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Clark County, WA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Superior Court in Clark County, Washington's general-jurisdiction trial court. There is no separate probate court in Washington; the superior court handles probate as a case type under Title 11 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW Title 11), and Clark County indexes it as case type 4, probate and guardianship. Uncontested estate matters are presented to the probate and guardianship judge by ex parte presentation under Clark County Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00, and matters needing a hearing go on the Friday probate and guardianship docket |
| Filing office | Clark County Clerk, Clerk of the Superior Court, on the first floor of the Clark County Courthouse. It takes probate petitions, holds the original will, issues the letters, presents ex parte orders on a filer's behalf, and keeps the estate record. The Clerk is an elected county official under the Washington State Constitution |
| Courthouse | Clark County Courthouse, 1200 Franklin Street, Vancouver, WA 98660. The Clerk's Office and the county law library are both on the first floor; Superior Court Administration is on the ground floor to the left of courtroom G-2, which is where bench copies are dropped off |
| Mailing | Clark County Clerk, PO Box 5000, Vancouver, WA 98666-5000. Mail is where a self-represented filer files if they do not come to the counter |
| Phone | (564) 397-2292 for the Clerk's civil counter, which is also the number the Clerk publishes for the probate clerk. Phone hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, half an hour shorter than the counter. E-filing and records imaging questions go to (564) 397-2298; the county law library is (564) 397-2268 |
| [email protected] for general questions and [email protected] for document copies. The Clerk also publishes [email protected] for e-filing registration, [email protected] to open an e-filed case, and [email protected], which requires the words ex parte in the subject line or body or the spam filter drops the message | |
| Fax | (564) 397-6099. This is a contact line only: the Clerk's Office states that it does not accept faxed filings |
| Hours | The Clerk's Office is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and closes from noon to 1:00 p.m. for lunch. Phone hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Court files may be reviewed 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The e-filing window is 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and an electronic document received outside it is filed at the beginning of the next business day. All locations close on court holidays |
| Filing fee | $290 to open a probate, set by statute and the same in every county: a $200 filing fee plus a $40 surcharge and a $50 surcharge (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)); fee waivers are available for filers who cannot afford the fee (GR 34). Clark County's own schedule lists "Estate (Probate), Filing, 290.00" (Clark County Clerk's Fee Schedule, effective June 11, 2026). The Clerk takes cash, business checks, debit and credit cards, with a convenience fee on cards, and does not take personal checks. Confirm the current schedule with the Clark County Clerk |
| Local forms | Yes, a short list. A Case Information Cover Sheet goes with every new Superior Court case. Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 requires a Notice of Ex Parte Presentation on the form the court prescribes and approves, plus a declaration of service substantially complying with the statewide guardianship form GDN ALL 007. The Clerk sells blank small estate affidavit forms for $4.00, and a Notice to Set for Trial on the court's form is what places a contested estate matter on the trial readiness calendar. Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, so the petitions themselves are drafted by the filer or the attorney |
| E-filing | Available but not mandatory, and not open to everyone. The Clerk runs its own Serv-U e-filing system for Superior Court and states that e-filing is not mandatory and is available only to attorneys, schools, guardians ad litem, and state and government agencies. People who are not attorneys and wish to represent themselves file paper documents in person or by US Mail. Registration goes to [email protected], and a new e-filed case starts by emailing the Case Information Cover Sheet and a copy of the petition to [email protected]. Several probate documents cannot be e-filed at all, including original wills and codicils, new probate cases that include an original will or codicil, bonds in probate cases, small estates, and the letters themselves |
| Case search | Odyssey Portal, plus Clark County's own imaging system. Clark is one of the 37 Washington counties whose superior court records are searched through Odyssey Portal at odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal, and the Clerk links it from its own pages for name and case-number searches; only King and Pierce counties sit outside it. Document images are held in the Clerk's OnBase system, viewable on public terminals in the first-floor lobby, with paid subscriptions available for offices that need remote access. The Administrative Office of the Courts search at dw.courts.wa.gov is a pointer index whose own notice warns that dockets, judgments, document links and case status may be inaccurate |
| Remote appearance | Available. Clark County Local General Rule 19 provides that attorneys and parties may choose to appear remotely for any civil docket, and the court publishes a Zoom link for its Friday 1:30 p.m. probate and guardianship docket. Trials and evidentiary hearings need the judicial officer's approval on motion, and the court keeps discretion to order anyone to appear in person |
| Website | https://clark.wa.gov/clerk |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
The first Clark County question is not which form to use, it is what the estate holds and which Washington route fits. The routes are a petition to probate the will with letters testamentary; a petition for letters of administration where there is no will, in the priority order the statute sets; nonintervention powers, which let a solvent estate be administered and closed without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011); and, for a modest estate holding only personal property, a sworn small estate affidavit collected without opening a court case (RCW 11.62.010). Which one fits turns on whether there is a will, what the estate holds, whether it is solvent, and who is entitled to serve. The routes and their thresholds are covered on the Washington state page.
Before you file, identify every bank and credit union account, brokerage and retirement account, life insurance policy, vehicle, business interest, and parcel of Clark County real estate, along with every debt, and identify each heir, legatee and devisee by name and address. That front work now carries legal weight: a 2026 change to Washington law requires an application for letters of administration to describe the heirs and the applicant's reasonable search for them and, unless the applicant is the spouse, domestic partner or next of kin, to give a general description of the major probate assets (RCW 11.28.110). It also decides your Clark County path, because a small estate affidavit is a $20 filing at the counter while a probate is a $290 case. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Superior Court in Clark County serves all of Clark County, from Vancouver and Hazel Dell across the county to Camas, Washougal, Battle Ground, Ridgefield, La Center, Yacolt and the rural north county, and it hears probate for a Clark County decedent. Washington law lets the petitioner file a probate in the superior court of any county in the state (RCW 11.96A.050(4)), but in practice you file in the county where the decedent lived: an interested party can move venue there within four months of the notice of appointment, and if the probate is filed outside the county of residence the creditor notice must still be published in the county of residence (RCW 11.40.020(2)). Once letters have been granted, the rest of the estate stays in that county (RCW 11.96A.050(5)). A narrow exception removes the choice: a petitioner seeking appointment under RCW 11.28.120(3), the route open to a person not otherwise entitled after 90 days, must file where the decedent resided.
