Washington legal term
Pen register in Washington Criminal Law
Current through 2026 Washington legislative session
In Washington criminal law, “Pen register” is a term defined by statute rather than by its everyday meaning. Its statutory definition — quoted verbatim below — controls how the term is applied throughout the Washington criminal code.
What does “Pen register” mean in Washington criminal law?
"Pen register" means a device that records or decodes electronic or other impulses that identify the numbers dialed or otherwise transmitted on the telephone line to which such device is attached, but such term does not include any device used by a provider or customer of a wire or electronic communication service for billing, or recording as an incident to billing, for communications services provided by such provider or any device used by a provider or customer of a wire communication service for cost accounting or other like purposes in the ordinary course of its business. (RCW 9.73.260)
Statutes defining or using this term
Related terms in the same statutes
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.