Find Court Records in Spokane County

Spokane County court records are maintained by the County Clerk for Superior Court cases and by the District Court for lower-level matters. The county has three court levels: Superior Court handles felonies, family law, and major civil cases. District Court handles misdemeanors, traffic matters, and civil disputes under $100,000. Spokane Municipal Court handles city ordinance violations within Spokane city limits. If you need to search Spokane County court records, the county provides an online Court Viewer tool as well as access to the statewide case search system. This page covers all three court levels and the records each one holds.

Spokane County Clerk of Superior Court

The Spokane County Clerk acts as the judicial administrator for Superior Court. Timothy W. Fitzgerald serves as Clerk of the Superior Court. The office maintains court records and files going back to 1880. Probate records date to 1878. The Clerk handles civil, domestic, felony criminal, civil commitment, probate, guardianship, paternity, adoption, and juvenile matters filed in Superior Court.

The Spokane County Clerk's Office is located at the Spokane County Courthouse, 1116 W Broadway Avenue, Spokane, WA 99260. Phone: 509-477-2211. Fax: 509-477-5714. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. The office handles Protection Orders, copy requests, and electronic filing. A Court Viewer tool is available for searching certain public court records online.

Spokane County Court Viewer

The Spokane County Court Viewer is the county's own online portal for searching court records and upcoming hearing information. It covers Superior Court and District Court. Municipal Court hearings are not included in the combined daily hearings list. The Court Viewer lets you search Superior Court cases by name or by case number. You can also look up court dates for criminal defendants and view the combined daily hearing list for both courts.

The information provided in the Court Viewer is for reference purposes and is not the official court record. The official record is at the court of record. Spokane County and its courts do not warrant that the information is accurate or complete. Users should verify all details with the Clerk's office or the court directly. The Court Viewer is updated regularly but may not show the most recent filings right away.

For a broader search that covers all courts statewide, the Spokane County Court Records page links out to both local and statewide search tools. You can reach District Court case management at dccasemgmt@spokanecounty.org or at 509-477-4770.

Spokane County Superior Court

The Spokane County Superior Court is located at 1116 W. Broadway Avenue, Spokane, WA 99260. Phone: 509-477-5790. The court's mission is to administer justice with fairness, equality, and integrity. It handles felony criminal cases, civil cases over $100,000, family law, probate, and juvenile matters. Multiple departments operate within the court, each with assigned judges and commissioners. The court operates specialty calendars for drug court, mental health court, and veterans court.

Self-help resources and family law facilitator services are available for people who do not have a lawyer. The court provides interpreter services for limited English speakers. Local court rules are published on the court's website. The court administers the statewide e-filing system for attorneys. Court dates and cases can be searched through the Court Database linked on the Superior Court site.

Under General Rule 31, court records in Washington are open to the public with limited exceptions. Dependency, Becca, and juvenile offender case information is not available through the Court Viewer. For juvenile information, contact the Juvenile Court Coordinator at 509-477-5790. Superior Court trial dates are subject to change; always confirm with court administration before appearing.

Spokane County District Court

Spokane County District Court is located at 1100 W. Mallon Avenue, Spokane, WA 99260. Phone: 509-477-4770. Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. The court handles misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, traffic infractions, civil cases under $100,000, small claims up to $10,000, and protection orders. For Spokane Valley residents, a precinct at 12710 E Sprague Ave, Spokane Valley handles ticket counter and infraction dockets.

Court records access at the District Court is governed by General Rule 31. Records requests should be as specific as possible to ensure timely processing. Contact the District Court at dccasemgmt@spokanecounty.org for case management questions. The county website provides contact information for each court's records division and notes any holiday closures.

Spokane Municipal Court

Spokane Municipal Court serves the City of Spokane. It was founded in 2009 and exercises jurisdiction over criminal misdemeanors, civil infractions, and Spokane Municipal Code violations within the city. The court processes approximately 101,000 tickets annually, covering criminal misdemeanors, civil infractions, photo-enforcement infractions, and parking citations. Criminal misdemeanors carry a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Gross misdemeanors carry up to 364 days and a $5,000 fine.

The Spokane Municipal Court website has hearing schedules and case lookup tools. The eCourt Portal is the web-based system for accessing Municipal Court electronic case management. It lets you find case information, view court dates by defendant or case number, and make payments on fines and restitution. The depth of information varies depending on whether you have login credentials.

Municipal Court does not handle protection orders, name changes, small claims, or civil cases. Those go to Spokane County District or Superior Court. The court operates therapeutic programs including Community Court, DUI Court, Veterans' Enhanced Therapeutic Court, City/County Mental Health Court, and Domestic Violence Intervention Court.

Record requests for administrative records must be submitted in writing. You can drop them off at the public counter or mail them to: Spokane Municipal Court, 1100 W. Mallon Ave, Spokane, WA 99260. You can also email requests to mcrecords@spokanecity.org. The Records Officer will respond within five business days in most cases. Copying fees apply per the court's published fee schedule. Appeals of record decisions must be filed within 90 days.

Access Rules for Spokane County Records

Court records in Washington are not subject to the Public Records Act under RCW 42.56. Access is governed by General Rule 31 instead. This rule presumes records are open, with specific carve-outs for sealed records, juvenile matters, and certain sensitive filings. The County Clerk's duties come from RCW Chapter 36.23, which establishes the clerk as the ex-officio clerk of the Superior Court.

For federal cases involving parties in Spokane, those records are found in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Federal records are accessed through PACER at pacer.uscourts.gov, not through the state court system. State and federal records are entirely separate systems.

Note: The statewide Washington Courts case search covers Spokane County Superior Court, District Court, and Municipal Court cases. Results update every 24 hours at 3:00 a.m. They are reference material only; verify all findings with the clerk's office of record.

Cities in Spokane County

All Superior Court cases for cities in Spokane County are filed at the Spokane County Courthouse. City-level cases go to the appropriate municipal court or the county District Court.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Spokane County. File in the county where you live or where the case originated.