Superior Court Fee Waiver Information
Filing Fees
The following instructions and forms can be used to request a waiver of filing fees in civil and family law court cases.
Instructions:
- For filing a fee waiver
- For qualified legal services providers (QLSP) as defined in APR 8(e)(2)
- Start a new case with fee waiver
Forms:
The forms are available at no cost in the Clerk's Office or the Family Law Facilitators Office (Seattle Courthouse: W-291; Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent: A-1222). They can also be downloaded from the Washington Courts website: https://www.courts.wa.gov/ (directly: Forms: General Rule 34 Request for Waiver of Civil Filing Fees and Surcharges).
Clerk's Fees
Read the following instructions and complete the form(s) to request a Clerk's fee waiver for Ex Parte via the Clerk and Expedited fees.
If you believe that you have received a non-compliance invoice in error and you have already spoken with the clerk whose name and number is listed on your notice, you may submit an appeal form:
Family Court Service Fees
- Parent Seminar: For information on a reduction or waiver of the fee, review the Fee Reduction Guidelines. For more information call: (Seattle) 206-477-1464 or (Kent) 206-477-2745.
- Family Law Facilitator Program: For fee waiver information, call the office (Seattle) 206-477-2553 or (Kent) 206-477-2781.
Interpreter Services
Interpreter Services are provided at no cost for all court events. From Amharic to Zulu, King County Superior Court's Office of Interpreter Services (OIS) obtains interpreters for more than 140 different languages to assist non-English speakers with court matters.
Fee Waiver Rules and Statutes
- Washington State Courts General Rule 34: Waiver of Court and Clerk's Fees and Charges in Civil Matters on the Basis of Indigency.
- RCW 36.18.022: Filing fees may be waived - When.
- King County Local Civil Rule 40.1: Ex Parte and Probate Department.