |
|---|---|
| Nonresidential: office, retail, medical, school, church, industrial | More than 20,000 and up to 50,000 sq ft, excluding parking |
| Hotel, motel, dormitory | More than 20,000 and up to 50,000 sq ft, excluding parking |
| Multifamily residential | More than 20,000 sq ft, excluding parking, with no upper limit |
Coverage is determined per building and depends on how gross floor area, parking, unconditioned space and use are classified under the standard. The assessor's figure, the lease's figure and the figure the Washington State Department of Commerce will accept are frequently three different numbers. Owners regularly assume a building is exempt when it is covered, and the reverse. We determine coverage from the records the Department of Commerce relies on.
What must be filed
By July 1, 2027, and every five years thereafter, the owner must submit to the Department of Commerce, through the Clean Buildings Portal, documentation demonstrating:
- Benchmarking of the building's energy use in EPA ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, on at least twelve consecutive months of whole-building utility data;
- An Energy Management Plan, including the building's energy use intensity target calculated under WAC 194-50; and
- An Operations and Maintenance Program.
The plan and program must be prepared to the Department of Commerce's reporting-tool specifications, and the target and compliance forms must be prepared by a designated Qualified Energy Manager under WAC 194-50-030. Every owner of record must sign through a Secure Access Washington account. The Department of Commerce reviews submissions in the order received and returns deficient applications for correction; a returned application goes to the back of the queue.
Incentive now, penalty later
Here’s how the timing works. File a complete package and the State pays you for it, as long as the $150 million fund lasts. After July 1, 2027, an owner who has not filed is subject to administrative penalties that the Department of Commerce is authorized to assess under RCW 19.27A.250, assessed per square foot, and which the owner may not pass through to cooperating tenants. The incentive is first-come, first-served, so waiting risks both the penalty and an empty fund. Exemptions are limited to specific circumstances, must be supported by at least two documents, and must be filed with the Department of Commerce by January 1, 2027. Extensions can be requested only between January 1, 2027 and January 1, 2028, on listed grounds such as circumstances beyond the owner’s control, a change of ownership, financial restrictions or new construction, and last no more than two years.
What this means for an owner
The line at the Department of Commerce will keep growing as July 2027 gets closer. Owners who have a Qualified Energy Manager working on the building now will file while the fund still has money in it. That’s what we do.