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Pierce County, WA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Superior Court in Pierce 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). Probate, trust, guardianship and conservatorship matters are heard by a court commissioner in the court's civil divisions (Pierce County Local Rule 0.4(a)(1) and PCLR 7(b)(1)(B)(ii)), and the initial order appointing a personal representative may be presented to the commissioner in the Ex Parte Division (PCLSPR 98.04(a)) |
| Filing office | Pierce County Clerk, Clerk of the Superior Court. The office takes probate petitions, receives the original will, issues letters, and keeps the estate record; the clerk's own materials describe it as one of the offices the state Constitution provides for, and it is organized into six functional areas, one of which is Probate and Court Services. Unlike King County's clerk, this is a separate county office rather than a court department |
| Courthouse | County-City Building, 930 Tacoma Avenue South, Room 110, Tacoma, WA 98402-2177. The Superior Court's own administration and the judges are in Room 334 of the same building; probate filings go to the clerk in Room 110, not to the court's offices |
| Mailing | Pierce County Clerk, 930 Tacoma Avenue South, Room 110, Tacoma, WA 98402-2177. There is no separate post office box for the Clerk's Office |
| Phone | (253) 798-7455 for the Clerk's Office, which is also the LINX help desk. Commissioner Services, which handles commissioner calendars and confirmations, is (253) 798-6697, and Superior Court Administration is (253) 798-3654 |
| [email protected], the office mailbox the Washington State Court Directory lists for the Pierce County Clerk | |
| Fax | (253) 798-3428 for the Pierce County Clerk, per the Washington State Court Directory. Filing by fax is not the intended route: file through LINX, at the Room 110 counter, or by mail |
| Hours | The Clerk's Office counter is open to the public 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. The main phone line stops taking calls at 3:30 p.m., a change the county posted effective December 1, 2025, while the counter stays open until 4:30 p.m. The clerk's own probate guidance says the best hours to file a new probate case are 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. |
| 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). Confirm the current schedule with the Pierce County Clerk, which publishes its own Pierce County Clerk Fee Schedule on the Rules and Fees pages of the clerk's site. At the counter the clerk's probate guidance says a self-represented filer pays by cash, debit, money order or cashier's check |
| Local forms | Yes. Pierce County publishes its own Case Cover Sheet for domestic and probate cases, a Civil Hearing Information Form (Form U) required for the probate calendar, a Note for Commissioner's Calendar used to set a hearing, a fillable Request for Probate/Guardianship Letters, a Document Coversheet and four sealed-document coversheets, Confirmation of Service, a Declaration regarding electronic signature, Notice of Change of Address and Notice of Change of Email Address, the LINX account setup forms, and a Fee Waiver Packet in English and Spanish. Washington publishes no statewide probate form set, so the petition itself is drafted by the filer or the attorney |
| E-filing | Mandatory for attorneys, optional for self-represented parties, and it runs through LINX. Under Pierce County Local General Rule 30, attorneys must e-file all documents with the clerk using the clerk's e-filing system or a service provider that uses it, and must also use electronic service on other attorneys; an attorney who cannot comply may apply to the clerk for a written waiver. Self-represented parties are not required to e-file but may contact the Clerk's Office for a LINX account and PIN. LINX requires registration (a subscription is required), while the clerk describes the case-participant account as free and the court states that LINX account fees are currently waived for self-represented parties. Some documents must be filed on paper, including original wills and codicils and any new case filed with a GR 34 fee-waiver request |
| Case search | Through LINX, not the statewide portal. Search Pierce County Superior Court cases by cause number or party name at linxonline.co.pierce.wa.us, using the Probate/Guardianship case type for estates and wills, and the Administrative Office of the Courts search at dw.courts.wa.gov routes Pierce County Superior Court lookups there. That statewide site is a pointer index whose own notice warns that dockets, judgments, document links and case status may be inaccurate, and Odyssey Portal covers 37 of Washington's 39 counties, every county except King and Pierce. Viewing and printing public documents filed in 2002 or later is available at the Clerk's Office; remote document access through LINX requires a subscription |