Clark County puts a price on getting that wrong in one small way worth knowing. The Clerk's fee schedule carries a $20 line for filing a notice of probate when the probate was filed in a county other than where the decedent resided, which is the RCW 11.40.020(2) situation. If the decedent lived in Clark County, file here and the question never arises.
There is one courthouse for probate. Every Clark County estate is filed with the Clark County Clerk on the first floor of the Clark County Courthouse, 1200 Franklin Street in downtown Vancouver, or by mail to PO Box 5000, Vancouver, WA 98666-5000. The court also uses a Family Law Annex at 601 West Evergreen Boulevard and a separate juvenile courthouse, but neither takes probate filings. Hearings that a probate actually needs are held at the Franklin Street courthouse or by Zoom, and most uncontested estate matters never reach a courtroom at all, because Clark County Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 routes them to the probate and guardianship judge by ex parte presentation.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm venue. Clark County is the practical county when the decedent lived here at death (RCW 11.96A.050(4)). Filing elsewhere is permitted but invites a change of venue within four months of the notice of appointment, still requires publication in the county of residence, and adds a $20 Clark County filing for the notice of probate if the estate is administered somewhere else.
- Choose the route. With a will, the petitioner asks the court to probate the will and issue letters testamentary, and the court may hear the proofs immediately and enter an order establishing the will (RCW 11.20.020). With no will, the applicant petitions for letters of administration in the statutory priority order (RCW 11.28.120(1)), and the 2026 amendments to RCW 11.28.110 require the application to state the heirs and the applicant's search for them and, unless the applicant is the spouse, domestic partner or next of kin, to describe the major probate assets. Most Washington personal representatives also petition for nonintervention powers so the estate can be administered and closed without further court supervision (RCW 11.68.011). A modest estate holding only personal property may instead be collected by sworn affidavit with no court case opened (RCW 11.62.010); the routes and their thresholds are on the Washington state page.
- Prepare the documents. Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, so the petition, the oath or acceptance of appointment, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney. A Case Information Cover Sheet goes with every new Superior Court case in Clark County. If you will present an uncontested matter by ex parte presentation, prepare the Notice of Ex Parte Presentation on the form the court prescribes and approves, and a declaration of service substantially complying with the statewide guardianship form GDN ALL 007 (Clark County Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00). For an uncontested will, plan on a certificate of testimony for the court's signature, which Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.08 requires along with the proof of the will.
- File with the Clark County Clerk. A self-represented filer files on paper, in person at the first-floor counter of the Clark County Courthouse, 1200 Franklin Street, or by mail to PO Box 5000, Vancouver, WA 98666-5000: Clark County e-filing is not mandatory and the Clerk states it is available only to attorneys, schools, guardians ad litem, and state and government agencies. An attorney or agency that e-files registers first through [email protected], then opens the case by emailing the Case Information Cover Sheet, a copy of the petition and any required confidential information form to [email protected]; staff add the case, take payment and issue the case number, and the pleadings are then uploaded. Probate is case type 4, one of the case types a new e-filed case may use. Either way the original will and any codicil must reach the clerk on paper, and Clark County's e-filing exclusion list says so twice, once for original wills and codicils and again for new probate cases that include one. The Clerk does not accept faxed filings.
- Pay the fee. $290 to open a probate, set by statute and the same in every Washington county: a $200 filing fee plus a $40 surcharge and a $50 surcharge (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), listed as "Estate (Probate), Filing, 290.00" on the Clark County Clerk's Fee Schedule, effective June 11, 2026. The Clerk takes cash, business checks, debit and credit cards, with a convenience fee on cards, and does not take personal checks; an e-filed document's fee is paid by E-Check after calling (564) 397-2298, and mailed or in-person payment is not accepted for e-filed documents. A filer who cannot afford the fee may ask the court to waive it under GR 34, and the Clerk's schedule carries the in forma pauperis waiver at RCW 36.18.022.
- Present the petition, usually without a hearing. Clark County Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 covers probate proceedings under Title 11 RCW and states that the court strongly encourages parties to present uncontested matters ex parte to minimize the size of the docket. An uncontested matter goes directly to the probate and guardianship judge once the Notice of Ex Parte Presentation is filed with the Clerk before delivery or mailing, copies of the pleadings and notice are delivered to all parties and each notice party, a declaration of service is filed, the notice period has run or been waived, and no objection has been filed. An agreed order, meaning one signed by everyone or where notice is waived or nobody is entitled to notice, is submitted by ex parte presentation directly to the probate and guardianship judge and not through the regular ex parte process, with a transmittal saying it meets the rule.
- Or use the Clerk's ex parte process for orders that are not covered by that rule. Clark County Superior Court does not have a formal ex parte docket; a judge is assigned daily to review and sign ex parte orders by 3:30 p.m., and the Clerk's Office will present ex parte orders on your behalf for $30, covering one to three orders that need not be in the same case, mailed in with copies to conform and a self-addressed stamped envelope. Confirm the payment method with the Clerk's Office before mailing, because its ex parte page asks for a law firm check while its fee schedule says no personal checks. Note also that the Clerk's ex parte page states self-represented litigants cannot present final orders ex parte and that those cases must be cited on the appropriate docket, listing only dissolution and legal separation without children as exceptions; ask the Clerk's Office which route your order takes.
