Jury Service
↓ What to do ↓ Getting there ↓ Reschedule ↓ Payment ↓ Resources ↓ FAQ
1. Respond to your summons
2. Check back before your scheduled service
3. Show up!
1. Respond to your summons
Visit the JUROR PORTAL within five days of receiving a summons postcard in the mail from King County District Court. At the portal you are able to:
- Update your contact information, as needed
- Confirm your eligibility and availability to serve
- Request to be excused or to reschedule your service, if you are unable to serve
You are eligible to serve as a juror if you meet all of the following criteria:
- At least 18 years of age on your first day of service
- Citizen of the United States
- Able to understand (listen, read, write, speak) the English language or American Sign Language
- Resident of the county you have been summoned from
- King County
- Pierce County (Auburn and Pacific ZIP codes: 98047, 98092, 98352, 98354, 98371, 98372, 98390, 98391)
- If convicted of a felony, have had your civil rights restored
If you have been summoned and do not meet any of the above requirements, visit the JUROR PORTAL to indicate which requirement is not met.
Note: For summons from King County Superior Court or municipal courts in the county, you will need to follow the directions on the summons you received from those courts. You will not be able to respond to another court’s jury summons through the King County District Court juror portal.
2. Check back before your scheduled service
The courthouse you have been summoned to and the start date of your service are listed on the summons postcard you received in the mail. That courthouse location will send an e-mail with reporting instructions, a new juror ID number, and a jury hotline phone number the week prior to your start date.
Call the jury hotline number found on your postcard summons and in your email from the court after 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before your jury service is scheduled to start to check that you should still come to court.
You also will need to call that same jury hotline number after 5:00 p.m. every night during the week you have been summoned, until the court releases you from jury service.
3. Show up!
Report to the courthouse location. Please bring your summons postcard with you. Plan extra time to go through security screening.
Find courthouse locations, including driving directions
Deferring jury service or requesting to be excused
The United States Constitution and Washington State Constitution guarantee the right to trial by jury. If you are unable to fulfill your jury service at the time you were summoned, you may request to reschedule or to be excused from jury service.
Deferring your service
Your jury assignment might arrive at a time that is inconvenient for you, whether because of travel, childcare, work/school schedule or doctor/dental appointments.
Most King County District Court jury trials are completed in one week or less, or until dismissed by a judge.
You may defer jury service twice within a 12-month period starting from the date of your first summons. You must make your request to reschedule before your assigned service date. You will not be able to reschedule your service to another courthouse location.
If the date you deferred your service to is less than four weeks after the date you were originally scheduled to start jury service, you might not receive a new summons postcard in the mail. You can confirm your new start date via the Juror Portal. Be sure to bring the original summons postcard with you on the first day of your jury service
To reschedule, visit the JUROR PORTAL
Requesting to be excused from service
You may request to be excused from jury duty due to hardship or extreme inconvenience. Hardship implies circumstances that make it “unfair” for you to serve. Your request must provide enough information to enable the court to make an informed decision. You will have the opportunity to provide supplemental documentation in the Juror Portal. Unless you are notified by the court that you have been excused, you must report for jury duty as instructed per the jury hotline.
To request to be excused, visit the JUROR PORTAL
Does my employer have to pay me while I'm serving?
State law does not require employers to pay employees while they are serving as jurors. However, many employers, including state and local government agencies, pay employees for at least part, if not all, of the time spent on jury service.
All employers must provide a leave of absence for employees to serve, pursuant to RCW 2.36.165.
Will I be paid for my time on jury service?
Yes. Jurors earn $10.00 per day of service. You also will receive compensation for your mileage, bus fare, or ferry fees, but not for any other kind of transportation.
I am receiving unemployment benefits—will serving affect my benefits?
The compensation you receive for jury service must be reported and deducted from your unemployment benefits. For more information, visit the Washington State Employment Security Department.
A juror’s guide to Washington courts
Jury duty public service announcement video
Items prohibited in King County courthouses
Request for Reasonable Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities
Watch a short video about jury service
Your name was randomly picked from names obtained from voter registration, drivers' license, and "identicard" records. Every year the Administrative Office for the Courts in Olympia creates a new list of names for every court in King County. It is possible that you will be summonsed by one or more courts in the same year or over several years.
