Washington Courthouse Records

Like any other US citizen, you have a right to inspect and copy most records and documents that are with any Washington courthouse, but not an absolute right. Before you ask for your court records, you may want to know that in some cases a court may seal the records. This is usually the exception. In most cases you can access the records you want if you can satisfy the court about your intent and relation to the person included in the record.

How to Find Your Washington Court House Records

If you want to access court records, you need to go to the courthouse where the case was heard and ask the clerk for them. You can do this in person in the clerk’s office, or you may also call up the courthouse and place your request over the phone. In recent times it has also become possible to place your request on the Internet. 

You may, as a general rule, access docket information, pleadings and motions of the parties to a lawsuit, decisions and orders of the court, evidence introduced in court by either side, and transcripts of hearings in a case file.

How you ask for these records varies from court to court. A court may provide access to its own records. However, highly sensitive material, such as adoption records, commitment records for mental illness, alcohol and drug treatment may not be that easy to access. Other records, such as those relating to family law cases, may also be restricted.

Denial of access to a record may be due to information availability, imprecision in your request, potential invasion of privacy threatened by release of records containing personal or highly sensitive information, or potential disruption to the business of the courts.

To ensure that the court's denial is not based on vagueness in your request, it is best to draft it as per the Judicial Information System Committee Rules. This requires that you include a statement of the intended use and distribution, the type of information needed, and let the court know your relation with the person about whom you want the record. You must keep in mind that Washington courts will consider several factors in deciding on your request for documents if they contain highly sensitive information.

Types Of Records You Can Find

All public records, including those of births, deaths, marriages and divorces, police records, criminal records, financial records and those of driving offenses are available. To find a person’s public records, you can use his/her Social Security number which will give you all the information including the present and past addresses, their occupation and age, and whether the person has any criminal history.

You may want to access criminal records to ensure that your neighbor or other acquaintance does not have any criminal past. Besides, employers often want to check the background of a person whom they are considering hiring.

Here is the information that you can receive from your courthouse records:

•    Age, Sex and other relevant details 
•    Current & Past Phone Numbers & Addresses 
•    Marriage Records
•    Divorce Records
•    Default Records
•    Police, Arrest, Courts and Criminal records 
•    Army, Navy and Military records 
•    Business and Property records