Washington Court Rules (2026)
We publish 26 Washington court rule sets totaling 1448 rules. Washington court rules are promulgated by the Supreme Court of Washington and govern practice in all Washington state courts. Coverage includes the Superior Court Civil and Criminal Rules, the Rules of Evidence, the Rules of Appellate Procedure, the General Rules governing court administration, and the Juvenile Court Rules. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules.
Washington Court Rules & Rules of Practice
How this jurisdiction's courts and rules are organized, written for lawyers new to it: the court system, every ruleset a litigator touches, and how a case actually moves. Last verified October 17, 2026. For informational purposes only.
- Court System Overview
- The Ruleset Map
- Civil Litigation Mechanics
- Criminal Practice Mechanics
- Evidence
- Appellate Mechanics
- Rules of Professional Conduct
- Attorney Discipline & Enforcement
- Newcomer Orientation Notes
- Sources & Verification
Washington Rules of Appellate Procedure
The Washington Rules of Appellate Procedure (RAP) govern review of trial court decisions by the Washington Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, including initiating review, the record, briefs, and oral argument.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Superior Court Civil Rules
The Washington Superior Court Civil Rules (CR) govern the procedure in the superior courts of Washington State in all civil actions, covering pleadings, parties, discovery, motions, trials, judgments, and post-judgment relief.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Rules of Evidence
The Washington Rules of Evidence (ER) govern the admissibility of evidence in the courts of Washington State, including relevance, privileges, witnesses, opinion and expert testimony, hearsay, and authentication.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington General Rules
The Washington General Rules (GR) govern matters of court administration that apply across all levels of the Washington court system, including court records, interpreters, rulemaking procedure, and electronic filing.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Rules of Professional Conduct
The Washington Rules of Professional Conduct govern the ethical duties of lawyers practicing in Washington. They apply in every court in the state and cover the client-lawyer relationship, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, duties to the tribunal and to opposing parties, law firm responsibilities, advertising, and professional misconduct.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Superior Court Criminal Rules
The Washington Superior Court Criminal Rules (CrR) govern the procedure in the superior courts of Washington State in criminal proceedings, covering rights of the accused, pretrial procedures, trial procedures, and procedures following conviction.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Juvenile Court Rules
The Washington Juvenile Court Rules (JuCR) govern proceedings in the juvenile courts of Washington State, including shelter care, dependency, termination of the parent-child relationship, and juvenile offense proceedings.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct
The Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct govern Washington's lawyer discipline system: how grievances are made and investigated, the role of disciplinary counsel and the hearing officer, the Disciplinary Board, the sanctions available, reinstatement, and proceedings for incapacity.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Rules for Enforcement of Limited Practice Officer Conduct
How a grievance against a limited practice officer is investigated and decided, 118 rules in sixteen titles. Rule 1.1 states the scope: these rules govern the procedure by which an LPO may be subjected to disciplinary sanctions or actions for violating the LPORPC. Rule 2.1 places exclusive responsibility for the LPO discipline and disability system with the Washington Supreme Court, which has inherent power to maintain standards of professional conduct. Title 5 opens the process — any person or entity may file a grievance under rule 5.1, and by filing consents to its disclosure to the respondent. The titles then run through general procedural rules, investigation, the hearing, review by the Disciplinary Board and the Supreme Court, and — at Title 13 — the sanctions: revocation, suspension, reprimand and admonition. Also here: interim suspension, disability inactive status, reinstatement, the obligations of a revoked or suspended LPO, and confidentiality.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Civil Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
Civil procedure in Washington's district and municipal courts — the busiest civil courts in the state — 82 rules in twelve titles. Rule 1 applies them to all suits of a civil nature in the trial courts of limited jurisdiction, with the exceptions in rule 81, and Rule 2 provides one form of action. The titles track the superior court's civil rules: commencement of action and process, pleadings and motions, parties, depositions and discovery, trials, judgments, provisional and final remedies, appeals, the court and its clerks, general provisions and a final title on miscellaneous proceedings. Twenty-eight of the 82 are marked [Reserved] — the numbering follows the superior court's civil rules, and a rule with no counterpart in a court of limited jurisdiction is reserved rather than renumbered.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Rules for Enforcement of Limited License Legal Technician Conduct