| Remote appearance | Available. The court states that commissioner hearings are conducted in person or by Zoom at the option of the parties, and it publishes a Zoom link for the Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship/Probate calendar on its Commissioner Calendars by Division page. Ex Parte matters are heard in Courtroom 129 both in person and by Zoom. Judicial department hearings, which is where a contested estate matter can end up, are in person unless the department approves a Zoom appearance in advance, and each department sets its own lead time. Confirm the format for your date before appearing |
| Website | https://www.piercecountywa.gov/95/Clerk-of-the-Superior-Court |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
The first Pierce County question is not which form to use, it is what the estate actually holds. Washington's 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 any court case (RCW 11.62.010). The Pierce County Clerk states the practical dividing line in its own probate guidance: a probate case is needed when the estate exceeds the statutory affidavit ceiling or holds any real property. Which route 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 Pierce County real estate, along with every debt, and identify each heir, legatee and devisee by name and address. Pierce County makes this front work matter twice over: the clerk sets a mandatory court review hearing when the order appointing the personal representative is filed, and how far out it lands depends on whether the estate is solvent enough for nonintervention powers, while a 2026 change to Washington law now requires an application for letters of administration to describe the heirs and the applicant's search for them and, in most cases, to give a general description of the major probate assets (RCW 11.28.110). Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Superior Court in Pierce County serves all of Pierce County from a single courthouse, the County-City Building in downtown Tacoma. That takes in Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, University Place, Fircrest, Ruston, Steilacoom, DuPont, Fife, Milton, Edgewood, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Buckley, Orting, Eatonville, Gig Harbor and the Key and Gig Harbor peninsulas, Graham, Spanaway, Parkland, Frederickson, South Hill, Roy, Wilkeson, Carbonado and South Prairie, and the unincorporated county out to Mount Rainier. Pierce County has its own superior court and its own County Clerk; it does not share a judge with any neighboring county, and the district court and Tacoma's municipal court that sit in the same building do not handle probate.
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. Pierce County's own fee schedule reflects the publication rule, because it carries a separate line for filing a notice to creditors when the probate was opened in a county other than the one the decedent lived in (RCW 11.40.020(2)); confirm the current amount with the Clerk's Office.
Where the case goes inside the building depends on what you are asking for rather than on where in the county the decedent lived. Every Pierce County probate is filed with the same clerk in Room 110. The initial order appointing a personal representative may be presented to the court commissioner in the Ex Parte Division, which sits in Courtroom 129, and if the commissioner decides notice must be given, the petitioner is directed to present the matter on the commissioner's probate calendar instead (PCLSPR 98.04(a)). Noted probate and trust matters are heard on the afternoon calendars in Civil Division A, the calendar the Civil Hearing Information Form labels the 1:30 civil hearing (PCLR 7(b)(1)(G)). Annual periodic reviews, and a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act hearing that will take live testimony or run longer than twenty minutes, go instead to the assigned judicial department's Friday motion docket (PCLR 7(b)(1)(B)(ii)). Because the schedule of commissioners' calendars can change without republication of the local rules, PCLR 7(b)(1)(C) tells parties to verify the current calendar before noting a matter, and incorrectly scheduled matters may be stricken.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm venue and pick the route. Pierce County is the practical county when the decedent lived here at death (RCW 11.96A.050(4)). 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, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney. Pierce County adds its own cover sheets and forms: the Case Cover Sheet for domestic and probate cases opens a new case, the Document Coversheet is used as page one when a document does not carry the case caption on its first page, and the fillable Request for Probate/Guardianship Letters is how you ask the clerk to issue the letters. The Clerk's Office states what a self-represented filer needs to open a probate at the counter: the petition, the order, the original will if there is one, a notarized oath, one set of copies, and the filing fee.
