WA SB5486

Motion picture theaters must provide fully operational closed captioning technology for all screenings of films produced with closed captioning, as required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act

Theater companies operating 5+ theaters in Washington must offer open captioning screenings for films with at least 5 scheduled screenings: minimum 2 open-captioned showings per week during the first two weeks of release, then at least 1 per week thereafter, during evening/weekend hours

Theater companies with 4 or fewer theaters must either provide open captioning within 8 days of a request or follow the same screening schedule as larger companies

Theaters must advertise open captioning screenings using the "OC" symbol, maintain compliance records for at least one year, and provide website contact information for captioning requests

Takes effect January 1, 2026 and is designated the "John Waldo Act"; drive-in theaters are exempt