LGR 15. Destruction, Sealing, and Redaction of Court Records

(c) Sealing or Redacting Court Record.

(1) Motions to Destroy, Redact or Seal Previously Filed Documents.

(A) Civil. Motions to destroy, redact or seal all or part of a previously filed civil or domestic relations court record shall be filed with the clerk and presented, in accordance with GR 15 and GR 22, to the assigned judge or if there is no assigned judge, to the Respective Chief Judge.

(B) Criminal. Motions for cases that are not pending trial shall be presented to the assigned judge or his or her successor or, if there is no trial assigned judge or successor, to the Respective Chief Judge.

(C) Guardianship, Trusts and Probate: (Title 11) Motions may be presented to any regularly sitting Ex Parte Commissioner. Pro tem commissioners are not authorized to seal documents.

(D) Vulnerable Adult Protection Order: (RCW 74.04) Motions may be presented to any regularly sitting (but not a pro tem) Ex Parte Commissioner.

(E) Minor/Incapacitated Settlement: The motion shall be presented to the judicial officer who approved the minor settlement unless the judicial officer who approved the minor settlement is a pro tem commissioner, in which case the motion shall be brought before the assigned judge or any regularly sitting Ex Parte Commissioner.

(F) Name Changes Based on RCW 4.24.130(5)(a)(i)-(ii): Motion may be presented by the requesting party to any regularly sitting (but not a pro tem) Ex Parte Commissioner.

(G) Financial Source Documents, Personal Health Care Records and Confidential Reports in Title 26 Cases: In a proceeding brought pursuant to RCW 26, “financial source document”, “personal health care record” and “confidential report” as defined under and submitted in accordance with GR 22 will be automatically sealed by the clerk without court order, if accompanied by the proper cover sheet. See, also, LFLR 5(d) and LFLR 11 with respect to family law court records in general. Motions to seal documents pursuant to GR 22 where the filing party did not attach the appropriate coversheet may be presented to a regular sitting Ex Parte commissioner. Pro tem commissioners are not authorized to seal documents.

(2) Motions to Seal/Redact when Submitted Contemporaneously with Confidential Document – Not to be Filed.

(A) Motions to Seal Documents Regarding Expert Witnesses and Other Services in Criminal Cases Pending Trial. Submit to the Chief Criminal Judge, pursuant to the protocol in the Criminal Department Manual: kingcounty.gov/court/superior-court/courts-jails-legal-system/criminal.

(B) Motions to Seal Documents Regarding Expert Witnesses and Other Services in Sexually Violent Predator Cases Pending Trial. Submit to assigned judge, pursuant to (E) below.

(C) Motions to Seal Documents Regarding Expert Witnesses and Other Services in Dependency and Termination Cases Pending Fact Finding. Submit to the Lead Dependency Judge, pursuant to the published protocol available on the Court’s Website: kingcounty.gov/court/superior-court/courts-jails-legal-system/court-programs-children-families/dependency-court.

(D) Motions to Seal Documents Regarding Expert Witnesses and Other Services in Juvenile Offender Cases Pending Trial. Submit to the Chief Juvenile Judge, pursuant to the protocol in the Juvenile Department Offender Manual: kingcounty.gov/court/superior-court/about-superior-court/lawyer-help.

(E) All Other Motions.

(i) The moving party shall provide the following directly to the hearing judge and not file:

a) The original unredacted copy of the document(s) the party seeks to file under seal to the hearing judge in an envelope for in camera review. The words “SEALED PER COURT ORDER DATED [insert date]” shall be written on the unredacted document(s). The following information shall be written on the envelope: The case caption and cause number; a list of the document(s) under review; and the words “SEALED PER COURT ORDER DATED [insert date].”

b) A proposed redacted copy of the subject document(s).

c) A proposed order granting the motion to seal, with specific proposed findings setting forth the basis for sealing the document(s).

d) A self-addressed envelope with appropriate postage for the return of the document, should the party request said return.

(ii) If the hearing judge denies, in whole or in part, the motion to seal, the judge will return the original unredacted document(s) and the proposed redacted document(s) to the submitting party upon request to return if envelope with postage was provided and will file the order denying the motion to seal.

(iii) If the hearing judge grants the motion to seal the judge will file the sealed document(s) contemporaneously with a separate order granting the motion. If the judge grants the motion by allowing redaction, the judge shall write the words “SEALED PER COURT ORDER DATED [insert date]” in the caption of the unredacted document before filing.

(3) Motions to Conceal the Name of a Party to an Action. See LCR 10.

(e) Motions to Unseal or Examine Sealed Files. Applications to examine sealed files shall be made as follows: civil, domestic, parentage and dependency cases to the assigned judge, or Respective Chief Judge, and petitions to review or remove a will from the will repository to the Ex Parte and Probate Department, with oral argument, presented in person; adoption cases to the Sealed Adoption File Committee judges; dependency cases to the Juvenile Department; mental illness cases to the mental illness calendar. No order permitting the examination of any sealed file shall be entered without a written motion establishing justification under applicable court rules and case law. The court may, in its discretion, require notice to be given to any party in interest before permitting such examination.

(f) Orders to Destroy, Redact or Seal. Any order containing a directive to destroy, redact or seal all or part of a court record must be clearly captioned as such and may not be combined with any other order other than a protective order in criminal cases. The clerk may call to the attention of the judicial officer any deviation from the requirements of the rule.

[Adopted effective September 1, 2008; amended effective January 1, 2009; January 1, 2009; September 1, 2009; September 1, 2010; September 2, 2013; September 1, 2015; September 1, 2017; September 1, 2018; September 1, 2024.]