Per RCW 42.56.070(8), the PRA prohibits the disclosure of “lists of individuals” for a commercial purpose. The first thing to note is that the prohibition only applies to lists of individuals and does not apply to lists of businesses or information about individuals where requestors could create their own list. However, if the information is in an electronic record, such as an Excel spreadsheet, that can be sorted to display lists of individuals, the prohibition applies. See AGO 2019 No. 3.
The second thing to note is that a commercial purpose is defined as a business activity by any form of business enterprise intended to generate revenue or financial benefit. See SEIU Healthcare 775NW v. DSHS/Freedom Foundation (2016). If the requestor does not intend to use the list for commercial purposes, the prohibition doesn’t apply.
The third thing to note is that it is not sufficient for the requestor to merely sign a declaration promising not to use the list for a commercial purpose. Rather, if the agency has a reasonable belief the individual will use the list for commercial purposes, the agency has an affirmative obligation to investigate how the requestor intends to use the list.
Here is a sample affidavit template that goes into greater detail. The template is a sample only, and may need to be adjusted by particular agencies or given the nature of particular records requests.