- Note a hearing where one is genuinely needed. Contested and objected matters go on the court's probate and guardianship docket, which sits Friday at 1:30 p.m. If an objection is filed to an ex parte presentation, the judicial officer decides whether a hearing is required and, if so, directs the moving party to file a notice of hearing and give the required notice. For a civil motion in the estate, Clark County Local Civil Rule 6(d) sets the working schedule: file and serve the motion documents and the citation noting the motion no later than ten court days before the hearing, responses five court days before, and any reply three court days before, limited to four pages, with hard-copy working copies delivered to the assigned department. Where Title 11 sets its own notice period, that statutory period controls.
- Appear, in person or by Zoom. Clark County Local General Rule 19 lets attorneys and parties choose a remote appearance for any civil docket, and the court publishes a Zoom link for the Friday 1:30 p.m. probate and guardianship docket. A trial or evidentiary hearing may be remote only with the judicial officer's approval on motion, and the court keeps discretion to order anyone to appear in person.
- Receive the letters. After the court signs the order, the clerk issues the letters testamentary or letters of administration with the court seal and a deputy clerk's signature for $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)); a certificate of qualification, the line Clark County labels Form K, is a separate $5 item under the same statute, and executing a certificate with or without a seal is $2 (RCW 36.18.016(5)). Letters cannot be e-filed, so they come from the clerk on paper. Order the extra certified copies a bank or title company will want at the same time: $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)).
- Administer and close. Within 20 days after appointment, mail or personally serve written notice of the appointment and the pendency of the probate on each heir, legatee and devisee and on each known nonprobate beneficiary, and file proof of mailing (RCW 11.28.237(1)). If you give notice to creditors, file it with the court and publish it once each week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county where the estate is being administered, which opens the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020 and RCW 11.40.051); in Clark County the court-approved legal newspapers are The Columbian in Vancouver, The Reflector in Battle Ground, The Post Record in Camas and The Vancouver Business Journal. Collect the assets, pay valid debts, sell Clark County real estate where the estate needs to, distribute, and close. A personal representative with nonintervention powers closes without returning to court for supervision; without them, later orders go back to the probate and guardianship judge by ex parte presentation or onto the Friday docket.
Executor duties
A Clark County personal representative carries the statewide Washington duties, which are covered on the Washington state page: notice of the appointment and pendency of the probate within 20 days (RCW 11.28.237(1)), creditor notice and the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020 and RCW 11.40.051), collecting the assets, paying valid debts, and distributing and closing, with nonintervention powers removing the need for court supervision along the way (RCW 11.68.011). Clark County adds a handful of local steps on top of those.
Prove the will the way the local rule expects. Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.08 provides that proof of all matters in probate may be by verified petition or by other evidence such as personal testimony, affidavit or deposition, and that in uncontested will proceedings testimony supporting a will may be given in person, by deposition, or by affidavit with the original or a facsimile of the will attached (RCW 11.20.020(2)). The local addition is procedural and easy to miss: it is necessary to present a certificate of testimony for the court's signature. Bring it with the petition.
Publish the creditor notice in a newspaper this court has approved. Under RCW 65.16.040 a newspaper must be approved as a legal newspaper by the superior court of the county where it is published, and the Clark County Clerk publishes the current list: The Columbian in Vancouver, The Reflector in Battle Ground, The Post Record in Camas and The Vancouver Business Journal in Vancouver. The court's General Order 19-03 is the order approving newspapers for legal publications. Confirm the list with the Clerk before you place the notice.
Plan the paper steps around the e-filing exclusions. Your letters testamentary or letters of administration are issued by the clerk with the court seal and a deputy clerk's signature for $5 and cannot be e-filed; any bond the court requires in a probate cannot be e-filed; and a small estate affidavit is a paper counter filing. Order the certified copies a bank, brokerage or title company will ask for at the same time as the letters, at $5 for the first page plus $1 per page, so you are not making a second trip.
Use ex parte presentation for the orders that come later. An estate under nonintervention powers should not need them, but where an accounting, a sale confirmation, a procedural finding or a closing order does have to be entered, Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 is the route: file the Notice of Ex Parte Presentation, serve the parties and each notice party, file the declaration of service, let the notice period run, and submit the notice with the original order to the probate and guardianship judge. An agreed order goes the same way with a transmittal, and only an objection or a genuinely contested matter puts you on the Friday docket.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Clark County
Washington has no statewide probate form set, and that is worth saying plainly because it surprises people who expect a fill-in packet. The Washington Courts forms index at courts.wa.gov publishes statewide forms for family law, guardianship and conservatorship, criminal, behavioral health, juvenile, financial, protection order and access-to-court matters, among others, along with case information cover sheets and the GR 34 fee-waiver forms, but there is no probate category. A Washington probate petition, the oath or acceptance of appointment, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney, not filled in on a state form. The Clark County Clerk's own probate page points readers to the statewide guardianship portal and the pattern forms on the court forms page, which is the same picture from the county side.
Clark County's own local requirements are short but real. A Case Information Cover Sheet goes with every new Superior Court case, and the Clerk's e-filing instructions ask that the total number of pages be written or typed in the upper left corner of each pleading so the office can confirm it received every page. Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 requires a Notice of Ex Parte Presentation on the form the court prescribes and approves, filed with the Clerk before the pleadings are delivered or mailed to the parties, plus a declaration of service substantially complying with the statewide guardianship form GDN ALL 007. Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.08 requires a certificate of testimony for the court's signature when proof of a will is presented. If an estate matter has to be set for trial, the vehicle is a Notice to Set for Trial on the court's form, because Local Civil Rule 40(b)(2)(N) exempts Title 11 probate and trust cases from the case scheduling order the court imposes on general civil cases. Filings made under a sealed cover sheet follow GR 22 in family law and guardianship cases, with the cover sheet attached to the original and a separate copy filed for the public file.
