Clallam County Court Records Lookup

Clallam County court records are filed and maintained by the County Clerk at the Superior Court in Port Angeles. The clerk's office handles all case types filed in Clallam County including criminal felonies, civil matters, domestic filings, probate, juvenile dependency, and more. You can request copies in person, by mail, or by email, and the county provides detailed guidance on how to request Superior Court records and what fees apply. Clallam County also operates two District Courts, one serving the Port Angeles and Sequim areas and one serving the west end of the county from Forks. This page covers all the ways to search and access Clallam County court records.

Clallam County Clerk of Superior Court

The Clallam County Superior Court Clerk's Office is located at 223 E. 4th Street, Suite 9, Port Angeles, WA 98362. The clerk's primary responsibility is to file and index all records for the Clallam County Superior Courts and Family Court. Case types maintained by the office include Criminal Felony Cases, Civil Filings, Domestic Filings, Probate and Guardianship Filings, Paternity and Adoption Filings, Mental Illness Filings, Juvenile Dependency Filings, Juvenile Offender Filings, and Judgments. Under RCW Chapter 36.23, the county clerk serves as the ex-officio Clerk of Superior Court and maintains these records on behalf of the public.

The office does not accept fax or email filings for standard submissions. Credit or debit cards are accepted for payment. No personal checks are accepted. The Family Court Facilitator can be reached at 360-417-2588 in room 212 of the courthouse. Northwest Justice in Port Angeles can be reached at 360-452-9137 at 1020 Caroline Street. Daily Ex Parte Hearings are held at 1:00 p.m. with an 11:00 a.m. filing deadline. Child Support matters are heard on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 9:00 a.m. Non-Family Protection Order matters are scheduled at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays.

The clerk's page covers all case types the office handles, hearing schedules, filing deadlines, payment rules, and the forms available to people who need to file or request records.

Requesting Clallam County Superior Court Records

Clallam County has clear instructions for requesting Superior Court records. You can get records in person at the clerk's office at 223 E. 4th Street, Suite 9, Port Angeles, during business hours. You can also request records by email at Web_Clerk@ClallamCountyWA.gov. Email requests must include the case name, case number, and a specific list of the documents you need. Payment is accepted in cash, by cashier check, money order, or through the Online Payment Portal via LexisNexis.

Copy fees are set at $0.50 per page for non-certified paper copies and $0.25 per page for non-certified electronic copies. Certified copies cost $5.00 for the first page and $1.00 for each additional page. Certified or exemplified copies cannot be purchased electronically. They must be obtained in person or by mail. A certified copy includes the official seal of the court and a deputy clerk's signature. These are often needed by the Social Security Administration, the Veterans Administration, financial institutions, and for passport and international travel. Verify with the requesting agency whether a certified copy is required before you order.

Access to Clallam County court records is governed by General Rule 31 (GR 31). This rule sets the presumption that court records are public with limited exceptions. Sealed records, juvenile records in certain case types, and other protected filings are not available. The Public Records Act under RCW 42.56 applies to government agency records broadly, but court records specifically follow GR 31 rather than the PRA.

The records request page walks through each method for obtaining copies, the fee schedule by copy type, and the payment options accepted by the clerk's office.

Note: Before ordering, verify with the requesting agency whether you need a certified copy or whether a non-certified copy will suffice, since certified copies cost significantly more.

E-Filing with Clallam County Superior Court

E-filing is optional in Clallam County. The clerk still accepts documents in person and by mail. An e-filed document is considered filed after the clerk reviews and accepts it during business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). Documents submitted after hours or on weekends are considered filed at the beginning of the next business day. New case pleadings cannot be e-filed. New cases must be mailed in or dropped off with filing fees. Once a case has a Superior Court case number, future filings can be submitted through the e-file portal.

