The 1981 Legislature created the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH )to offer Washingtonians an independent, fair and neutral forum to hold administrative hearings on disputed matters referred by state and local government agencies. Operating out of field offices in Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane Valley there are approximately 100 Administrative Law Judges at OAH who preside over administrative hearings involving unemployment insurance benefits, child support, food assistance, medical benefits, business and professional licensing, and more. Our referring agencies include the Employment Security Department (ESD), Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), Health Care Authority (HCA), Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB), Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and others. For more information about OAH, please visit our website at oah.wa.gov.