For the small estate route, the Clerk sells blank small estate affidavit forms for $4.00 and charges $20 to file the completed affidavit. Two other local sources publish practical materials. The Clark County Law Library, on the first floor of the same courthouse, publishes a Probate and small estates page and sells self-help kits: Open and Close Probate With a Will (Testate), Open and Close Probate Without a Will (Intestate), and a Small Estate Affidavit kit with forms, instructions and flowcharts. As of this review the two probate kits are temporarily not for sale while the library updates them for the 2026 probate legislation, and the library says so on its own page; the small estate affidavit kit is still sold. WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org), published by the Northwest Justice Project, is Washington's main plain-language self-help publisher for estates, including its small estate affidavit materials. Confirm any form's current version with the Clark County Clerk before relying on it.
Fees
The $290 fee to open a probate is statutory and identical in every Washington county (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)). What Clark County adds is a detailed local schedule of probate line items, and several of them come up in an ordinary estate. Every figure below is published by the Clark County Clerk on the Clark County Clerk's Fee Schedule, effective June 11, 2026. The Clerk takes cash, business checks, debit and credit cards, with a convenience fee on cards, and does not accept personal checks; fees on e-filed documents are paid by E-Check after calling (564) 397-2298. Fee waivers for filers who cannot afford the filing fee run through GR 34, and the Clerk's schedule lists the in forma pauperis waiver at RCW 36.18.022.
| Charge | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Estate (probate) filing | $290 (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)) | Opening a probate. Clark County's schedule prints the same figure the statute produces |
| Petition contesting a will or trust, admitting a rejected will, or objecting to a non-judicial resolution | $290 (RCW 36.18.020(2)(g) plus the surcharges) | A Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act petition contesting a will or trust, a petition to admit a rejected will, or a petition objecting to a non-judicial resolution |
| Non-probate notice to creditors | $290 (RCW 11.42.010(3)(a) and RCW 36.18.020(2)(f)) | Settling a decedent's debts by notice agent under chapter 11.42 RCW where no personal representative is appointed |
| Small estate affidavit | $20 to file, plus $4.00 for the blank forms (RCW 11.62.010 and RCW 36.18.050) | The affidavit route for an estate holding only personal property. This is a counter filing, not a court case, and it cannot be e-filed |
| Letters of administration, letters testamentary or letters of guardianship | $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)) | Issuance with the court seal and a deputy clerk's signature. Letters cannot be e-filed, so they are issued on paper |
| Certificate of qualification | $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)) | The separate certificate Clark County labels Form K. Two different lines in RCW 36.18.016 get that nickname, so name the item you want by function |
| Executing a certificate | $2 (RCW 36.18.016(5)) | With or without a seal, including the certificate on an authenticated or exemplified document, which is $2 per seal on top of the copy charge |
| Certified copy of a document | $5 for the first page plus $1 per additional page (RCW 36.18.016(4)) | Certified copies of the order, the letters or anything else in the estate file. Non-certified copies are $0.50 per page, and copies delivered on an electronic storage medium add $5 |
| Notice of probate filed in another county | $20 (RCW 11.40.020(2) and RCW 36.18.050) | Filing the notice in Clark County when the probate itself was filed in a county other than where the decedent resided |
| Non-judicial resolution | $20 (RCW 11.96A.220 and RCW 36.18.016(8)) | Filing a non-judicial dispute resolution petition, agreement or memorandum in an existing estate |
| Ex parte presentation of an order | $30 per presentation (RCW 36.18.016(12)) | Having the Clerk's Office present your order to the daily ex parte judge; one to three orders per $30, and they need not be in the same case |
| Will filed after death with no probate | $20 (RCW 36.18.012(7)) | Lodging the original will with the Clerk where no probate of the estate is contemplated |
| Will repository deposit before death | $20 per will or codicil (RCW 36.18.016(28) and RCW 11.12.265) | Depositing an original will under seal before death. The testator may withdraw it with proper identification; anyone else needs a court order on good cause. If a probate is opened from that file, the full $290 filing fee applies |
| Records search by staff | $30 per hour (RCW 36.18.016(11)) | Asking the Clerk to search records rather than searching Odyssey Portal or the lobby terminals yourself. Copies from archived records dated before 1996 may add a $30 search fee because they are on microfilm |
| Escheat probate proceedings | $290 to file the claim, plus $2.00 to file the Department of Revenue affidavit (RCW 11.08.300) | An escheat proceeding where property passes to the state |
| Returned or stopped payment | $25 per NSF check, $50 per stop payment (RCW 36.18.016(24)) | A payment to the Clerk that does not clear |
Timeline
- Decide first whether your matter needs a hearing at all, because in Clark County most uncontested estate matters do not. Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 says the court strongly encourages parties to present uncontested matters ex parte to minimize the size of the docket, and an agreed order goes by ex parte presentation directly to the probate and guardianship judge rather than through the regular ex parte process.
- For an ex parte presentation, sequence the paperwork in the order the rule requires: file the pleadings and the Notice of Ex Parte Presentation with the Clark County Clerk first, then deliver or mail copies to all parties and each notice party, then file the declaration of service. The notice period must have run or been waived before the matter is submitted, and the submission is a copy of the notice with an original order.
- For an order that goes through the Clerk's general ex parte process instead, plan around a same-day cutoff: Clark County Superior Court does not have a formal ex parte docket, a judge is assigned daily to review and sign ex parte orders by 3:30 p.m., and the Clerk presents mailed submissions on the filer's behalf for $30. Fee-waiver and restraining-order submissions must be in by 11:00 a.m. for 3:30 p.m. pickup, which is the only published same-day window.