- File with the Pierce County Clerk. An attorney must electronically file all documents with the clerk through the clerk's e-filing system or a service provider that uses it, and must also serve other attorneys electronically, unless Pierce County Local General Rule 30 provides otherwise; an attorney who cannot comply must apply to the clerk for a written waiver, and the clerk may reject a paper filing made without one. A self-represented filer is not required to e-file and may file at the Room 110 counter, by mail, or through LINX after contacting the Clerk's Office for a LINX account and PIN. Documents uploaded to LINX must be portrait-orientation PDFs, 8.5 by 11 inches, with the case caption on the first page or a coversheet in front of it, and the clerk emails you an acceptance or a rejection with the reason. Either way, the original will and any codicil must be filed on paper, because PCLGR 30(b)(5)(B) excepts original wills and codicils from e-filing, and a new case filed with a GR 34 fee-waiver request must also be filed on paper.
- 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)). Confirm the current figure with the Clerk's Office or on the Pierce County Clerk Fee Schedule before you go, because Washington raised the total in 2025 and older county handouts can lag. At the counter the clerk takes cash, debit, money order or a cashier's check. A filer who cannot afford the fee may ask the court to waive it under GR 34 using the clerk's Fee Waiver Packet, which is published in English and Spanish, and that request has to be filed on paper.
- Present the appointment. The initial presentation of an order appointing a personal representative or administrator, in a testate or an intestate estate, may be presented to the court commissioner in the Ex Parte Division; the appointment is at the court's discretion, and if the commissioner determines that notice must be given, the petitioner is directed to present the matter on the commissioner's probate calendar instead (PCLSPR 98.04(a)). Ex Parte sits in Courtroom 129 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. and from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. daily. Specified ex parte orders that need a judicial officer's signature must be submitted electronically through the clerk's e-filing system, and there is a $40 presentation fee to present orders through LINX; the clerk publishes the list of ex parte orders that must be presented that way. Unless the commissioner waives it or the parties agree, 24 hours notice of an ex parte matter goes to the opposing party along with the motion and supporting documents.
- Note a hearing where one is required. Schedule it with a Note for Commissioner's Calendar filed through LINX or from a public kiosk in the Clerk's Office, at least seven court days before the hearing date (PCLSPR 98.04(b)). A self-represented party who does not have an account contacts the Clerk's Office for a LINX e-filing account or uses the clerk's kiosk. Any party opposing the motion files and serves responsive papers by 12:00 noon three court days before the hearing, and any papers in strict reply are served by noon two court days before. Verify the current commissioner calendar before you note the matter, because the schedule can change without the local rules being republished (PCLR 7(b)(1)(C)).
- File the Civil Hearing Information Form and the proposed orders. For a matter on the probate, trust, guardianship or minor settlement calendar, both the moving party and the responding party file one Civil Hearing Information Form (Form U) listing every motion, petition and supporting document they want the court to review, filed through the clerk's electronic filing process by 12:00 noon two court days before the hearing, and for probate and trust matters the proposed orders are provided with that form (PCLSPR 98.04(c)). Failing to get Form U in on time can get the hearing stricken or continued. Working copies are no longer delivered or furnished for any commissioner docket, so the file and the form are what the commissioner reads.
- Appear, in person or by Zoom. The court states that commissioner hearings are conducted in person or by Zoom at the option of the parties, and it publishes the Zoom link for the Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship/Probate calendar on its Commissioner Calendars by Division page; Ex Parte matters are heard in Courtroom 129 both in person and by Zoom. Bring or have ready the original orders for the court to sign, which Form U reminds you is your responsibility, and serve the other party with the form.
- Receive the letters. After the court signs the order appointing the personal representative, the clerk issues the letters testamentary or letters of administration; Pierce County publishes a fillable Request for Probate/Guardianship Letters for that step. The oath has to carry the personal representative's name exactly as it appears in the order and conform to RCW 11.28.170 and RCW 11.36.010, and the order has to carry the name as it appears in the oath (PCLSPR 98.04(f) and (g)), so a mismatch is the usual reason letters do not come out of a signed order. A certificate of qualification or a certified copy of the letters, which is what a bank or a title company asks for, is $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)).
