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Washington District Courts and Washington Municipal Courts
 

 
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Your search of the District and Municipal courts is conducted by experienced investigators directly with the state's court computer system.
 
District and Municipal Courts are Washington's courts of limited jurisdiction. Limited jurisdiction courts are also sometimes referred to as 'lower' courts. District courts are county courts. Municipal courts are those created by cities and towns.
 
More than two million cases are filed annually in district and municipal courts. Excluding parking infractions, seven out of every eight cases filed in all state courts are filed at this level. This is due primarily to the broad jurisdiction these courts have over traffic violations and misdemeanors.
 
District courts have jurisdiction over both criminal and civil cases. They have criminal jurisdiction over misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, and criminal traffic cases. Examples are:

• Assault
• Harassment
• Resisting arrest
• Drunk driving
• Hit-and-run
• Driving with a suspended license
• Reckless driving

District courts also have jurisdiction over traffic and non-traffic infractions, a civil proceeding for which a monetary penalty, but no jail sentence, may be imposed. Examples are:

• Speeding and other traffic infractions
• Disorderly Conduct
• Littering
• Driving with an expired license

District courts may also issue domestic violence and anti-harassment protection orders.
 
Excepting domestic violence protection orders, Civil cases are not included in our search as there is no way to do this on a statewide basis. Please contact us for options on searching for small claims and other civil cases in Washington's lower courts.
 

 
There are some limitations to the search that you should be aware of:

• This is not a 'live' search. Results are returned to you by email, usually within one business day. Your search is conducted by our experienced researchers on the live court computer system.
• Details of cases approximately two years old and older may have been 'archived' by the court and in these cases only very basic information will be available without additional research.
• Seattle Municipal Court case information is limited to the type and date of the case. In these cases we cannot provide information other than the court, date, and type of case found without additional fees.
• Information on Infraction type cases (Traffic Infraction and other Infractions) are purged by the courts 3 years after the case has been closed by the court. Purged cases cannot be found.

 
Please see the complete list of district courts included in this search, along with the dates the court began keeping electronic records.