Raw milk is legal in Washington retail stores from WSDA-licensed producers meeting Grade A standards. Cow shares are lawful where the producer is licensed.
Washington is one of a small number of states where raw milk sits on ordinary retail shelves. Licensed producers may sell through grocery and natural food stores as well as at the farm, and the state runs the sector as a licensed, tested Grade A category rather than an exception to be tolerated.
Yes. Chapter 15.36 RCW (Milk and Milk Products) governs milk in Washington, and all raw milk sold in the state must meet the requirements for Grade A milk. Producers hold a licence from the Washington State Department of Agriculture, with an annual fee that has been set at a nominal 25 dollars, making the barrier a matter of compliance rather than cost.
Grade A raw milk is defined in RCW 15.36.012 as raw milk produced on dairy farms conforming with all items of sanitation in the federal Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, in which the bacterial plate count does not exceed 20,000 per millilitre and the coliform count does not exceed 10 per millilitre. Producers are inspected and milk is sampled against those limits, and product must be labelled to identify it as raw.
Cow share agreements are lawful in Washington, with an important qualification: the producer must still be properly licensed with WSDA. The state's position is explicit that a cow share may not be used as a device to avoid the licensing requirements that apply to milk producers and processors. This is a meaningful contrast with states where herdshares exist precisely because licensed sale is unavailable. In Washington the share structure is an option alongside licensed retail, not a workaround for its absence.
Licensed raw milk is stocked by natural food stores, food cooperatives and some conventional grocers, with the densest availability around the Puget Sound region, and is also sold at the farm. Because sale is legal and licensed, producers advertise openly and are straightforward to find. WSDA publishes licensing information and consumer guidance on raw milk. For the federal framework, see the United States raw milk laws overview.
Official government documents and legal resources for Washington
Washington's governing dairy statute. RCW 15.36.012 defines Grade A raw milk by reference to the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, a bacterial plate count not exceeding 20,000 per millilitre and a coliform count not exceeding 10 per millilitre.
View Official Resource →WSDA guidance on raw milk sales in Washington, covering licensing, Grade A requirements, and the position that cow share agreements are lawful only where the producer holds the required licence.
View Official Resource →Search for raw milk sources near popular locations in Washington
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