Key numbers
What the state’s records show
Washington requires anyone who practices hypnotherapy for a fee to be registered with the Department of Health, unless an exemption applies. The department publishes its credential records as open data, updated daily. That data holds 3,456 hypnotherapist registration records, the oldest first issued in 1987.
On November 13, 2026, 593 of those registrations were active. Most of the rest had lapsed: 2,784 are expired, which in the department’s terms means the holder did not renew and cannot practice while expired. The others are 20 pending applications, 40 closed applications, and registrations that were revoked (7), denied (6), suspended (4) or surrendered (2).
About 90 new registrations a year were first issued from 2016 to 2025, 901 in all. Many are not renewed. Of the 447 first issued from 2016 to 2020, 102 (23%) are active today. Of the 159 first issued in 2024 and 2025, 94 (59%) are. The data does not say why a registration lapsed. Few records (26 of 3,456) carry an enforcement action flag. Registrations that have since expired ran a median of 3.5 years from first issue to their final expiration date.
Among the 593 active registrations, the median was first issued 7.2 years ago. Of these, 68 were first issued in the past year and 78 more than 20 years ago, and 539 (91%) have been renewed at least once.
- Still active on November 13, 2026
- No longer active (expired, revoked, suspended, surrendered or denied)
On small screens the chart shows 2006 to 2026. The table has every year from 1987.
*2026 counts run to November 13, 2026. Source: Washington State Department of Health, Health Care Provider Credential Data (data.wa.gov), records with credential type “Hypnotherapist Registration”. Hover or tap a column for its numbers.
Show the table behind the chart (40 rows)
| Year first issued | First issued | Still active | No longer active | Share still active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 63 | 2 | 61 | 3.2% |
| 1988 | 200 | 5 | 195 | 2.5% |
| 1989 | 84 | 1 | 83 | 1.2% |
| 1990 | 72 | 1 | 71 | 1.4% |
| 1991 | 55 | 4 | 51 | 7.3% |
| 1992 | 48 | 3 | 45 | 6.2% |
| 1993 | 47 | 1 | 46 | 2.1% |
| 1994 | 60 | 1 | 59 | 1.7% |
| 1995 | 53 | 2 | 51 | 3.8% |
| 1996 | 66 | 3 | 63 | 4.5% |
| 1997 | 66 | 3 | 63 | 4.5% |
| 1998 | 65 | 3 | 62 | 4.6% |
| 1999 | 66 | 4 | 62 | 6.1% |
| 2000 | 78 | 3 | 75 | 3.8% |
| 2001 | 89 | 3 | 86 | 3.4% |
| 2002 | 74 | 9 | 65 | 12.2% |
| 2003 | 67 | 3 | 64 | 4.5% |
| 2004 | 91 | 8 | 83 | 8.8% |
| 2005 | 78 | 14 | 64 | 17.9% |
| 2006 | 84 | 5 | 79 | 6.0% |
| 2007 | 74 | 5 | 69 | 6.8% |
| 2008 | 83 | 7 | 76 | 8.4% |
| 2009 | 92 | 10 | 82 | 10.9% |
| 2010 | 121 | 13 | 108 | 10.7% |
| 2011 | 99 | 15 | 84 | 15.2% |
| 2012 | 86 | 18 | 68 | 20.9% |
| 2013 | 126 | 27 | 99 | 21.4% |
| 2014 | 110 | 19 | 91 | 17.3% |
| 2015 | 124 | 29 | 95 | 23.4% |
| 2016 | 97 | 23 | 74 | 23.7% |
| 2017 | 96 | 20 | 76 | 20.8% |
| 2018 | 88 | 20 | 68 | 22.7% |
| 2019 | 93 | 16 | 77 | 17.2% |
| 2020 | 73 | 23 | 50 | 31.5% |
| 2021 | 100 | 32 | 68 | 32.0% |
| 2022 | 110 | 46 | 64 | 41.8% |
| 2023 | 85 | 39 | 46 | 45.9% |
| 2024 | 83 | 48 | 35 | 57.8% |
| 2025 | 76 | 46 | 30 | 60.5% |
| 2026* | 66 | 59 | 7 | 89.4% |
| Total | 3,388 | 593 | 2,795 | 17.5% |
68 records have no first issue date (40 closed, 20 pending, 5 denied and 3 expired) and are left out of this table. 2026 counts run to November 13, 2026.
| Status | Records | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Active | 593 | Current registration. It must be renewed every year to stay active. |
| Expired | 2,784 | Not renewed by the expiration date. The holder cannot practice while expired. |
| Closed | 40 | Application closed because required documents or fees were missing. |
| Pending | 20 | Application still being reviewed. No registration issued yet. |
| Revoked | 7 | The department rescinded the registration. |
| Denied | 6 | The application was denied. |
| Suspended | 4 | Right to practice stopped for a period after a finding of unprofessional conduct. |
| Surrender | 2 | Registration surrendered in place of other sanctions during an enforcement action. |
| Total | 3,456 |
Meanings are shortened from the Department of Health’s glossary for this dataset.
| Years since first issue | Active registrations | Share of active |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 68 | 11.5% |
| 1 to 4 years | 172 | 29.0% |
| 5 to 9 years | 112 | 18.9% |
| 10 to 19 years | 163 | 27.5% |
| 20 years or more | 78 | 13.2% |
| Total | 593 | 100% |
Counted from each record’s first issue date to November 13, 2026. Median: 7.2 years.