- Administer, report 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 Pierce County the Tacoma Daily Index is the paper that carries these probate notices to creditors, and you should confirm a paper's qualification and the current publication requirements before you place the notice. Then watch for the mandatory court review hearing the clerk set when your appointment order was filed, file the status report by the deadline, collect the assets, pay valid debts, sell Pierce County real estate where the estate needs to, distribute and close.
Executor duties
A Pierce 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). PCLSPR 98.04 and PCLR 3 add a short list of local requirements on top of those, and they are the ones that most often send a Pierce County filer back to the counter.
Keep the names identical. The personal representative's or administrator's name must be typed or printed on the oath exactly as it appears in the order, the oath must conform to RCW 11.28.170 and RCW 11.36.010, and the order appointing the personal representative must contain the name as it appears in the oath (PCLSPR 98.04(f) and (g)). If a personal representative changes their name during the administration, they must obtain an order for new letters and file an oath under the new name in order to receive them, and the expiration date of the letters stays the same unless the new order changes it.
Watch the review date and file the status report. The clerk sets a mandatory court review hearing when your appointment order is filed, 36 months out for an estate with full nonintervention powers and 12 months out for a supervised estate, and the status report is due by close of business on the seventh court day before it (PCLR 3(b)). File it and you need not appear; skip it and the rule allows dismissal without prejudice or closure of the matter without further notice. This obligation applies even to an unsupervised estate.
File a notice of change of address within 30 days of any move. Any person appointed personal representative or administrator of an estate must file a notice of change of address with the court within 30 days of the change (PCLSPR 98.04(h)), and the clerk publishes a Notice of Change of Address form and a separate Notice of Change of Email Address form for it. Keeping the email address current matters if you e-file, because a party is considered served at the address on file with the Clerk's Office.
If the court requires a bond, sign it as the principal and include the surety's address; Pierce County requires all bonds of personal representatives and administrators to be signed by the principal and to contain the surety's address (PCLSPR 98.04(d)). And if a surviving spouse petitions for an allowance in lieu of a homestead or in addition to one, receipts evidencing payment of funeral expenses, expenses of last sickness and expenses of administration including appraisers' fees, or a signed written statement from the creditor that payment has been provided for, must be filed at or before the hearing on the petition (PCLSPR 98.04(e)).
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Pierce 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, and it publishes case information cover sheets and the GR 34 fee-waiver forms, but there is no probate category. A Washington probate petition, the oath, the proposed order and the proposed letters are drafted by the filer or the attorney, not filled in on a state form.
Pierce County does publish its own local forms, and a probate filing needs several of them. The Case Cover Sheet for domestic and probate cases opens a new case. The Civil Hearing Information Form, Form U in the appendix to the local rules and revised September 1, 2025, is required for any matter on the probate, trust, guardianship or minor settlement calendar and is where you list the documents you want the commissioner to read; its own heading shows the probate checkbox on the 1:30 civil hearing. The Note for Commissioner's Calendar sets the hearing date, and the Note for Motion Docket sets a matter before a judge. The fillable Request for Probate/Guardianship Letters is how you ask the clerk to issue letters. Alongside those the clerk publishes a Document Coversheet and four sealed-document coversheets, a Confirmation of Service, a Declaration regarding electronic signature on a document, a Notice of Change of Address and a Notice of Change of Email Address, the LINX account setup forms for self-represented parties, attorneys, legal staff and commercial subscribers together with the LINX Subscription Agreement and the Registration for E-Service, and the Fee Waiver Packet in English and Spanish. The forms live in two places worth knowing: the Clerk's Office forms pages on the county site, and the Forms section of LINX, which lists each Superior Court form with its revision date and flags which ones can be e-filed.
For plain-language guidance and the practical self-help packets, WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org), published by the Northwest Justice Project, is Washington's main self-help publisher for estates, including its small estate guidance and Small Estate Affidavit packet. The Clerk's own probate page also points readers to the Pierce County Law Library for probate information and forms. Confirm a Pierce County form's current version before relying on it, because several of the clerk's forms carry revision dates spanning two decades, and confirm whether your document can be e-filed at all, because original wills and codicils cannot (PCLGR 30(b)(5)(B)).
