Hooray! Once again, our tireless HLAA-WA members and fellow advocates have scored a big win!
As of January 1, 2026, movie theaters in Washington State must provide open captions for some of their movie showings, thanks to a new law signed by Governor Bob Ferguson, ESSB 5486. The bill was named the John Waldo Act to honor attorney and hearing loss advocate John Waldo, who passed in 2023. You can watch the bill being signed into law at about 12:14 in this video.
Open captioning is a boon for moviegoers who are deaf and hard of hearing. It makes it possible for us to understand dialogue (and some other sounds) without any extra gear. No display screens on sticks that sit in cupholders, no special glasses that show captions on their lenses, and so on. In short, the captions appear directly on the movie screen just as they do on a TV or on a smart phone, without any need for a special streaming gadget that may or may not be available, charged, sanitary, or working.
An extra goodie is that captions also help people who don’t have any hearing limitations, such as non-native speakers of English, children learning to read, and people (like me) whose brains just don’t process audible information as well. It’s also been said that captions help everyone understand and retain information better.
The law: What are the new rules about movie captions?
A movie theater that offers movies to the general public must show some movies with open captions each week. The new law recognizes that our state has many different kinds of movie theaters with different rules for large theater companies with multiple theaters.
Theater companies that run five or more theaters that show at least five screenings of a movie in a specific theater have to offer two shows with open captions during the first two weeks of the movie run. At least one of these two shows must be during peak hours. After the first two weeks, the theater has to offer at least one open caption showing during peak hours. Peak hours are considered Friday from 6 – 11 pm, or Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 am to 11 pm.
Smaller theaters — those with four or fewer theaters in Washington State — have a choice. They can respond to open-caption requests within eight days and provide an open caption screening. Alternatively, they can follow the same guidelines that apply to larger companies.
There are some limitations. In Washington State, theaters must show movies with open captions if they are in the business of showing movies to the general public. Private screening facilities (for example, a workplace) are not required to show movies with open captions. In addition, movies that are produced and distributed without open captions are not included in this count.
How will people know when open-caption shows are planned?
Movie theaters have to advertise the dates and times of the open-captioned shows in the same manner as they advertise all other shows. The advertisements must say which shows include open captions. The theater must also advertise a means of contacting them for requests.
Shows that offer open captions follow a standard by adding the letters OC after the listing.
Do theaters still offer individual captioning devices?
Yes.
The federal Americans with Disabilities Act rules require movie theaters to provide captioning devices for movie showings that are distributed with captioning.
Thank you to our friends, allies, and advocates
We owe thanks to so many people who helped make this happen: Senator Tina Orwall, Governor Bob Ferguson, Senior Lobby President Walt Bowen, Michelle Davis, Cynthia Stewart, Karen Atwood, Aaron Wheeler from Senator Orwall’s Office, Senator Manka Dhingra, Melissa Greenlee at DeafFriendly, and everyone who called, wrote, and testified — and who ultimately voted! — in favor of the bill. You were able to get a complex bill passed with bipartisan support during a VERY busy legislative session. Kudos and much gratitude.
About the Author
Becky Montgomery writes about living with hearing loss from a very personal place – she has progressive hearing loss. She managed with hearing aids for 20-odd years but now wears bilateral cochlear implants. “When you gain a disability as an adult, it opens up whole new ways of thinking about how we do what we do; it’s a great spark for creativity. How do people who can’t see or hear experience the world differently? How can we learn from each other, and learn how to help each other?”
Becky is now retired and works hard at catching up on her reading and movie watching. In the past, she worked at Microsoft, where she was deeply involved in the company’s Employee Resource Group for Disability. For pay, she also helped to make programs like Word more accessible for people who can’t see.