What the registration means
- It is required to practice for a fee. State law says a person may not practice hypnotherapy for a fee without being registered as a hypnotherapist, unless an exemption applies, for example a person working within the scope of another profession that Washington regulates (RCW 18.19.035 and RCW 18.19.040).
- It puts the person on the state’s roster. In the department’s glossary for its credential data, a registration is “a process by which the state maintains an official roster of names and addresses of the practitioners in a given profession.”
- What registration requires. Washington oversees hypnotherapists through registration rather than licensing. Applicants send an application and fee, and the department runs a background check on each one. The rule sets no degree, exam or minimum training hours (WAC 246-810-090; RCW 18.19.050 sets those only for certified counselors and certified advisers), so training varies from one hypnotherapist to another.
- Yearly renewal. Registrations are renewed every year on or before the holder’s birthday. The fees are $155 to apply and $80 a year to renew (WAC 246-810-990). The department lists no continuing education requirement for hypnotherapists (DOH registration page).
- State oversight. Washington’s Uniform Disciplinary Act governs how registrations are issued and denied and how registrants are disciplined, with the Secretary of Health as the disciplining authority (RCW 18.19.050).
How to check a hypnotherapist’s registration
- Get the name or numberAsk for the person’s full name or registration number. Washington hypnotherapist registration numbers start with HP.
- Search the state’s recordsUse the Department of Health’s provider credential search. You can search by credential number or by name.
- Read the status and expiration dateActive means the registration is current. Expired means it was not renewed, and the person cannot practice while it is expired.
- Look for enforcement actionsThe search gives copies of legal disciplinary actions taken after July 1998. In the open data, 26 of the 3,456 hypnotherapist records carry an enforcement action flag.
Checking many names at once, as a reporter or researcher might, is easier in the open data on data.wa.gov, which the department says uses the same source information as its search.
What this means for men looking for a hypnotherapist
- Check, don’t assume. A registration lapses unless it is renewed every year, and most registrations ever issued in Washington have lapsed. The state’s search takes a minute.
- Ask how they work. Training varies because the registration does not set training standards, so it is fair to ask where a hypnotherapist trained and what a session looks like.
- Know what it covers. Registration covers hypnotherapy. If you need medical or mental health care, look for a provider who holds that kind of credential. The same search lists the Washington health credentials a person holds.
- You can raise a concern. The Department of Health takes complaints about health care providers, including registered hypnotherapists.
Method, sources and limits
We downloaded every record with the credential type “Hypnotherapist Registration” from the Department of Health’s Health Care Provider Credential Data on data.wa.gov. We asked for the status, date and enforcement action fields and left out names and credential numbers. The dataset was last updated November 13, 2026. We counted records by status, by the year of the first issue date and by years since first issue, and compared the first issue and expiration dates of expired records. The rate per 100,000 residents divides the 593 active registrations by Washington’s April 1, 2026 population estimate from the Office of Financial Management (8,176,300).
Limits: the counts are registrations, not people, so anyone who registered twice under different numbers counts twice. The data has no address or county field, so it cannot show where registrants live or work, and some may live outside Washington. Status is today’s status, so the chart shows how many registrations from each year are active now, not how many were active in past years. 2026 counts run to November 13, 2026. The data changes daily.
- Washington State Department of Health, Health Care Provider Credential Data (data.wa.gov dataset qxh8-f4bd) and its attached data dictionary, records from 1987 to November 13, 2026, public domain.
- Washington State Department of Health, Provider Credential or Facility Search and Apply for a Hypnotherapist Registration, read November 13, 2026.
- Revised Code of Washington, chapter 18.19 RCW (counselors), and Washington Administrative Code chapter 246-810 (WAC 246-810-090, WAC 246-810-990), read November 13, 2026.
- Washington State Office of Financial Management, April 1 official population estimates, 2026 state total.
Cite this study
Ian Whitelaw Counseling for Men. “Registered hypnotherapists in Washington: how many, and what the credential means.” November 13, 2026. https://ianjwhitelaw.com/research/washington-registered-hypnotherapists/. Data: Washington State Department of Health, Health Care Provider Credential Data, as of November 13, 2026.
Download the data (CSV): registrations by year first issued, with the counts still active on November 13, 2026 (2026 is a partial year). You may reuse it under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page; the source data is from the Washington State Department of Health.