King County District Court eFiling
! NOTICE OF EMERGENCY CHANGES TO COURT OPERATIONS!
King County District Court operations are substantially curtailed to help keep the public and our employees safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please visit COVID-19 Impacts to King County District Court to learn how these changes affect you, or call (206) 205-9200.
Please do not come into any King County District Court courthouse if you are sick or experiencing flu-like symptoms such as a cough, fever or other respiratory problem.
Understanding King County District Court’s two-phases of e-filing
Phase 1
Mandatory e-filing as of January 2018 for all case filings, including case initiation, document filing and ex parte motion processing, for the following case types:
•Cases initiated with a civil summons and complaint
•Filing of a foreign judgment
•Filing of a money judgment from a district or municipal court
•Petition to challenge a drug-based property forfeiture
•Petition for return of animals
Phase 2
E-filing begins November 2, 2020, with mandatory e-filing as of May 1, 2021, for the following case types:
•Criminal
•Infraction
•All other civil case types not included in Phase I
In addition to expanded e-filing, court users will notice substantial changes in docketing, calendaring and document indexing, beginning November 2, 2020.
Get ready for the changes
Check back on this page for educational videos, other learning aids, and a practice portal, under the “Training” tab below
Training Videos
KCDC e-Filing Training: Account Navigation
KCDC e-Filing Training: Document Filing with Event Request
KCDC e-Filing Training: Fee-Based Document Filing
KCDC e-Filing Training: Case Search and Case Navigation
KCDC e-Filing Training: Civil Case Initiation
KCDC Doc eFiling - Criminal and Infraction
Criminal Case Initiation eFiling
Training Portal
At this time, you can search for and view case information on King County District Court (KCDC) Civil cases (excludes Small Claims, Name Changes, Impounds and Protection Orders). You can also electronically file new Civil cases and electronically file documents into existing Civil cases.
During our initial release, only information on Civil cases can be viewed on this portal (excludes Small Claims, Name Changes, Impounds and Protection Orders). For all other case types, KCDC information can be found here.
You do not need an account to search for and view summary case information. You do need an account to view document images, electronically file documents or electronically file new cases.
New accounts can be created here. All you need is basic information about yourself, an email address, and a password.
Accounts are for individual users only. Accounts may not be shared with others. Accounts are free and can be easily created.
Passwords can be reset at this link here. Note: when resetting passwords, you will have one hour to respond to the password reset link – otherwise you will need to begin the process again.
If your internet connection is down your options include going to one of the many locations that offer free internet access, including public libraries. You may also visit any King County District Court location (excluding Vashon Island) to use a Public Access Terminal. If the King County network is down or if the eCourt Portal is down during business hours, filing directions will be posted on the KCDC website.
Yes! You may visit any KCDC location (excluding Vashon Island) during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) to use a Public Access Terminal or to speak with a Court Clerk to obtain assistance.
eCourt Portal support can be reached during normal KCDC business hours here.
You can find case information for most KCDC Civil cases, including cause of action, parties, past and upcoming hearings, judgment information and index of documents filed.
Under Court Rule GR-31, most Court records are considered public, including documents. The Court does not publish addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth or other personal-identifying information on the portal. Pursuant to court rule GR 31(e)(1), parties filing documents must redact personal identifier unless necessary or otherwise ordered by the Court. The Court does not monitor compliance with this requirement but upon motion may award reasonable expenses including attorney fees and costs to a prevailing party for such motion.
Access to view documents via the portal is limited to active WSBA members in good standing, and case parties. Case parties are assigned a Token (like a password or key) that grants access to view case documents via the portal. Tokens are distributed by KCDC staff. Please contact KCDC for help obtaining your Token.
Access to view documents via the portal is limited to active WSBA members in good standing, and case parties. Case parties are assigned a Token (like a password or key) that grants access to view case documents via the portal. Tokens are distributed by KCDC staff. Please contact KCDC for help obtaining your Token.
You do not need an account to search for cases or to view case information. You do need an account to view case documents, or to electronically file a document or a new case.
There are three types of accounts:
Public User: This account is available to anyone.
WSBA Member User: This account is available to all active WSBA members in good standing. These accounts are available as a subscription for $100.00 per year. While the Court is in the process of implementing all of our case types, these accounts will be available for free on a trial basis. All account holders will be notified prior to the end of the trial period that their access will expire if a subscription is not maintained.
Government Agency: available to Government agencies such as Law Enforcement Agencies, Washington State Courts and other local Criminal Justice agencies. Accounts must be created with the appropriate agency email address [.gov or .org] to ensure activation.
Public User: This account is available to anyone.
WSBA Member User: This account is available to all active WSBA members in good standing. These accounts are available as a subscription for $100.00 per year. While the Court is in the process of implementing all of our case types, these accounts will be available for free on a trial basis. All account holders will be notified prior to the end of the trial period that their access will expire if a subscription is not maintained.
Government Agency: available to Government agencies such as Law Enforcement Agencies, Washington State Courts and other local Criminal Justice agencies. Accounts must be created with the appropriate agency email address [.gov or .org] to ensure activation.
