Washington State court records provide information to the public in accordance with federal and state law, court rule and order, and case law. According to the Washington State Court website, court records are considered to be any type of documents, images, information, and other items that the court maintains in connection with judicial proceedings.
Requesting Court Records
To request complete court records, you would need to contact the court where the case was filed. You need to use the court directory to locate the contact information for that court. Court records can be obtained in bulk by contacting the court of record to find out the policies and procedures for bulk court records.
Viewing court documents at the courthouse or through remote electronic access(if available) can be done at no charge. However, if you wish to request copies or have court records copied there is a charge.
Looking up Court Records
You can look up Washington State Court records case information online. To access court records within a case you would need to contact the court of record for the case. Most local courts only contain information pertaining to that court. There are some Washington State courts that have a public access terminal in the courthouse where public information for court cases can be viewed.
Judicial Information System
The Judicial Information System(JIS), is the statewide management system for Washington State Court records. Court documents are not maintained in the system, however, you can use the system to request court records from case information found in the system. JIS can be accessed through a public terminal in your local court or by subscribing to JIS-Link, a service that provides you with access to JIS from a remote location.
Information Available Online
The information available online is updated 24 hours after a municipal, district, superior, or appellate court clerk has entered the information in the system. The Washington State Court records search website allows you to search information by case number, name of attorney, business, and/or person(s) involved, licensed health facility, and by Vulnerable Adult Protection Orders.
The information available online includes court dates, case summary, names of jurors, calendar information, and case activities lists. You can also use this system to find contact information for the court in which the case was filed. You would need to contact the court that is in the case file for instructions on obtaining the complete court record including documents and outcome of the case. Some courts do provide online access for court records.
Limitations Regarding Court Records
There are limitations on what court records are made available regardless if a Washington State court provides online access for these records. These types of records include the following:
- Judicial Order sealing court records
- Records involving adoptions
- Records of mental illness and alcohol and drug commitments
- Termination of parental rights
- Truancy
- Juvenile Developmental Disability Placement
- Juvenile Dependency
Accessing Someone Else’s Court Records
You can contact the court of record to verify the information contained in the case information search. However, if you are trying to access someone else’s court records you must go through the Washington State Patrol(WSP) to obtain a background check containing criminal history information.