The Seattle City Council passed Council Bill 121267 as amended on 22 September 2026. The Mayor signed it on 5 October 2026 and the City Clerk attested it the same day, enacting it as Ordinance 127515. The measure is law, and its operative provisions commence on 1 September 2027.
Section 1 of the ordinance adds a new Chapter 7.35 to the Seattle Municipal Code, titled Fair Pricing and Transparency, running from SMC 7.35.000 to SMC 7.35.090. SMC 7.35.020 carries the prohibition on algorithmic-based price discrimination. SMC 7.35.030 sets covered retailer disclosures to consumers, SMC 7.35.040 grants rulemaking authority, SMC 7.35.050 requires record retention, SMC 7.35.060 creates a private right of action, SMC 7.35.070 governs enforcement and penalties, SMC 7.35.080 voids waivers, and SMC 7.35.085 addresses use of surveillance.
Grocery businesses operating 20 or more locations worldwide may not use algorithmic-based price discrimination to modify the price of any goods. Mixed-use grocery businesses face the prohibition on groceries, diapers, grooming and hygiene products, and over-the-counter drugs. Delivery service providers may not apply it to goods ordered from a grocery business, or to those same product categories ordered from a warehouse or mixed-use store. Covered retailers displaying prices through electronic shelf label systems are caught where the underlying discrimination is barred. Records must be kept for three years under SMC 7.35.050, and failure to keep them creates a presumption of violation rebuttable by clear and convincing evidence.
Chapter 7.35 excludes delivery cost differences based only on consumer location, prices set at a physical store and available to all consumers there, and manufacturer or third-party coupons where the retailer does not use personal information to set or target them. Discounts tied to ending or restarting a subscription or loyalty membership, and discounts offered on equal terms to eligibility-based or broadly defined groups including seniors, students and teachers, sit outside the prohibition. SMC 7.35.085 permits security, loss prevention, safety, fraud and legal compliance technology provided its data is not used for algorithmic-based price discrimination. Under SMC 7.35.060 a prevailing plaintiff may recover civil penalties of up to $3,000 per aggrieved party and up to $10,000 for each subsequent violation, capped at $1 million per action, within a three-year limitation period. The City Attorney may investigate, subpoena and sue under SMC 7.35.070. Retailers have until 1 September 2027 to bring pricing systems into line.
Licentium advises retailers, grocery operators, delivery platforms and pricing technology vendors on automated pricing rules and the records those rules require. Work we undertake includes mapping pricing systems against SMC 7.35.020, drafting the consumer disclosures required by SMC 7.35.030, building record retention that meets SMC 7.35.050, and assessing exposure under the private right of action in SMC 7.35.060.
Source: Seattle City Council, Council Bill 121267, Ordinance 127515