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Washington · Nursing

Washington State Board of Nursing (WABON)

Complaint instructions checked against the linked sources, with limitations and known conflicts. Confirm that the authority covers your concern.

Authority and scope

Check the professional and concern

WABON's current complaint page provides a route for complaints about a nurse or nursing assistant. Its licensing categories include RN, LPN, advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP), nursing technician and nursing assistant. Separate links address nursing education programs and nursing assistant training programs; choose the route matching the concern.

Supporting guidance: File a complaint

Submission

How the official source says to file

  • For a nurse or nursing assistant, follow the complaint page's link to the Department of Health's HELMS complaint portal.
  • Use the separately labeled education or assistant-training route for concerns about those programs.
  • Prepare a factual account identifying the people involved, witnesses and relevant records. The investigation page describes gathering witness information, facility investigation materials and policies, and may require a written statement from the complainant.

Supporting guidance: File a complaintInvestigation

Limits

What this route may not provide

The checked pages describe regulation, investigation and potential licensing action. This guide does not establish a refund, damages or compensation remedy through the Board.

Supporting guidance: Complaint processInvestigation

Anonymity

Do not guess about confidentiality

The checked pages do not establish a general anonymous-filing option. The investigation page describes legal identity protections for some qualifying whistleblowers, but also situations in which consent to disclosure is needed to proceed. Do not assume that every complainant receives the same protection.

Supporting guidance: Investigation

Complaint timing

Ask promptly; published processing estimates are not filing deadlines.

This guide does not establish a deadline for filing a nursing complaint. Ask the Board promptly about the rules that apply to your situation. The Board describes typical stages, while warning that individual complaints can take much longer.

Supporting guidance: Complaint process

Process

What may happen after filing

An intake panel assesses jurisdiction, a possible nursing-law violation and sufficient information for investigation. Investigators gather facts rather than decide discipline. Board and legal review may lead to closure, remediation, restrictions or other discipline; unresolved matters may proceed to hearing. A closure notice can explain a one-time reconsideration opportunity based on additional relevant evidence.

Supporting guidance: File a complaintIntake and assessmentInvestigationComplaint process

Evidence

Prepare a reviewable submission

State the concern you want reviewed, then add a short chronology, best supporting records, factual consequences, and a specific request for review.

Read the linked authority and process information ↗

Sources and scope

Some agency-linked forms and destinations could not be read. Source-check dates apply to the material listed below; they do not establish that every linked portal was inspected or a complaint submitted.

File a complaint

Current nurse/nursing assistant portal and separate program routes; retrieved public agency HTML.

Source checked: September 19, 2026

Investigation

Evidence, notices, whistleblower limitations and potential dispositions.

Source checked: September 19, 2026

Source check: September 19, 2026. This records a review of the linked material, not a decision about your case. No clinical or legal reviewer is identified for this guide. Confirm current instructions with the receiving authority.

A state authority is one checkpoint—not the entire accountability system.

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