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)), and the copy and certificate charges below are statutory too. What Pierce County adds is a pair of local service charges a Pierce County estate runs into in practice, both tied to the clerk's electronic systems. Pierce County Code 4.58.060(A) is the authority: the Superior Court Clerk is entitled to collect fees for services that are not set by statute. Confirm every figure against the current Pierce County Clerk Fee Schedule, published on the Rules and Fees pages of the clerk's site, before you pay, and remember that GR 34 fee waivers cover the filing fee for a filer who cannot afford it.
| Charge | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Ex parte presentation fee | $40 per submission, the amount published on the clerk's own E-Filing page and the Pierce County Clerk Fee Schedule | Presenting orders to the court for signature through LINX, the process the clerk calls Ex-Parte via the Clerk. If the court declines to sign and enters an Order of Deficiency instead, you correct the order, resubmit it and pay the $40 again. Specified ex parte orders requiring a judicial officer's signature must be submitted this way, and payment is mandatory except where the order is presented on the record in open court to the assigned judicial officer or the court directs otherwise (Pierce County Local General Rule 30(b)(5)(A)) |
| Electronic working copies | Set by clerk policy within the range Pierce County Code 4.58.060(B) allows: no less than $5 and no more than $10 per submission, or an annual per-attorney fee of no less than $250 and no more than $400 for unlimited submissions | Delivering judges' working copies electronically through the clerk's e-filing system for a matter set before a judge, where a submission is a set of documents for one case not exceeding 100 pages. This does not arise on the commissioner's probate calendar, because working copies are no longer delivered or furnished for any commissioner docket (PCLSPR 98.04(c)); it arises when an estate matter is set before a judicial department. Working copies of 200 pages or more go in on paper absent the judge's prior authorization (PCLGR 30(b)(5)(C)) |
| Certificate of qualification or certified copy of the letters | $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)) | The certified proof of authority a bank, brokerage or title company asks for. Two different RCW 36.18.016 lines are nicknamed Form K in Washington county schedules, so ask for the item by function rather than by the letter |
| 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 |
| Executing a certificate | $2 (RCW 36.18.016(5)) | Where the clerk executes a certificate with or without a seal |
Timeline
- Note the hearing at least seven court days out. A matter that needs a hearing on the commissioner's probate calendar is scheduled with a Note for Commissioner's Calendar filed through LINX or from a public kiosk in the Clerk's Office, and the Note must be filed at least seven court days before the hearing date (PCLSPR 98.04(b)). The commissioner may set a special hearing at another time if the issues are complex or unusual.
- Opposition by noon three court days before, strict reply by noon two court days before. Any party opposing a motion files and serves responsive papers no later than 12:00 noon three court days before the hearing date, and any papers in strict reply are served no later than noon two court days before (PCLSPR 98.04(b)).
- Civil Hearing Information Form (Form U) and proposed orders by noon two court days before. Both the moving and the responding party file one Form U through the clerk's electronic filing process by that deadline, and for probate and trust matters the proposed orders go in with it. Missing the deadline can get the hearing stricken or continued, and working copies are not delivered for any commissioner docket (PCLSPR 98.04(c)).
- Probate is an afternoon calendar. Noted probate and trust matters are heard on the afternoon probate and trust calendars in Civil Division A, the 1:30 civil hearing on Form U (PCLR 7(b)(1)(G)). Ex Parte sits in Courtroom 129 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. daily, with 24 hours notice to the opposing party unless the commissioner waives it or the parties agree. Verify the current commissioner calendar before noting anything, because the schedule can change without the local rules being republished (PCLR 7(b)(1)(C)).
- A mandatory court review hearing is set when your appointment order is filed. For an estate, the clerk issues an Order Assigning Case to Judicial Department and Setting Hearing Date when the order appointing the personal representative is filed. Where full nonintervention powers are granted the review is set 36 months after filing (Form B1); where court supervision is required, meaning a bond is required, a guardian or guardian ad litem is appointed for a minor or incompetent heir, or the estate is insolvent, or where RCW 11.76.010 governs, it is set 12 months after filing (Form B2). A will contest or other litigation arising in the probate instead gets an Order Setting Case Schedule when the contest is filed or the estate is sued (PCLR 3(b)(4) and (b)(5)).