The discipline system for limited license legal technicians, 118 rules in sixteen titles, adopted as an interim rule in January 2016 and permanently in October 2016. Rule 1.1 gives the scope: the procedure by which an LLLT may be subjected to disciplinary sanctions or actions for violating the LLLT RPC. The structure mirrors the LPO rules — the Supreme Court's exclusive responsibility, the Disciplinary Board, grievances and investigation, hearings, review, and the sanctions of revocation, suspension and reprimand. Title 8 covers incapacity to practice and Title 14 the duties of a revoked or suspended LLLT, including rule 14.2, which requires an LLLT to stop practising from the effective date of the revocation, suspension or transfer to disability inactive status. Five of Title 15's numbers read only "[Reserved.]", which is the current state of those rules and is how the court publishes them.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Criminal Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
Criminal procedure in the courts of limited jurisdiction, 76 rules in nine titles. Rule 1.1 makes them govern all criminal proceedings in those courts and supersede inconsistent procedural statutes and rules. The titles run from procedures prior to arrest, through the rights of defendants, pretrial procedure, venue, trial, and procedures following conviction, to a title on de novo review. Rule 4.2 on pleas and pretrial dispositions is the longest rule in the set.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Admission and Practice Rules
The Admission and Practice Rules govern who may practice law in Washington: admission by examination and by reciprocity, the character and fitness process, pro hac vice appearances, and the state's limited licenses, including limited practice officers.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Limited License Legal Technician Rules of Professional Conduct
The ethics rules for Washington's limited license legal technicians, 65 rules in the same structure as the lawyers' RPC. It opens with the Fundamental Principles of Professional Conduct for an LLLT, which ground the rules in the concept that justice is based upon the rule of law and respect for the dignity of the individual, and then the Preamble on an LLLT's responsibilities. Rule 1.1 requires competent representation — the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary. The titles follow the lawyers' code: the client-LLLT relationship, counselor, advocate, transactions with persons other than clients, law firms and associations, public service, information about legal services, and maintaining the integrity of the profession. Rule 5.9 is the one with no lawyer counterpart, permitting business structures in which an LLLT and a lawyer share fees or form a partnership on the terms it sets. Washington no longer admits new LLLTs, but these rules govern those already licensed and are not repealed.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Rules for Appeal of Decisions of Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
The route from a district or municipal court to the superior court, 45 rules in eleven titles. Rule 1.1 establishes the procedure, called appeal, for review by the superior court of a final decision of a court of limited jurisdiction. The titles cover who may appeal and what may be appealed, where to appeal and change of venue, how an appeal is initiated, the authority of each court pending appeal and stays, the recording of proceedings, the record on appeal, briefs, and decision.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Superior Court Civil Arbitration Rules
Washington's mandatory arbitration track, 27 rules in eight titles. Rule 1.1 applies them to arbitration of civil actions under RCW 7.06 and expressly not to arbitration by private agreement or under other statutes. The titles cover which matters are subject to arbitration and the relationship to the superior court's jurisdiction, transfer to arbitration and assignment of an arbitrator, the arbitrators themselves, procedure after assignment, the hearing, the award, and — Title 7 — the trial de novo by which a party escapes the award.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Superior Court Civil Commitment Rules
Largely a numbering skeleton, and deliberately so: THIRTY of these 35 rules read only "[RESERVED.]". The set's own Introduction explains why — the Involuntary Treatment Act "largely vitiated the need for the prior Mental Proceedings Rules by codifying circumstances in which involuntary commitment is permitted" — so the court kept the rule numbers across its six titles and reserved almost all of them. Three rules carry substantive text: Rule 3.3 on the jury demand, Rule 3.4 on the hearing, and Rule 4.5 on the burden of proof. Rule 2.5 is rescinded. It is published because the reserved numbers ARE the current state of these rules, which is what a practitioner looking for Washington's civil commitment rules needs to know.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Infraction Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