All e-filings must meet GR14 formatting requirements and be submitted as PDF files. Only black and white PDFs are accepted. Color or grayscale documents will be rejected. The system size limit is 20 megabytes per filing. Bench copies must be delivered at least 24 hours before a scheduled hearing if e-filed within five business days. Bench copies and orders can be submitted through the Clerk's E-File Portal; fees are $15 for the first 100 pages and $5 for each additional 50 pages. Registration is through the E-File Sign In page; allow 24 hours after selecting "Request Access to Site" for a response.

Documents that cannot be e-filed include ex parte orders for a judge to sign in chambers, foreign judgments, certified records for appeal, negotiable instruments, bail bonds, documents presented during a hearing, bonds in probate cases, aggravated murder filings, and several other specific document types. For sealed cover sheets in family law and guardianship cases, check the Washington Courts website under Court Forms.

Clallam County District Courts

Clallam County operates two District Courts to serve its large geographic area. District Court 1 is in Port Angeles and covers the central and eastern parts of the county including the Port Angeles and Sequim areas. District Court 2 is in Forks and serves the west end including Forks, Neah Bay, Clallam Bay, Sekiu, and LaPush. Each court handles misdemeanor criminal cases, traffic infractions, civil matters, and small claims for its service area. Municipal court functions for Port Angeles and Sequim are handled through District Court 1. Municipal court for Forks goes through District Court 2.

District Court 1 in Port Angeles is at 223 E 4th St, Suite 10 (same building as Superior Court). Phone: 360-417-2560, Clerk's Office: 360-417-2419. Judge David Neupert presides. District Court 2 in Forks is at 502 E Division St, Forks, WA 98331. Phone: 360-374-6383. Judge Bruce Hanify presides, and the administrator is Mark O Downing. For record requests and case information from the west end, contact District Court 2 directly since records are maintained at that location. Under GR 31, both district court locations maintain public access to their case records with limited exceptions.

Online Tools for Clallam County Records

The Washington Courts Case Search is the main free tool for searching Clallam County cases online. It covers superior, district, and municipal courts statewide and updates every 24 hours. Enter a name or case number to get basic case information. You cannot download documents from this site. For actual copies, contact the clerk's office or request through the email portal. The Washington Courts Name and Case Search gives you additional filtering options by court type and year filed.

For ongoing remote access to case records, the Odyssey Portal covers 37 counties in Washington using the Odyssey case management system. Check the portal to see if Clallam County records are currently available there. If you need access to records in federal courts, such as U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, use PACER. Federal court records are separate from state and county records entirely. The Washington State Digital Archives may also hold historical Clallam County Superior Court records for older cases. The Judicial Information System under RCW Chapter 2.68 powers the statewide search tools used to access these records.

Legal Help in Clallam County

Northwest Justice has a local office in Port Angeles at 1020 Caroline Street, reachable at 360-452-9137. They provide free civil legal aid for qualifying low-income residents. The statewide intake line is (888) 201-1014 and their website at nwjustice.org lists full services and eligibility details. The Family Court Facilitator at the Clallam County courthouse can help self-represented litigants with family law matters; call 360-417-2588 for an appointment. Washington Law Help at washingtonlawhelp.org has guides for many common court situations. Official court forms are available at courts.wa.gov. The Washington State Bar Association's lawyer referral service is at (206) 443-9722 and their attorney directory is at wsba.org.

Cities in Clallam County

Clallam County communities include Port Angeles, Sequim, Forks, and several smaller towns. All Superior Court cases for county residents go through the clerk's office at 223 E. 4th Street, Suite 9 in Port Angeles. District Court matters for eastern areas go to the Port Angeles location, while west end cases go to the Forks location.

No cities in Clallam County currently meet the population threshold for individual city pages on this site. For court record needs in any Clallam County community, contact the Superior Court Clerk in Port Angeles or the appropriate District Court location based on where the case was filed.

Nearby Counties

Clallam County borders Jefferson County to the east. If you need records from a court in a neighboring county, check with that county's clerk directly.