Access to view summary information about cases is free. Electronic filing of cases or fee-based documents requires payment of applicable filing fees. Non-fee documents can be e-filed for no charge. There is also a King County eCommerce transaction fee of $1.99 which is automatically added to all fee-based transactions. This fee is not assessed by KCDC, nor does KCDC retain this fee.
If you are a party to a case with a token, you can print documents for free. If you are a registered WSBA Attorney User, you will be able to print documents any eCourt document on your computer for free during the trial period. You can always come to the KCDC to view and purchase copies of documents from a court file.
For cases accessible in the eCourt Portal, KCDC is not able to process requests for certified copies online. You may come to any KCDC location to view and purchase certified copies. You may also submit your request by mail, including payment for certification fees and postage
You may search a case to see court dates for that case. If you want to see the entire KCDC calendar, you can view it here.
You can search for a case number, or Last Name of a party, or a Company Name.
If you are the initiating party on a case, you will automatically be entitled to access the electronic court file. If you are responding to a case filed against you, you may contact KCDC and request your Token. A Token is a unique key that you can use on the Portal to unlock access to your case. To use the Token, you will need to make sure you are registered on the Portal.
If you are not a party to a case, and you would like access to view case documents, you must come to a KCDC location to view the case documents.
e-Filing is a way to electronically file a court case or file documents into a court case.
To use e-Filing you must have a (free) KCDC eCourt User Account, a computer or other device with an internet connection, and pay for required filing fees.
For more information on e-Filing training opportunities, please contact the Court. KCDC will also offer training on a periodic basis by webinar. Webinar information will be posted to the KCDC homepage, KCDC eCourt Portal homepage, and will be distributed via ListServe.
Anyone can e-File. While e-Filing will become mandatory for Attorney Users after the initial grace period expires, the court encourages all users to save a trip to the Courthouse by e-Filing into their cases.
Beginning January 1, 2018, e-Filing for Civil cases (not including Protection Orders, Small Claims, Petitions for Change of Name and Contested Impounds) will be mandatory for all Attorney Users. Until then, e-Filing is strongly encouraged for Attorney Users. The mandatory and grace period dates for other case types will be published as KCDC nears the launch of those case types into eCourt. E-Filing is optional for non-attorneys.
Unless you received a waiver from the Court, mandatory eFiling applies to all attorneys for all Phase I Civil Cases (not including Protection Orders, Small Claims, Petitions for Change of Name and Contested Impounds), regardless of whether the case was initiated via paper or through eFiling. If the case originated as a paper filing, and you are an attorney, you must use eFiling for all future filings.
Attorney Users who are required to e-File, and do not do so will be assessed a $50.00 Paper Handling Fee as set forth in KCC 4A.634.100.
E-filing is free for all users. However, as required by state law, documents that require a filing fee will require payment of the appropriate fee upon filing. At the time of any fee-based filing, an e-commerce transaction fee will also be applied by the county’s payment processor. For payments made by credit card, a convenience fee of 2.49% of the transaction value, with a minimum fee of $1.49, is applied; and for e-check payments, the convenience fee is $1.00. Regardless of the number of documents or new cases included in your cart, only one convenience fee is charged to complete the transaction. If no fee is associated with your filing, you will not be charged any fees for your e-filing submission.
No. Payment must be made at the time of each transaction. KCDC does not offer ‘draw down’ accounts.
No. Payment must be made at the time of the transaction. KCDC does not offer a mechanism to send billing invoices to filers for their transactions.
Yes! The KCDC eCourt Portal utilizes an ‘add to cart’ feature. You can add multiple document filings, or even new case filings, to your ‘shopping cart’ and make one ‘check out’ transaction.
During the initial release, only cases, and documents for those cases defined as ‘Civil Limited’ may be e-Filed. This includes the following causes of action:
Animal Impound
Automobile Damages
Breach of Contract
Damage Deposit
District Court Judgment
Foreign Judgment
Goods and Services
Lease Agreement
Loan
Municipal Court Judgment
NSF Check
Open Account
Other
Personal Injury
Petition for Seized Goods
Property Damages
Rent
Replevin
Restitution
Services Rendered
Wages
Written Instrument
The following case and cause types are NOT permitted to be e-Filed at this time. Information on these case types can be found on KCDC’s homepage:
civil: Name Change, Anti-Harassment, Domestic Violence Protection, Extreme Risk Protection, Sexual Assault Protection, Stalking Protection, Private Impound, Public Impound
Small Claims
Infraction (Parking and Traffic Tickets)
Criminal
The following case and cause types are NOT permitted to be e-Filed at this time. Information on these case types can be found on KCDC’s homepage:
File submissions are limited to 50MB.
If you have a singular filing that exceeds filing size limits, you may try creating the document with a lower resolution, in black and white, or by other means to reduce file size, so long as the quality of the image isn’t compromised and you are satisfying the e-filing technical requirement. If you have multiple filings in your Cart, and you exceed the filing size limits, try reducing the number of items in your Cart, and making separate transactions to reduce file size. If your filing is still too large after trying these measures, please contact the eCourt Portal Support.