- For a hearing, the probate and guardianship docket sits Friday at 1:30 p.m., with a Zoom link published on the court's Zoom Virtual Hearing Information page. Minor guardianship dockets sit Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. and Friday at 1:30 p.m. The court updates its commissioner and civil dockets and its docket changes and cancellations page daily, so confirm the date before appearing.
- For a civil motion in the estate, Local Civil Rule 6(d) sets the windows: motion documents and the citation noting the motion are filed and served no later than ten court days before the hearing, responses five court days before, and replies three court days before and limited to four pages. Hard-copy working copies go to the assigned department when the hearing is cited or when responsive pleadings are filed, marked with the hearing date and time and the judicial officer. Where Title 11 sets its own notice period, the statute controls. Acting on shorter notice requires a motion, an affidavit and an order shortening time.
- Build in filing-hour mechanics. The counter is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and closes noon to 1:00 p.m.; the phones close at 4:00 p.m.; and an e-filed document is considered filed when the Clerk's designated computer receives it during the 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. e-file window, otherwise at the beginning of the next business day.
- Build in the statutory clocks that run alongside the calendar: notice of appointment and pendency of the probate within 20 days after appointment (RCW 11.28.237(1)); creditor notice published once each week for three successive weeks in a Clark County court-approved legal newspaper, opening the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020 and RCW 11.40.051); and, for any party who wants the case moved to the county of residence, four months from the mailing of that notice of appointment (RCW 11.96A.050(4)(a)).
Local nuance
Clark County-specific considerations
Clark County's e-filing system is the first thing to understand, because it is the opposite of the arrangement in Washington's largest county. The Clerk runs its own Serv-U system for Superior Court, and its page states flatly that e-filing is not mandatory and is available only to attorneys, schools, guardians ad litem, and state and government agencies; people who are not attorneys and wish to represent themselves file paper documents in person or by US Mail. Clark County Local General Rule 30 is consistent with that: it is a digital-signature rule, authorizing electronic and digital signatures on pleadings, motions, declarations and orders with the same force as an original signature, and it compels nobody to file electronically. So a Clark County family handling its own probate should plan on the counter or the mail, and should not go looking for a portal account.
The e-filing exclusion list is unusually probate-heavy, which matters even for an attorney-run estate. Documents that cannot be e-filed and must be filed in paper form include original wills and codicils, and expressly new probate cases that include original wills or codicils; bonds in probate and guardianship cases; small estates; letters testamentary, letters of administration and letters of guardianship; ex parte orders to be signed by the ex parte judge; and court orders signed by a judge, since orders submitted through e-filing are filed only as proposed. The practical reading is that a testate Clark County probate opens on paper and the letters come back on paper, whatever the rest of the case does. The Clerk also does not accept faxed filings.
Second, Clark County keeps probate largely out of the courtroom by local rule. Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00, amended effective September 1, 2022 and September 1, 2023, applies to probate proceedings under Title 11 RCW and provides the mechanism for presenting agreed orders and uncontested matters ex parte. The court strongly encourages parties to use it, and an uncontested matter goes directly to the probate and guardianship judge once the Notice of Ex Parte Presentation is filed with the Clerk before delivery or mailing, the required pleadings and notice are delivered to all parties and each notice party, a declaration of service substantially complying with GDN ALL 007 is filed, the notice period has run or been waived, and no objection has been filed. If an objection is filed, the judicial officer decides whether a hearing is required. An agreed order is submitted by ex parte presentation directly to that judge, not through the regular ex parte process, with a transmittal specifying that it meets the rule. What is left for a hearing goes on the Friday 1:30 p.m. probate and guardianship docket.
Third, the general ex parte process is a clerk-presented one with a daily cutoff rather than a docket. Clark County Superior Court does not have a formal ex parte docket; a judge is assigned daily to review and sign ex parte orders by 3:30 p.m., and the Clerk's Office will present a mailed submission on the filer's behalf for $30 covering one to three orders that need not be in the same case, returning conformed copies in the filer's self-addressed stamped envelope. All orders signed in court or on ex parte are retained by the clerk and do not leave the courtroom. Two cautions. The Clerk's ex parte page asks for a law firm check while the fee schedule says no personal checks, so confirm the payment method before mailing. And the same page states that self-represented litigants cannot present final orders ex parte and that those cases must be cited on the appropriate docket, listing only dissolution and legal separation without children as exceptions; it does not say how that applies to a probate order, so ask the Clerk's Office which route yours takes.
Fourth, a probate is not put on the court's civil case-management track. Local Civil Rule 40(b)(2)(N) exempts Title 11 RCW probate and trust cases from the case scheduling order, the Case Assignment Notice and the scheduling conference that general civil filings draw, so no four to six month scheduling conference date is set when a probate is filed, and no joint status report is due. If an estate matter has to be tried, the party who wants it set files a Notice to Set for Trial on the court's form and the case goes on the trial readiness calendar.
Finally, records. Clark County's document images live in the Clerk's own OnBase system: probate files are on film for 1890 to 1985 and as digital images from 1997 forward, and the images are viewed on public terminals in the first-floor lobby, with a paid subscription available for offices that need remote access. Case and docket searching, though, runs through Odyssey Portal, the statewide superior court search that covers Clark and 36 other counties, which the Clerk links from its own pages. Court files may be reviewed 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and copy requests go to [email protected] or by mail.
