Washington Court Records at a Glance
Official court resources, local court directories, and statewide links for civil, criminal, probate, family, bankruptcy, and appellate research in Washington.
1Quick Links
Start here for the fastest path into Washington court record research.
2Official Washington Court Resources
Use these statewide and official court resources for case information, court structure, forms, clerk access, or public search tools.
- Washington State Court Structure:www.courts.wa.govOfficial or statewide court resource.
- Free Civil Case Searchdw.courts.wa.govSuperior, Appellate, District and Municipal Court Case Search
- Family Lawwww.washingtonlawhelp.orgDissolution, Divorces, Parenting Plans, Child Support, Parentage
- Court Records/Cases By Name Searchdw.courts.wa.govYou can search for litigants, defendant, petitioner, respondent associated with a case
- Court Date Searchdw.courts.wa.govSearch For Up Coming Cases. Free Public Information Available By State's Official Website
- Supreme Courtwww.courts.wa.govContact Information. Official Website And Links. Email The Court Directly. Quick And Easy To Use Helpful Links
3Washington Court Directory & Local Resources
Legacy directory content has been retained inside the updated layout so county-level links, clerk references, and older court research notes remain available in one place.
- Washington State Court Structure:www.courts.wa.govDirectory to the Court
- Free Civil Case Searchdw.courts.wa.govFree Civil Case Search
- Family Lawwww.washingtonlawhelp.orgDivorces
- Court Records/Cases By Name Searchdw.courts.wa.govCourt Records/Cases By Name Search
- Court Date Searchdw.courts.wa.govCourt Date Search
- Supreme Courtwww.courts.wa.govSupreme Court
- Court of Appealswww.courts.wa.govCourt of Appeals
- www.courtswv.govwww.courtswv.govmagistrate courts
- Criminalwww.washingtonlawhelp.orgCriminal Issues
- Criminal History and Criminal Recordswww.courts.wa.govCriminal History Records
- Adamswww.courts.wa.govAdams
- Asotinwww.co.asotin.wa.usAsotin
- Bentonwww.courts.wa.govBenton
- Chelanwww.courts.wa.govChelan
- Clallamwww.courts.wa.govClallam
- Clarkwww.courts.wa.govClark
- Columbiawww.courts.wa.govColumbia
- Cowlitzwww.courts.wa.govCowlitz
- Douglaswww.courts.wa.govDouglas
- Ferrywww.courts.wa.govFerry
- Franklinwww.courts.wa.govFranklin
- Garfieldwww.courts.wa.govGarfield
- Grantwww.courts.wa.govGrant
- Grays Harborwww.courts.wa.govGrays Harbor
- Islandwww.courts.wa.govIsland
- Jeffersonwww.courts.wa.govJefferson
- Kingwww.courts.wa.govKing
- Kitsapwww.courts.wa.govKitsap
- Kittitaswww.courts.wa.govKittitas
- Klickitatwww.courts.wa.govKlickitat
- Lewiswww.courts.wa.govLewis
- Lincolnwww.courts.wa.govLincoln
- Masonwww.courts.wa.govMason
- Okanoganwww.courts.wa.govOkanogan
- Pacificwww.courts.wa.govPacific
- Pend Oreillewww.courts.wa.govPend Oreille
- Piercewww.courts.wa.govPierce
- San Juanwww.courts.wa.govSan Juan
- Skagitwww.courts.wa.govSkagit
- Skamaniawww.courts.wa.govSkamania
- Snohomishwww.courts.wa.govSnohomish
- Spokanewww.courts.wa.govSpokane
- Stevenswww.courts.wa.govStevens
- Thurstonwww.courts.wa.govThurston
- Wahkiakumwww.courts.wa.govWahkiakum
- Walla Wallawww.courts.wa.govWalla Walla
- Whatcomwww.courts.wa.govWhatcom
- Whitmanwww.courts.wa.govWhitman
- Yakimawww.courts.wa.govYakima
4Research Notes
5Related Washington Court Topics
Continue into related Washington specialty pages and supporting court-research topics.
- PACER, Find a Casepacer.uscourts.govOfficial federal portal for locating U.S. court cases and court access information.
- PACER Case Locatorpcl.uscourts.govNationwide federal case locator that can help when a case spans multiple federal courts.
6Federal & National Authoritative Sources
These federal and national sources complement Washington's state-level records. They are the authoritative sources you should cross-check when Washington state records are incomplete or out-of-state activity matters.
The U.S. federal judiciary's unified electronic records system. Every federal district, bankruptcy, and appellate case docket is here.
https://pacer.uscourts.gov/ (pacer.uscourts.gov)
The official directory of every federal district, bankruptcy, and circuit court. Use it to identify the correct Washington district(s) before searching PACER.
https://www.uscourts.gov/federal-court-finder (uscourts.gov)
The NCSC's directory of state court websites, technology standards, and public-access policies.
https://www.ncsc.org/information-and-resources/browse-by-state (ncsc.org)
Washington Court Records, FAQ
Are court records free?
State court records are usually free to view at the courthouse and often free online, with per-page fees for certified copies. PACER charges $0.10 per page (capped at $3.00 per document), waived under $30 per quarter.
Do sealed cases show up?
No. A sealed case is hidden from the public docket index by court order. Its existence may still be confirmable by number, but documents are not accessible.
What's the difference between civil and criminal court records?
Civil cases involve disputes between parties (contracts, torts, family). Criminal cases are brought by the government. Both are indexed by the same court clerks but tracked in separate sub-dockets.
Can I search every court at once?
Not in one search. PACER covers all federal courts. Most states have a statewide judiciary portal that covers their state courts, but a few require per-county lookups. This page links to Washington's official portal.