- File the status report by the seventh court day before that review. Parties file a status report with the court no later than the close of business on the seventh court day before the review date, and if the report is filed the parties do not need to appear unless the court directs them to. Failure to attend or to file the report can result in dismissal of the case without prejudice or closure of the matter without further notice (PCLR 3(b)).
- Build in the statutory clocks that run alongside the calendar: notice of the appointment and the pendency of the probate within 20 days after appointment (RCW 11.28.237(1)); creditor notice published once each week for three successive weeks, which opens 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)).
- Allow counter time. The clerk's own probate guidance says the best hours to bring a new probate case in are 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., and the main phone line stops taking calls at 3:30 p.m. even though the counter stays open to 4:30 p.m. Pierce County publishes no clerk-window wait times.
Local nuance
Pierce County-specific considerations
LINX is the Pierce County distinctive, and it is not just a case lookup. The Legal Information Network eXchange is the clerk's own system, and it does five jobs a Pierce County estate touches: it is the electronic filing system, the electronic service system, the way you note a hearing on a commissioner's calendar, the way proposed ex parte orders are presented for signature, and the public case search. Registration is required, and LINX states that a subscription is required for the service that lets you view, print and download Superior Court documents filed in 2002 or later remotely. For case participants the picture is friendlier: the Clerk's Office describes the LINX account for parties as free, obtained by submitting an account setup form with the account number and a temporary password emailed back within one to two business days, and the court states that LINX account fees are currently waived for self-represented parties. You need an account and a PIN to e-file, and the Clerk's Office at (253) 798-7455 is where you get one. If you would rather not open an account at all, the Clerk's Office keeps a public kiosk you can use to file and schedule a Note for Commissioner's Calendar, and you can still file on paper at the Room 110 counter or by mail.
Mandatory attorney e-filing is the second distinctive, and it has probate-specific edges. Under Pierce County Local General Rule 30, attorneys must electronically file all documents with the clerk using the clerk's e-filing system or a service provider that uses it, and must use electronic service on other attorneys in the case; self-represented parties are not required to do either but may opt in, and a self-represented party who wants electronic service must obtain a LINX account and file an e-service registration form in each case separately. An attorney who cannot e-file applies to the clerk for a waiver, explains why paper is needed in that case, receives a written approval or denial, files a copy of the waiver in each case, and captions paper documents "Exempt from e-filing per waiver filed on (date)"; a denial can be reviewed by the Presiding Judge, and the clerk is authorized to reject an unwaivered paper filing and return it for e-filing. Two of the rule's paper-only exceptions bite in probate: original wills and codicils cannot be e-filed, and neither can a new case or a fee-based document filed with a request for an order in forma pauperis or under GR 34. Plan on a paper trip or a mailing for the original will, and for the fee waiver if you need one, even in an otherwise electronic case.
Third, Pierce County puts a review date on your estate at the moment you are appointed. For most civil case types the clerk sets a mandatory court review hearing at filing, and for estates it is set when the order appointing the personal representative is filed: 36 months out if full nonintervention powers were granted, and 12 months out if the court is supervising the estate because a bond is required, a guardian or guardian ad litem was appointed for a minor or incompetent heir, or the estate is insolvent (PCLR 3(b)(4) and (b)(5)). The hearing is a progress check, not a merits hearing, and filing the status report by close of business on the seventh court day before the date excuses the appearance. Ignoring it is the risk: the rule allows dismissal without prejudice or closure of the matter without further notice. This is a real difference from counties that simply leave an unsupervised probate alone until someone files a declaration of completion, and it is the single Pierce County deadline that most often surprises an out-of-state personal representative.