Small-estate Alternatives
One Clark County detail is worth knowing before you choose the small estate affidavit route, because it is a counter transaction here rather than a court case. The Clerk's fee schedule charges $20 to file a small estate affidavit under RCW 11.62.010 and sells the blank forms for $4.00, and small estates sit on the list of documents that cannot be e-filed, so the affidavit is presented on paper in person or by mail. The Clark County Law Library, on the first floor of the same courthouse, sells a Small Estate Affidavit self-help kit with forms, detailed instructions and flowcharts, and it remains for sale even while the library's two probate kits are temporarily withdrawn for updating. The eligibility rules, the 40-day wait, the 10-day notice to other successors and the statutory ceiling are statewide and are covered on the Washington state page.
Recent updates
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| June 11, 2026 | A new Clark County Clerk's Fee Schedule took effect. It carries the $290 probate filing fee with the RCW 36.18.020(2)(f) and (5)(c) authority, the $20 small estate affidavit filing with $4.00 blank forms, the $20 will filing after death, the $20 will repository deposit, the $20 notice of probate filed in another county, the $30 ex parte presentation fee, and the $5 letters and certificate of qualification lines. The Clerk also flags a document copy fee change effective the same date. Confirm any figure against the current schedule before paying. | Fee Schedule, clark.wa.gov/clerk |
| September 1, 2025 | The current Local Rules of the Superior Court for Clark County took effect, including LSPR 98.00 on ex parte presentation in estates, LSPR 98.08 on proof of wills, LGR 19 on remote appearance, LGR 30 on electronic and digital signatures, LCR 6 on filing times and dates, and LCR 40 on assignment of cases. LSPR 98.00 itself was last amended effective September 1, 2023. | Local Rules of the Superior Court for Clark County, courts.wa.gov/court_rules |
| Current, July 2026 | The Clark County Law Library's two probate self-help kits, Open and Close Probate With a Will (Testate) and Open and Close Probate Without a Will (Intestate), are temporarily not for sale while the library updates them for the 2026 changes to Washington probate law, and the library warns that outside probate guides may not yet reflect those changes. Its Small Estate Affidavit kit remains available. | Probate and small estates, Clark County Law Library, clark.wa.gov/law-library |
| May 18, 2023 | General Order 23-01 rescinded the court's emergency ex parte rule, General Order 20-11, so ex parte practice in Clark County probate matters now runs under the local rules and the Clerk's own ex parte process rather than the emergency rule. | General Orders, Clark County Superior Court, clark.wa.gov/superior-court |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Clark County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | A Vancouver, Camas or Battle Ground home held with a right of survivorship, or covered by a community property agreement between the spouses (RCW 26.16.120), passes to the survivor outside probate, and title is cleared through the Clark County Auditor's recording office rather than the Superior Court. Accounts and property in the decedent's sole name may still need probate. Where they do, the survivor petitions the Superior Court in Clark County for letters and for nonintervention powers, which RCW 11.68.011 directs the court to grant a surviving spouse or domestic partner in a solvent all-community-property intestate estate with no outside issue, and the estate is then administered without further court supervision. Because that petition is usually uncontested, Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 lets it go to the probate and guardianship judge by ex parte presentation instead of onto the Friday docket. If the sole-name property is only personal property and modest, the survivor may be able to use the small estate affidavit instead, a $20 paper filing at the counter with no case opened (RCW 11.62.010). | Asset discovery to separate survivorship and community property agreement property from sole-name assets. Packet generation for the small estate affidavit or for the petition, cover sheet and nonintervention powers request. Guidance on clearing title through the Clark County Auditor's recording office. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent lived in Clark County and left a modest estate holding only personal property, a claiming successor can often collect it with a sworn affidavit presented directly to whoever holds the property, with the affidavit filed at the Clark County counter for $20 and no court case opened (RCW 11.62.010). Where a probate is needed, the child prepares the petition and the Case Information Cover Sheet and mails them to the Clerk at PO Box 5000, because Clark County e-filing is not open to self-represented filers. An uncontested matter can then be presented to the probate and guardianship judge by ex parte presentation without anyone appearing, and if a hearing is needed the Friday 1:30 p.m. probate and guardianship docket has a published Zoom link, so a child living out of state can usually settle a Clark County estate without traveling to Vancouver. The original will still has to reach the Clerk on paper. | Asset discovery to confirm what the estate holds and whether the affidavit route reaches it. Packet generation for the affidavit or for the petition, cover sheet, notice of ex parte presentation and proposed letters, ready to mail. Attorney referral if the estate turns out to be larger or contested. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Probate in the Superior Court in Clark County. With no will, the parent applies for letters of administration under the RCW 11.28.120(1) priority order, and the application must now set out the heirs and the applicant's search for them under the 2026 amendments to RCW 11.28.110. The parent petitions for nonintervention powers and then sells the child's Clark County real estate under that authority before distributing. Without those powers, an order confirming the sale goes back to the probate and guardianship judge, by ex parte presentation if it is agreed or unopposed under Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 and on the Friday docket if an heir objects. Because Local Civil Rule 40(b)(2)(N) keeps Title 11 cases off the court's case scheduling track, a contested estate is set for trial only when a party files a Notice to Set for Trial. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, policies and property, which is also what RCW 11.28.110 now expects the application to describe. Packet generation for the administration application, the nonintervention powers petition and the sale papers. Attorney referral to handle a contested step or a disputed sale. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Clark County Clerk (clark.wa.gov/clerk) | The filing office's own site: office and phone hours, the Guardianship, Probate, Trusts and Wills page, the fee schedule effective June 11, 2026, the Electronic Filing for Superior Court page, the Exparte Orders page, Access to Records, File Location and the contact list. General questions go to [email protected] or (564) 397-2292 |
| Clark County Clerk, Guardianship, Probate, Trusts and Wills page | The Clerk's own plain-language page on what probate and a will are, and the will repository service: an original will may be filed under seal before death for $20 per will or codicil (RCW 11.12.265 and RCW 36.18.016(28)), withdrawn by the testator with proper identification, and unsealed on request with a certified copy of the death certificate |