King County District Court is contracted to serve as the municipal court for various cities, some of which straddle the county line between King and Pierce Counties (i.e., Cities of Auburn and Pacific). Per the Washington State Constitution, King County District Court may be required to summons jurors from Pierce County for specific jury trials.
You may defer jury service twice within a 12-month period starting from the date of your first summons. You must make your request to reschedule before your assigned service date. You will not be able to reschedule your service to another courthouse location.
To defer jury service visit the JUROR PORTAL
You may request to be excused from jury service due to hardship or extreme inconvenience by submitting a request via the JUROR PORTAL. You will need to provide enough information to enable the Court to make an informed decision. You may upload supplemental documentation in the Juror Portal to support your request. To request to be excused, visit the JUROR PORTAL.
You can review the status of your summons at the top of the Juror Portal. If your jury service was ended, the status on the Juror Portal will say “Ended” or “N/A.” This means the court you were summonsed to no longer requires jurors. Thank you for your willingness to serve.
Most King County District Court jury trials are completed within one week. You will need to report for jury service every day until the judge releases you.
Regular court hours are 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., with a lunch break. If you are selected for a trial, court staff will tell you if there are any schedule changes.
Yes. Our courthouse locations have wi-fi access. Remember that you and anything you carry will be screened when you pass through courthouse security.
No, we do not provide bus passes. However, we do reimburse for bus fare, ferry fees and mileage if driving your own vehicle.
If you served on any jury in the past 12 months, you may request to be excused from King County District Court jury service. To request to be excused, visit the JUROR PORTAL.
Thank you for serving, wherever you served!
If the court decides that it will not keep ordinary schedules, we will post this information on our web homepage. You also can call the Jury Service hotline number listed on your postcard summons for any updates or schedule changes.
If you have a disability and believe you may need help to serve as a juror, please visit: Request for Reasonable Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities.
If an emergency occurs —such as a sudden illness, accident, or death in the family—please contact the courthouse location you were summonsed to for service. Their information is provided in the reporting instructions e-mail you received the week prior to your start date.
If the summons was from King County District Court, please e-mail us at KCDCJury@kingcounty.gov and provide your full name and date of birth.
Visit the JUROR PORTAL to indicate that you no longer qualify to serve jury duty in King County District Court -- if you are no longer a resident of King County or of Pierce County ZIP codes 98047, 98092, 98352, 98354, 98371, 98372, 98390 or 98391.
The random jury selection process prevents people from knowing in advance what trial or even what type of trial they might be selected for. The court cannot excuse you as a potential juror because of what you do for a living, your family makeup, or events in your past. When you get to a courtroom, the judge might excuse you from a specific case.
You do not need special knowledge or ability to serve on a jury. Your job is to listen to all the evidence presented at trial, then determine the facts. It is enough that you keep an open mind, use common sense, concentrate on the evidence presented, and be fair and honest.
Visit the JUROR PORTAL to update your address, phone number, e-mail, and other information.
Visit the JUROR PORTAL to notify the court that the person is deceased. You may also write “Return to sender. Deceased.” on the postcard and return it to the court via U.S. Mail.
District Court can provide you a letter after you have completed your service. You may:
- Request a service letter at the courthouse location before you leave
- Visit the JUROR PORTAL to print a letter
- Contact the court by e-mail at KCDCJury@kingcounty.gov.
Some community members have received fraudulent telephone calls that appear to come from King County District Court or the King County Sheriff’s Office. The caller tells people that a warrant has been issued for their arrest and that they must pay hundreds of dollars. This is a scam. Neither the court nor the Sheriff’s Office call people to request money for a warrant. Please hang-up and treat the call as you would any unauthorized, fraudulent request.
Thank you for your interest in volunteering, but state law only allows jurors to serve based on being summonsed. The court relies on a process that ensures a random selection of jurors. This means that some residents could be called more than once, while others might never receive a summons.