Washington People Search

Washington has free statewide searches for court cases, businesses and state prisons, and a low cost statewide criminal history check, so a search can start with these offices before going to the county auditor and superior court.

• Washington Courts case searchFree statewide name index of court cases
• Corporations and Charities System (CCFS)Secretary of State records of businesses and nonprofits
• DOC Incarcerated SearchPeople in state prisons or under DOC supervision
• WATCH, Washington State PatrolStatewide conviction criminal history check, for a fee
• Washington county records guideAuditors, assessors and courts of every county on this site
• Department of Health, Vital RecordsBirth, death, marriage and divorce certificates

The foundation of public record access in the state is the Washington Public Records Act (PRA), codified under RCW Chapter 42.56. Originating as a citizen initiative (I-276) in 1972, the PRA establishes a strong, mandatory presumption of disclosure. This means that government agencies must make records available for public inspection and copying unless a specific statutory exemption applies.

The Sunshine Committee reviews exemptions, the Attorney General publishes open government guidance, and Washington courts apply the act broadly in favor of disclosure.

The law also protects some records: juvenile records, information on victims of domestic violence and sensitive health data.

Summary: the state court, business, prison and criminal history searches are linked in Where to Look; two more state sites cover health licenses and history.

• DOH Provider Credential SearchLicenses of medical, nursing and behavioral health providers
• Washington State Digital ArchivesDigitized historical records, including old birth, marriage and death records

Washington’s judicial system is structured hierarchically: The Supreme Court sits at the top, followed by the Court of Appeals (Divisions I, II, and III), Superior Courts (the trial courts of general jurisdiction in each of the 39 counties), District Courts (limited jurisdiction), and Municipal Courts. Appeals from limited jurisdiction courts often proceed to the Superior Court under RALJ (Rules for Appeal of Decisions of Courts of Limited Jurisdiction).

The free name index on dw.courts.wa.gov is good for a first search, but fuller case records and documents usually need a paid JIS-Link account or a request to the county court. Juvenile and sealed cases are not public.

Common Mistake: relying on a name match in the free court index alone. It indexes case captions, so confirm the date of birth or middle initial with the court before you treat a case as your person.

For federal litigation, including bankruptcies and federal criminal charges, researchers must utilize the PACER system, searching the Eastern District of Washington (WAED in Spokane/Richland/Yakima) and the Western District of Washington (WAWD in Seattle/Tacoma).

In Washington State, property research involves uniquely named offices. Unlike many states that use a "Register of Deeds" or "County Clerk," Washington delegates the recording of deeds, mortgages, and liens to the County Auditor. Property valuation and tax administration are handled by the County Assessor and County Treasurer, respectively.

Programs such as Current Use (farm and timber land) and senior or disability exemptions can change the tax record of a property. County sites (King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, Clark) are best for documents, and the state Geospatial Program Office publishes a statewide parcel map.

• Washington current parcels, Geospatial Open Data PortalStatewide parcel map from county data

The Secretary of State's Corporations and Charities System (CCFS), linked in Where to Look, holds records of LLCs, corporations, limited partnerships and nonprofits. Every business also has a Unified Business Identifier (UBI).

The UBI is a nine digit number used by several agencies, so a UBI from the Secretary of State can be checked with the Department of Revenue business lookup and the Department of Labor and Industries contractor search.

• L&I Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or BusinessContractor registration, bonds and violations

Professional licensing is heavily decentralized. The Department of Licensing (DOL) manages professions like real estate agents and cosmetologists. The DOH Provider Credential Search covers healthcare workers. Attorneys are found via the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA), insurance agents through the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC), and utility licensees via the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC).

The DOC search, linked in Where to Look, finds people now in state prisons or under supervision, but not people who have finished their sentences.

For recent arrests and short jail stays, check the county jail rosters, such as King County's. The statewide Jail Booking and Reporting System is open only to law enforcement, so the public searches county by county. Statewide criminal history comes from the WSP WATCH system, linked in Where to Look.

Researcher Tip: check the DOC search, WATCH and the county jail roster. DOC misses people held before trial in county jails, and WATCH does not include federal convictions.

Federal prisoners are in the Bureau of Prisons locator; people from Washington are often held at FDC SeaTac or FCI Sheridan in Oregon.

• Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locatorFederal prisoners held since 1982

Access to vital records is strictly governed by the Department of Health Center for Health Statistics. Washington enforces long confidentiality periods: birth records are restricted to immediate family for 100 years, and death records for 50 years. Expedited ordering for authorized individuals is usually handled via VitalChek or local health jurisdictions in King, Spokane, and Pierce counties.

Privacy Note: recent birth and death certificates can be ordered only by people the law allows, not by unrelated searchers.

For historical research, the Washington State Digital Archives has searchable indexes of old births, deaths and marriages. Marriage licenses are issued and recorded by the county auditor, and divorce records are kept by the superior court.

Voters can check their registration and track ballots on VoteWA.

• VoteWA voter portalYour registration and ballot status

The Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) publishes campaign finance and lobbyist records. The statewide voter registration database is public, but state law prohibits commercial use of voter data.

• Public Disclosure CommissionCampaign finance and lobbyist records

The Washington State Archives run the Digital Archives and regional branches in Ellensburg (Central Washington University), Cheney (Eastern Washington University), Bellingham (Western Washington University), Bellevue (Bellevue College) and Olympia.

The Washington State Library has historical newspapers, and the University of Washington Special Collections, the Seattle Public Library and the Spokane Public Library Northwest Room hold local history and genealogy collections.

Property and trial court records are kept by the counties, so you need the right county. The largest:

• King County Recorder records searchSeattle, Bellevue and Redmond, the most populous county
• Pierce County Auditor recorded documentsTacoma and Puyallup, near Joint Base Lewis-McChord
• Snohomish County Auditor recorded documentsEverett and Lynnwood
• Spokane County Auditor recordingSpokane, the eastern Washington center
• Clark County Auditor recordingVancouver, in the Portland area
• Thurston County AuditorOlympia, the state capital

Other counties often searched: Kitsap (Bremerton, Naval Base Kitsap), Yakima (agriculture), Whatcom (Bellingham, on the Canadian border), Benton and Franklin (the Tri-Cities: Richland, Pasco and Kennewick, near Hanford), Skagit (Mount Vernon), Cowlitz (Kelso and Longview), Lewis (Chehalis), Chelan (Wenatchee), Walla Walla, San Juan (Friday Harbor), Whitman (Pullman, Washington State University), Grays Harbor (Aberdeen), Mason (Shelton), Island (Coupeville, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island), Clallam (Port Angeles), Jefferson (Port Townsend), Grant (Moses Lake) and Kittitas (Ellensburg, Central Washington University).

In the smaller counties (Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Garfield, Klickitat, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Skamania, Stevens and Wahkiakum), contact the county auditor and superior court directly.

Points to keep in mind in Washington:

Court Search Caveats: Start with courts.wa.gov, but understand it is case-captioned. It is not an absolute, deep defendant-searchable database in all divisions without a JIS subscription.

Always Confirm DOB: Common names in King and Pierce counties will return dozens of false positives. Do not conclude a criminal record belongs to your subject without matching the Date of Birth.

Follow the UBI: use the UBI number to link a business across the Secretary of State, L&I and Department of Revenue records.

Check Dual Corrections: Always check both the state DOC locator and the specific local county jail roster.

Use the Archives: for older records, search the Washington State Digital Archives first.

Mind the Borders: Clark County residents often have paper trails split between Washington and Oregon. Expand searches to Multnomah County, OR.

Tribal Jurisdictions: Washington has 29 federally recognized tribes, and tribal courts hear many cases on reservations, so those records may not appear in state databases.

State vs. Federal Gap: The WSP WATCH system only returns state-level crimes. Federal offenses processed in WAWD or WAED will only appear in PACER.

Washington's My Health My Data Act, passed in 2023 and in force since March 31, 2024, protects consumer health data held by businesses and lets people sue over violations.

The Secretary of State runs the Address Confidentiality Program for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and trafficking. Juvenile records can be sealed under RCW 13.50, and many convictions can be vacated under RCW 9.96.060, which removes them from WATCH conviction records.

Washington has not adopted Marsy's Law; crime victims' rights are in Article I, Section 35 of the state constitution and in state law.