Washington Clean Buildings Tier 2 law, explained (2026)

Which laws make up the Clean Buildings law?

Three bills and one rule. All of it lives in chapter 19.27A of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), and Commerce, the state Department of Commerce, enforces it.

The Legislature's stated aim for Tier 2 was to extend benchmarking, energy management and maintenance planning to smaller commercial and multifamily buildings, which had no reporting rules before (2022 c 177, section 1).

Which buildings does the Tier 2 law cover?

A Tier 2 building is one where the multifamily, nonresidential, hotel, motel and dormitory floor area adds up to more than 20,000 and no more than 50,000 gross sq ft, not counting parking garages. Multifamily buildings of 50,000 sq ft or more are Tier 2 too (RCW 19.27A.200, subsection 26).

• Offices, retail, hotels, schools, medical offices and churches in the size range are covered.
• Apartment buildings over 20,000 sq ft are covered at any size. A multifamily building is one with sleeping units or more than five dwelling units, lived in mainly by permanent residents (RCW 19.27A.200(19)). More: Who files Tier 2 for apartment buildings?
• Gross floor area is measured to the outside of the walls and includes lobbies, restrooms, mechanical rooms and elevator shafts, but not outside bays or loading docks (RCW 19.27A.200(17)).

Commerce built its list of covered buildings from county assessor records (RCW 19.27A.210(3)) and notified owners of the Tier 2 rules (RCW 19.27A.250(2)). If the list has your building's size or use wrong, Annex Y, section Y2.1 lets you send Commerce a correction. Otherwise a listed building must file or apply for an exemption. Step-by-step size check with mixed-use examples: Does Tier 2 apply to my building?

Does the Tier 2 law apply to warehouses?

A warehouse is on the list if its floor area is in the Tier 2 range, but many qualify for an exemption. Under WAC 194-50-160 (Annex Y, section Y4.1), a Tier 2 building can be exempted if its gross floor area, minus unconditioned and semi-heated space as the Washington State Energy Code defines them, is under 20,000 sq ft. A warehouse that is mostly unheated storage often meets that test. Other exemptions:

• Manufacturing or industrial use of more than 50% of the floor area (building code groups F or H).
• Low occupancy: less than 50% of the conditioned floor area occupied for the 12 months before the deadline.
• No certificate of occupancy for 12 consecutive months in the two years before the deadline.
• Agricultural structures, buildings pending demolition, and financial hardship such as foreclosure, receivership or a tax lien sale listing.

An exemption isn't automatic. The owner applies on Commerce's Form H no earlier than two years before the deadline and no later than 180 days before it, about January 2, 2027 for the July 1, 2027 deadline. An exemption lasts one five-year cycle (Annex Y, Y4.1).

What does the Tier 2 law require owners to file?

Proof of three things, filed in Commerce's Clean Buildings Portal by July 1, 2027 and every five years after (RCW 19.27A.250(3) and (4); Annex Y, Y3.2):

1. Energy benchmarking: at least 12 consecutive months of whole-building energy use in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®, plus an energy use intensity target that a Qualified Energy Manager calculates.
2. An Energy Management Plan for tracking and cutting the building's energy use.
3. An Operations and Maintenance program, in place and running when you file.

Tier 2 buildings must calculate their energy target but don't have to meet it yet. Utilities must give owners whole-building energy data on request, without tenant consent (RCW 19.27A.170). Step by step: What Tier 2 owners must file by July 1, 2027.

What are the penalties under the Tier 2 law?

Up to $0.30 per square foot of gross floor area, per five-year compliance cycle. If an owner hasn't filed by the deadline, Commerce can send a notice of violation giving at least 30 days to file, apply for an exemption or extension, pay, or request a hearing. Owners who file in that window have the fine waived and may still apply for the incentive. Owners who don't are assessed the full $0.30 per sq ft and may lose the incentive (Annex Y, Y5.2 to Y5.4). The fine can't be passed on to tenants who cooperate (RCW 19.27A.250(1)(d)). Fines go to the state's low-income weatherization account. On a 30,000 sq ft building, that's up to $9,000. What to do if a notice arrives: Missed the Tier 2 deadline or got a notice of violation?

Can a Tier 2 building get an extension?

Yes, two years, if the owner applies between six months before and six months after July 1, 2027 and meets one of Commerce's reasons (Annex Y, exceptions to Y3.2):

• Events beyond the owner's control, such as a declared natural disaster or supply shortages
• A purchase in an arm's-length sale within 12 months before the deadline
• Financial hardship affecting cash flow
• Construction affecting at least 10% of the floor area that prevents 12 months of energy data

What incentive does the Tier 2 law offer?

$0.30 per gross square foot, not counting parking, unconditioned or semi-heated space, paid by a participating utility (RCW 19.27A.220, subsection 8(b)). The owner must file the full compliance package and an incentive application. Applications open July 1, 2025 and close June 1, 2030, and Commerce can't certify Tier 2 payments beyond $150 million in total (RCW 19.27A.230). Over $138 million was left as of September 24, 2026 (Commerce), and the fund pays in the order applications arrive. More: Is Tier 2 incentive money still available?

Will Tier 2 buildings have to meet an energy target later?

Yes, eventually. By July 1, 2029 Commerce must analyze Tier 2 benchmarking data, and by December 31, 2030 it must adopt performance standards for Tier 2 buildings. Those rules can't take effect before the end of the Legislature's 2031 regular session, and apartment buildings may get a longer timeline (RCW 19.27A.250(5)). The benchmark you file now is the data those targets will be built on.

How does Tier Two Partners handle the Tier 2 law for you?

We file everything the law requires, plus the incentive application, and you sign once at the end. We request your utility data, build the benchmark, Energy Management Plan and Operations and Maintenance program from your bills and service records, check whether an exemption fits better, have a Qualified Energy Manager review and sign, and submit in the Clean Buildings Portal. Our fee is $0.15 per eligible square foot for one building, down to $0.10 at 20 or more, with the Qualified Energy Manager included: no separate QEM fee. Every provider's fee, ours included, is owed whether or not the utility pays the incentive, because the fee pays for the filing itself.

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