| Local Rules of the Superior Court for Clark County (courts.wa.gov/court_rules) | The rules that actually govern a Clark County probate, in the current set effective September 1, 2025: LSPR 98.00 on ex parte presentation in estates, LSPR 98.08 on proof of wills, LGR 19 on remote appearance, LGR 30 on electronic and digital signatures, LCR 6 on filing times and dates, and LCR 40 on assignment of cases. Also published on the county's Local Rules page, along with the court's General Orders |
| Clark County Superior Court, Daily Court Docket and Zoom Virtual Hearing Information | The daily calendar, the Where's My Case locator, and the court's Zoom links, including the Friday 1:30 p.m. probate and guardianship docket. The Clerk's own calendar page publishes the commissioner and civil dockets and the docket changes and cancellations list, updated daily |
| Clark County Law Library (clark.wa.gov/law-library) | Clark County Courthouse first floor, 1200 Franklin Street, Vancouver, open Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; (564) 397-2268; [email protected]. Its Probate and small estates page is the most useful local starting point, and it sells probate and small estate affidavit self-help kits, offers free remote Nolo eBook access covering estate planning and probate, and answers research questions in person, by phone or by email. The two probate kits are temporarily not for sale while being updated for the 2026 legislation |
| Odyssey Portal (odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal) | The statewide superior court case search that covers Clark County and 36 others, linked from the Clerk's own pages. Search by case number, person or business name to get the case summary, calendar and list of documents filed. Document images are in the Clerk's OnBase system, viewable on the public terminals in the first-floor lobby |
| WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org) | The Northwest Justice Project's plain-language self-help library, Washington's main publisher of estate guidance, including its small estate affidavit materials. The Clark County Superior Court's own civil legal aid page points here first. The site blocks some automated fetchers, so open it in a browser |
| Washington Courts court forms and directory (courts.wa.gov/forms and courts.wa.gov/court_dir) | The statewide case information cover sheets, the GR 34 fee waiver forms, the guardianship and conservatorship forms including the GDN ALL 007 declaration of service, and the court directory entry confirming the Clark County Clerk's address, phone and fax. There is no statewide probate forms category |
| CLEAR and the Northwest Justice Project (nwjustice.org) | Free civil legal help for income-eligible Washington residents, as published on Clark County Superior Court's civil legal aid page: outside King County call 1-888-201-1014 weekdays between 9:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., and people age 60 and over may call 1-888-387-7111. Confirm that a given matter is within intake priorities before relying on it, because probate is not always covered |
| Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program (ccvlp.org) | Screening for a free legal advice appointment, at 360-695-5313 or [email protected]. The court describes the program's local coverage as housing, family law, domestic violence, debt, elder law, guardianship and more; confirm that it handles probate before relying on it |
| Southwest Washington Lawyer Referral Service | The lawyer referral service the Clark County Clerk publishes for people looking for private counsel, at (360) 695-0599. Confirm current intake and fees when you call |
| Clark County Superior Court interpreter services | Court interpreters arranged through the court for Superior Court proceedings, requested through the court's interpreter services page |
When to hire an attorney
Many Clark County families complete a probate without counsel, because a solvent estate with nonintervention powers is administered and closed without court supervision (RCW 11.68.011) and the county's uncontested matters are presented on paper rather than argued. Counsel makes more sense when the estate is insolvent or its solvency is in doubt, because nonintervention powers depend on solvency; when there is a will contest, a petition to admit a rejected will, or a fight over who should serve, each of which is a $290 filing on Clark County's own schedule; when a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act petition is filed or an objection turns an ex parte presentation into a noted hearing on the Friday probate and guardianship docket; when the estate holds a business interest, out-of-state property, or Clark County real estate whose sale terms are disputed; when the estate may owe Washington estate tax; when the personal representative is appointed under RCW 11.28.120(3) and therefore cannot receive nonintervention powers; or when the matter has to be set for trial on a Notice to Set for Trial. An attorney also brings e-filing with them, since Clark County's Serv-U system is open to attorneys and agencies and not to self-represented filers. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Clark County probate attorney when the situation calls for counsel.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Clark County real estate, business interests, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value, can choose the right Washington route for estate settlement before you file, and can describe the major assets and the heirs the way RCW 11.28.110 now expects.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the Clark County filing: the small estate affidavit where the estate qualifies, or the petition, the Case Information Cover Sheet, the oath, the proposed order and the proposed letters, plus the nonintervention powers request and the Notice of Ex Parte Presentation that Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 requires, ready to file at the Clerk's first-floor counter, to mail to PO Box 5000, or to e-file through a Washington attorney.
Find a local probate attorney. When an estate is insolvent or contested, when an objection puts the matter on the Friday probate and guardianship docket, or when a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act petition is filed, Sunset connects families to a vetted Clark County probate attorney to file and appear.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file probate in Clark County, Washington?
With the Clark County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, on the first floor of the Clark County Courthouse at 1200 Franklin Street, Vancouver, WA 98660, or by mail to Clark County Clerk, PO Box 5000, Vancouver, WA 98666-5000. Washington has no separate probate court, so the Superior Court in Clark County handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11, indexed locally as case type 4. Venue is any county the petitioner selects (RCW 11.96A.050(4)), but in practice you file where the decedent lived, because an interested party can move venue there within four months of the notice of appointment and the creditor notice must be published in the county of residence anyway (RCW 11.40.020(2)). The Clerk's counter is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and closes noon to 1:00 p.m.
Is e-filing available for probate in Clark County?
