Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

New Portal Provides Public Web Access to Supreme Court, Court of Appeals Case Documents

OLYMPIA — Documents in public cases filed with the Washington State Court of Appeals and Supreme Court are now available to the public through a new web portal launched this week by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and state Appellate Courts. No registration is needed to search for documents and the service is free of charge.

The new Appellate Court Public Document Portal was developed to enhance public access to Appellate case records and documents. Electronic records were designated as the official Appellate Court record effective January 1, 2021.

The new portal will provide the public with online access to files and documents for Appellate cases filed after January 1, 2020, without a requirement to register or log-in. A case number will be required for the search. As with other electronic court records, files that are sealed or confidential – such as those involving adoptions and mental health proceedings – will not be available. Also, some public documents within public case types may not be available based on sealing requirements. The portal will not provide links to local trial court records.

“The Appellate Courts and AOC are excited to provide this additional tool to expand public access to appellate case records, as the judicial branch continues its efforts to transition to electronic court records,” said AOC Court Business Office Manager Jamie Kambich.  “The success of this project would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the appellate clerks, appellate court staff, AOC technical staff, AOC business staff and the technology vendor.”

Access to Washington court records is governed by state statutes and general court rules. Additional search portals for trial court case and person records can be found on AOC’s Search Case Records page.  Additional details and links involving court records can be found in the online Access to Court Records Brochure.

CONTACT: Lorrie Thompson, Senior Communications Officer, Administrative Office of the Courts, (360) 705-5347, Lorrie.Thompson@courts.wa.gov.