How Do I Find a Court Record in King County, Washington?
Court records in King County, Washington, are kept by the Department of Judicial Administration, which has maintained files as far back as 1854. Most of them are available to the public. There are many documents that are available as scanned images or on microfiche depending on the date of the filing. If you are looking for King County court records, you'll want to know where and how to look for what information that you need.
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Instructions
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1979 and After
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Go to the King County Superior Court Clerk's website and go to the King County Superior Court Records page.
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Click on the link "Search for Cases from July 1979 to Present, Click Here." A new page will open, giving you two options: Search for a Case or Search for a Person.
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Go to the column to "Search for a Case" if you already have information about the court case, such as the case number, the name of person or the name of the business involved in the case. Click the link for "Case Search Option." Read the disclaimer under Terms and Conditions. Click the "Agree" link to move forward or click "Cancel" to discontinue your search if you do not agree with the disclaimer.
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Search for the court case records by clicking on the court level. There are links for municipal and district court cases, superior court cases and appellate cases. Read "About Case Searching" if you have questions regarding which court level to choose and click on "Citizens Guide to Washington Courts" if you have further questions about the court system and where the case you are looking for might be located. Complete the form page depending on the information that you have regarding the case. Click submit to review the list of related records.
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Search for a person if you do not have information related to the case. Click the link for "Name Search." Read the disclaimer and accept or cancel. Enter the first and last name of the person whose court records you are trying to find. Click "Submit" and review the list to view the court records for people by that name.
Cases before 1979
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Click on the link "To Search for Cases Before 1979, Click Here." This will transfer you to a page where you can search for records on microfiche.
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Click the link for the appropriate case type. You have five options to choose from: Civil, Criminal, Domestic, General Defendant and Name Changes.
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Select the link for the correct year that the case took place. Click the appropriate link to the microfiche index.
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Go to the court clerks office to research in person. This can be done with or without the help of a clerk, however, if you choose to ask the clerk to search for you there is a fee. To conduct a search in person go to:
King County Superior Court Clerk Office
516 Third Avenue, Room E609
Seattle WA 98104
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Tips & Warnings
Records that are available to the public are for reference purposes only. If you want to obtain a copy of the official records once you have found them, you will have to complete a request form to obtain a copy. (see Resources)
When looking for records you may also conduct your search using the Licensed Health Facility Search option.
References
Resources
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