General Rule 30 (GR 30) for Washington State and KCDC Local General Rule 30 (LGR 30) identify the types of documents that cannot be e-filed and must be filed in paper form.
Waivers of the mandatory e-Filing requirements will require an application be submitted to the KCDC Office of the Presiding Judge. A copy of the waiver application can be found here. You may apply for a waiver on a case by case basis. KCDC will consider the application and provide an approval or denial in writing. Timely submission of any waiver application will prevent unnecessary delay to your case. If the Waiver is denied, all filings must comply with the mandatory e-Filing Rule (LGR 30) or you will be assessed a $50 Paper Handling Fee. Filing an application for a waiver does not toll any mandatory filing deadlines.
.PDF is the only accepted document format.
Select the document type that most clearly identifies the document you are e-Filing. Properly identify the title of your documents to ensure efficient processing by KCDC staff. Documents or pleadings should be filed individually, where practical. to prevent document rejections. For example, a Summons and a Complaint must be filed as two separate documents: Summons; Complaint. A Motion for Default Judgment must be filed separately from the Proposed Order of Default Judgment.
If, after careful review of available options, you are unsure of what type to choose, you may select ‘Miscellaneous’ and provide a description of your submission in the field provided. However, if you are filing a document that has a fee associated with it be sure to choose the document type that has the appropriate fee associated or your document will be rejected for non-payment.
Yes. State Court Rule ARLJ 10 requires the filing of a Case Information Cover Sheet for each new civil filing, except in infraction cases.
If you are filing an Ex Parte motion, you must file a separate proposed order for the judge to sign. If you are filing a motion that will be heard before the judge in court you may file a copy of your proposed order as an attachment to your motion document, Do not file this proposed order as a separate document. At the time your Motion is heard, you must provide the judge with an order, unless otherwise instructed by judge.
If you wish to eFile, you must first create a portal account. After logging in to your portal account, you can perform a Case Search to locate the relevant case. Once you have accessed the case, select the button for “Add Filing.” There is no fee for filing an Answer to Writ of Garnishment. Training videos are available on our Training Page to assist with both creating portal accounts and filing documents.
Immediately after e-Filing you will receive email confirmation of your transaction, including a receipt for any fees paid. Upon review by KCDC, you will receive confirmation of Acceptance, which will include a conformed copy of your filing for your records; or you will receive a Rejection notice with information on the reason for the rejection and any cure method, if available.
Initial Acceptance/Rejection of filings should occur within 2 business days of your submission. If your filing requires additional action (such as review by a Judge, signature, setting a hearing, etc.) please anticipate an additional 1-2 business days for complete processing.
Upon acceptance of your filing, you will receive a conformed copy of your filing by email. Additional copies may be retrieved from the KCDC eCourt Portal by searching for your case, and obtaining copies from the Documents folder.
Filings made after regular KCDC business hours are considered filed the next business day at 8:30 a.m. KCDC’s regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST), not including holidays.
If your filing is not accepted, you will receive notification of the reason(s) for the rejection, and if applicable, instructions on how to cure the filing and resubmit.
If KCDC rejects a filing, and the filing has already been served on another party, it is your responsibility to serve the party with any corrected pleading or notice, or notify the party of any rejected filing.
Unless otherwise notified by the Court of next steps, corrected filings may be e-Filed under the title of ‘Resubmission or Corrected Filing.’ These e-Filings will be reviewed by Court staff to ensure the required corrections have been made so that final processing of the filing can occur.
You will receive confirmation of acceptance after KCDC staff review your filing for compliance with e-filing rules and requirements. You can also log into the KCDC eCourt Portal and from the ‘My Cases’ tab see the filing status of all of your submissions.
You may see the status of all of your e-Filings from your KCDC eCourt Portal account, by logging in to the Portal, and selecting ‘My Cases’ for cases you’ve initiated, and ‘My Filings’ for documents you’ve e-Filed into other cases.
Technical Requirements
1. e-Filing account
2. Active email address to list on your e-Filing account (This email address is where all information about your cases will be mailed. Make sure your email client and Security platform will allow you to receive emails from @kingcounty.gov addresses.)
3. Internet access
4. Recommended web browser. Other versions may not be compatible with KCDC's payment processer and e-filing vendor.
- Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11
- Mozilla Firefox, most recent stable version
- Google Chrome, most recent stable version
- Apple Safari version 5.1.7 (win) and 7.0 (Mac) or newer
5. Comply with file format requirement: PDF
6. Recommend use of Antivirus software
eFiling Document Specifications
- Comply with GR 14(a) format requirements.
- Leave an 8.5"x1.5" blank space at the end of document text for the judge's signature.
- Use only ADA compliant fonts (e.g., Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Geneva, Tahoma, Times, Times New Roman, Verdana)
- Use 12 to 14 point font sizes
- Use only PDF formats
- Use 200-300 DPI resolution
- DO NOT use JavaScript and macros
- DO NOT use any hyperlinks
- 50 MB document size limit
Need help with the e-Filing Portal? Contact KCDC by using one of the following:
- call 206-205-9200, option 8
- email kcdcefilinghelp@kingcounty.gov