Can I call the cops on my WA neighbors for sunbathing nude? Skinny-dipping?
When the sun’s out in Washington state, people are out and about too.
Although most folks prefer to recreate in tank tops, T-shirts, shorts and swimsuits, others choose to bare it all.
What happens if you spot your neighbor in their backyard in their birthday suit? Are you allowed to call the cops?
Here’s what Washington state law says:
Is being naked illegal in Washington state?
“There is no law against being naked,” the Seattle Police Department said in 2008. “However, there is a law against indecent exposure.”
You can be found guilty of indecent exposure in Washington state if you show off your body in an “open and obscene” way, “knowing that such conduct is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm,” the Revised Code of Washington says.
Indecent exposure typically involves “a person revealing his or her private parts in a public space,” according to the Law Offices of Morgan Fletcher Benfield in Tacoma.
Examples of public places include sidewalks, streets, shopping malls, amusement parks and businesses such as restaurants and bars, the Law Office of Kevin Trombold in Seattle said.
“The act of breastfeeding or expressing breast milk is not indecent exposure,” state law say.
Although Washington state doesn’t directly ban public nudity, several cities and counties have their own rules, McClatchy Media previously reported.
For example, you can be charged with “unlawful public exposure” in Pierce County if you’re caught revealing your anus, genitals or part of your breast.
Can my neighbor sunbathe nude on private property?
“Merely being naked in your backyard is not automatically illegal in Washington state,” the Law Office of Kevin Trombold in Seattle said.
In other words, you can’t necessarily call the cops on your neighbors for what they are — or aren’t wearing — on private property.
However, private property can be considered “public” under state law if “your nudity is easily visible to others,” the Law Office of Kevin Trombold said.
“The defining factor is not the land’s ownership, but the visibility and context of the exposure,” the Seattle law firm explained.
For instance, you could get in legal trouble if you’re “sunbathing nude on a deck directly adjacent to a neighbor’s window or a busy public sidewalk,” the law firm said, or “naked in a yard that is easily viewed from a nearby high-rise apartment building.”
Engaging in lewd behavior while naked, such as flashing or inappropriate touching, also goes beyond mere nudity.
“If your backyard is completely enclosed by a high fence, and you are genuinely out of sight, a charge is highly unlikely,” the Law Office of Kevin Trombold said. “The simple truth is that while nudity itself isn’t illegal, nudity meant to shock or arouse is against the law.”
Can my neighbor go skinny-dipping in their backyard?
Similar to sunbathing in the nude, swimming or soaking while naked is usually allowed on private property in Washington state.
The same rules about indecent exposure apply.
“Under state law, it is not a criminal law violation to merely be naked,” Thuong-Tri Nguyen, a family law attorney in Renton, said in 2020. “Someone must object to the nakedness, and the naked person must be doing something bad.
What are penalties for indecent exposure in Washington state?
In most cases, indecent exposure is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in county jail and a $1,000 fine, according to John T. Law in Bellevue.
Penalties are harsher for people convicted of exposing themselves to a child under 14 years old.
“This escalates the possible penalties to up to a year in jail and/or a fine of up to $5,000,” the Law Offices of Morgan Fletcher Benfield said.
People convicted of certain sex offenses could face felony charges, punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
McClatchy Media reporters Jared Gendron and Shaun Goodwin contributed to this story.
This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Can I call the cops on my WA neighbors for sunbathing nude? Skinny-dipping?."