Program message preamble.
RCW 19.162.030
in effect(1) An information provider that does business in Washington must include a preamble in all program messages for: (a) Programs costing more than five dollars per minute; or (b) Programs having a total potential cost of greater than ten dollars. (2) The preamble must: (a) Accurately describe the service that will be provided by the program; (b) Advise the caller of the price of the call, including: (i) Any per minute charge; (ii) Any flat rate charge; and (iii) Any minimum charge; (c) State that billing will begin shortly after the end of the introductory message; and (d) Be clearly articulated, at a volume equal to that of the program message, in plain English or the language used to promote the information delivery service, and spoken in a normal cadence. (3) Mechanisms that provide for the option of bypassing the preamble are only permitted when: (a) The caller has made use of the information provider's service in the past, at which time the preamble required by this section was part of the program message; and (b) The cost of the call has not changed during the thirty-day period before the call. (4) When an information provider's program message consists of a polling application that permits the caller to register an opinion or vote on a matter by completing a call, this section does not apply.
(1) An information provider that does business in Washington must include a preamble in all program messages for:
(a) Programs costing more than five dollars per minute; or
(b) Programs having a total potential cost of greater than ten dollars.
(2) The preamble must:
(a) Accurately describe the service that will be provided by the program;
(b) Advise the caller of the price of the call, including:
(i) Any per minute charge;
(ii) Any flat rate charge; and
(iii) Any minimum charge;
(c) State that billing will begin shortly after the end of the introductory message; and
(d) Be clearly articulated, at a volume equal to that of the program message, in plain English or the language used to promote the information delivery service, and spoken in a normal cadence.
(3) Mechanisms that provide for the option of bypassing the preamble are only permitted when:
(a) The caller has made use of the information provider's service in the past, at which time the preamble required by this section was part of the program message; and
(b) The cost of the call has not changed during the thirty-day period before the call.
(4) When an information provider's program message consists of a polling application that permits the caller to register an opinion or vote on a matter by completing a call, this section does not apply.
Source: WA Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.162&full=trueFetched: 6/29/2026