Yes, but it is not mandatory and it is not open to everyone. The Clark County Clerk runs its own Serv-U e-filing system for Superior Court and states that e-filing is not mandatory and is available only to attorneys, schools, guardians ad litem, and state and government agencies; people who are not attorneys and wish to represent themselves file paper documents in person or by US Mail. An attorney registers through [email protected] and opens a new case by emailing the Case Information Cover Sheet and a copy of the petition to [email protected]. Several probate documents cannot be e-filed at any point, including original wills and codicils, new probate cases that include an original will or codicil, bonds in probate cases, small estates, and letters testamentary or letters of administration. The Clerk also does not accept faxed filings.
How much does it cost to file probate in Clark County?
$290 to open a probate. The fee is set by statute and is the same in every Washington county: a $200 filing fee plus a $40 surcharge and a $50 surcharge (RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c), (6)), and Clark County's own schedule lists it as "Estate (Probate), Filing, 290.00" (Clark County Clerk's Fee Schedule, effective June 11, 2026). A filer who cannot afford it may ask the court to waive it under GR 34. Clark County also charges local probate line items an estate runs into: $5 for the letters and $5 for a certificate of qualification (RCW 36.18.016(9)), $2 for executing a certificate, $30 per ex parte presentation of an order, $20 to file a small estate affidavit plus $4.00 for the blank forms, and $20 to lodge a will after death where no probate is contemplated. The Clerk takes cash, business checks, debit and credit cards, and does not take personal checks.
When is the probate hearing day in Clark County?
Friday at 1:30 p.m. Clark County Superior Court publishes a probate and guardianship docket in that slot, and it also runs minor guardianship dockets Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. and Friday at 1:30 p.m. But most Clark County estate matters never get there: Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 strongly encourages parties to present uncontested matters ex parte, and an agreed order goes by ex parte presentation directly to the probate and guardianship judge rather than onto the docket. Confirm the date on the court's Daily Court Docket page and the Clerk's docket changes and cancellations page, which are updated daily. Clark County does not publish filing-to-hearing wait times.
Can I attend a Clark County probate hearing by Zoom?
Usually, yes. Clark County Local General Rule 19 provides that attorneys and parties may choose to appear remotely for any civil docket, and the court publishes a Zoom link for its Friday 1:30 p.m. probate and guardianship docket on its Zoom Virtual Hearing Information page. A remote appearance is a video or telephonic appearance in which all participants can hear and speak with each other, and it is treated as being held in open court. A trial or evidentiary hearing may be remote only with the judicial officer's approval on motion, and the court retains discretion to order anyone to appear in person, so confirm the format for your date before appearing.
Do I have to go to a hearing at all to open a probate in Clark County?
Often not. Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 applies to probate proceedings under Title 11 RCW and lets an uncontested matter be presented directly to the probate and guardianship judge, so long as a Notice of Ex Parte Presentation on the court's prescribed form is filed with the Clerk before the pleadings are delivered or mailed, copies go to all parties and each notice party, a declaration of service substantially complying with GDN ALL 007 is filed, the notice period has run or been waived, and no objection is filed. Agreed orders go the same way, with a transmittal saying the order meets the rule. If an objection is filed, the judicial officer decides whether a hearing is needed. Separately, Clark County Superior Court has no formal ex parte docket: a judge is assigned daily to sign ex parte orders by 3:30 p.m., and the Clerk's Office will present orders for you for $30.
How do I look up a Clark County probate case?
Through Odyssey Portal. Clark County is one of the 37 Washington counties whose superior court records are searched at odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal, and the Clark County Clerk links it from its own pages; you can search by case number, a person's name or a business name and see the case summary, calendar and list of documents filed. Only King and Pierce counties sit outside that portal. Document images are held in the Clerk's OnBase system: view them on the public terminals in the first-floor lobby of the courthouse, 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., or buy a subscription for remote access. Probate files are on film for 1890 to 1985 and as digital images from 1997 forward. Copy requests go to [email protected]; certified copies are $5 for the first page plus $1 per page and non-certified copies are $0.50 per page.
What probate forms does Clark County require?
Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, so the petition, oath, proposed order and proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney. Clark County's local requirements are a Case Information Cover Sheet with every new Superior Court case; a Notice of Ex Parte Presentation on the form the court prescribes and approves, plus a declaration of service substantially complying with GDN ALL 007, if you present an uncontested matter under Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00; a certificate of testimony for the court's signature when you prove a will under Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.08; and a Notice to Set for Trial if the matter has to be tried. The Clerk sells blank small estate affidavit forms for $4.00, and the Clark County Law Library sells probate and small estate self-help kits, though the two probate kits are temporarily withdrawn while they are updated for the 2026 legislation.
Do I have to travel to Vancouver to settle a Clark County estate?
Usually not. A self-represented filer can mail the petition and cover sheet to the Clark County Clerk at PO Box 5000, Vancouver, WA 98666-5000, and can mail an ex parte submission with conforming copies, a self-addressed stamped envelope and the $30 fee for the Clerk to present it, though the Clerk's ex parte page limits the final orders a self-represented filer can present ex parte, so confirm the route with the office first. An uncontested matter presented under Local Special Proceedings Rule 98.00 needs nobody in a courtroom, and the Friday 1:30 p.m. probate and guardianship docket has a published Zoom link if a hearing is needed. The steps that are hardest at a distance are the original will, which must reach the Clerk on paper, and the letters, which are issued on paper and cannot be e-filed, so order the certified copies you need in the same request.
Who is the Clark County Clerk, and is the office elected?
The filing office is the Clark County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, and the Clerk's own page states that the County Clerk is an elected official provided for by the Washington State Constitution, whose duties are set by state statute and local and state rules. That is the ordinary Washington arrangement. The office receives and processes court documents, attends court proceedings, maintains the court's files, enters orders and judgments, holds wills lodged for the repository, issues letters testamentary and letters of administration as a quasi-judicial function, and receipts and disburses the court's money. Reach it at (564) 397-2292 or [email protected]; phone hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.