How a traffic ticket or other civil infraction is actually contested, 26 rules in six titles. Rule 1.1 applies them in the courts of limited jurisdiction to all cases involving infractions — noncriminal violations of law defined by statute — and the titles cover the notice of infraction and how a case is initiated, venue, procedure at hearings, disposition, appeals, and miscellaneous provisions.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Limited Practice Officer Rules of Professional Conduct
The ethics rules for Washington's limited practice officers — the closing agents licensed under APR 12 to select, prepare and complete documents in a real estate or personal property transaction. 15 rules, and the Preamble sets the standard plainly: limited practice officers receive a limited license to practice law and are held to the same standard of care as a lawyer when performing the legal services the LPO license authorizes. Rule 1.0 is terminology and Rule 1.1 competence — an LPO must have the knowledge, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary to provide the services, and not every LPO is competent for every transaction. Rule 1.9 states that the powers, duties and responsibilities of an LPO are personal and may not be assigned or delegated to a person who is not an LPO, though the LPO may be assisted by others under adequate supervision. Also here: diligence, communication with clients, confidentiality, conflicts, fees, and the trust account and required-records rules at 1.12A and 1.12B.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Administrative Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
How a district or municipal court runs itself, 16 rules. Rule 2 sets the scope, Rule 4 adopts the Code of Judicial Conduct, Rule 5 governs the presiding judge in a multiple-judge or multiple-district court, and Rule 6 the separate dockets a court must keep and their contents. Rule 1 was rescinded and is shown as such.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Superior Court Guardian ad Litem Rules
Seven rules establishing, as Rule 1 puts it, a minimum set of standards applicable to all superior court cases in which the court appoints a guardian ad litem. They cover the guardian's general responsibilities and authority, the roles and responsibilities specific to Title 11 (guardianship and probate) matters, how appointments are made, and limited appointments.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Discipline Rules for Judges
How a decision of the Commission on Judicial Conduct reaches the Supreme Court, 14 rules. Rule 1 provides that a commission decision disciplining a judge, or recommending suspension, removal or retirement, comes to the Supreme Court for consideration. The rules then cover initiating that consideration, contesting the commission's decision, the record on review, briefs, hearing and decision.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Code of Judicial Conduct
The Code of Judicial Conduct governs the conduct of judges in Washington, covering judicial independence and impartiality, disqualification, permitted extrajudicial activities, and political conduct.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Superior Court Special Proceedings Rules
Ten surviving miscellaneous rules, numbered in the old pre-1967 style with a trailing "W" — 90.04W on attachments and the duties of the sheriff, 93.04W on the disposition of reports in adoptions, 98.08W and 98.10W on estates, receiverships and the settlement of claims. The set opens with the court's own Explanation, which records that adopting the federal rules' numbering made it necessary to remove all the miscellaneous rules applicable to special proceedings; these are what remained. Rule 91.04W on garnishments has been rescinded and is shown as such.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Superior Court Special Proceedings Rules — Criminal
Seven rules that apply only in capital cases. Rule 1 states their reach: all stages of a criminal case in which the death penalty has been or may be decreed. They cover the appointment of counsel, court reporters and the filing of notes, discovery for the special sentencing proceeding, the mental examination of the defendant, and the proportionality questionnaires the Supreme Court uses on review.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWashington Superior Court Administrative Rules
Six administrative rules for the superior courts. Rule 1 requires the clerk to report a criminal disposition to the state within five court days; Rule 2 governs the case information cover sheet, Rule 3 requires one defendant per case, Rule 4 the presiding judge where a district has more than one judge, Rule 5 offender financial information and Rule 6 elected judges pro tempore.
Updated 2026 Edition
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