Fourth, the commissioner, not a judge, is who a Pierce County probate usually sees. Probate, trust, guardianship and conservatorship matters sit with the court commissioners in the civil divisions (PCLR 0.4(a)(1) and PCLR 7(b)(1)(B)(ii)), on the afternoon probate and trust calendars in Civil Division A, and the initial appointment order may be presented in the Ex Parte Division in Courtroom 129 rather than on a noted calendar at all (PCLSPR 98.04(a)). What does go to a judge is narrower and worth knowing: annual periodic reviews, and an initial Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act hearing that will take live testimony or run longer than twenty minutes, are heard by the assigned judicial department on its Friday motion docket, and a contested will contest gets a case schedule and a trial date. Commissioners do not hear discovery motions.
Fifth, Pierce County keeps its own records system, and the statewide search knows it. Probate cases are superior court cases and appear in the Administrative Office of the Courts index at dw.courts.wa.gov, but that site's own notice warns its dockets and case status may be inaccurate and routes Pierce County Superior Court searches to LINX; Odyssey Portal, the current search for the other 37 counties, does not cover Pierce. LINX searches Superior Court cases by cause number or by party name with a year range, and estates and wills are indexed under its Probate/Guardianship case type. Public documents filed in 2002 or later can be viewed and printed at the Clerk's Office; remote document access is the part that requires a subscription.
Recent updates
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| December 1, 2025 | The Clerk's Office stopped taking calls on its main phone line after 3:30 p.m. The counter in Room 110 remains open for in-person business until 4:30 p.m. on regular business days, so the phone window is now an hour shorter than the filing window. | Clerk of the Superior Court, piercecountywa.gov/95/Clerk-of-the-Superior-Court |
| September 1, 2025 | The current Pierce County Superior Court Local Rules took effect as amended, including PCLSPR 98.04 on estates, probate and notices, which sets the seven court days notice for a Note for Commissioner's Calendar, the noon three-day and two-day response and reply cutoffs, and the rule that working copies are no longer delivered for any commissioner docket. The Civil Hearing Information Form (Form U) was revised the same date. | Pierce County Superior Court Local Rules, courts.wa.gov/court_rules and piercecountywa.gov/1195/Local-Rules |
| March 2026 | Pierce County Code 4.58.060, the section that authorizes the Superior Court Clerk to charge for services not set by statute and that sets the range for the electronic working copies fee, was amended by Ordinance 2025-551 and codified in March 2026. | Pierce County Code 4.58.060, pierce.county.codes |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Pierce County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | A Tacoma, Lakewood or Puyallup 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 Pierce 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 Pierce 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, subject to the review hearing the clerk sets 36 months out. If the sole-name property is only personal property and modest, the survivor may be able to use the small estate affidavit instead, 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, the Pierce County case cover sheet and the nonintervention powers request. Guidance on clearing title through the county recording office. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | If the parent lived in Pierce 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 no Pierce County court case at all (RCW 11.62.010). Where a probate is needed, the child prepares the petition and the Pierce County cover sheet and files at the Room 110 counter, by mail, or through LINX after getting an account from the Clerk's Office. The initial appointment order can be presented in the Ex Parte Division without a noted hearing, commissioner hearings are conducted in person or by Zoom at the option of the parties, and the court publishes the Zoom link for the probate calendar, so an out-of-state child can usually settle a Pierce County estate without traveling to Tacoma. The original will still has to reach the clerk on paper, as does a GR 34 fee-waiver request. | 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, oath and proposed letters, ready to mail or e-file. 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 Pierce 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 Pierce County real estate under that authority before distributing, with the clerk's review hearing set 36 months out. Without nonintervention powers, because a bond is required or the estate is insolvent, the review comes at 12 months instead and sale and accounting matters go back to the commissioner's afternoon probate calendar on a Note for Commissioner's Calendar filed seven court days ahead with a Civil Hearing Information Form and proposed orders. A dispute among heirs can be filed under the Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act, and an initial hearing that needs live testimony or more than twenty minutes goes to the assigned judicial department's Friday motion docket. | 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, Form U and the sale papers. Attorney referral to handle a contested step or a disputed sale. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Pierce County Clerk of the Superior Court (piercecountywa.gov/95/Clerk-of-the-Superior-Court) | The filing office's own site: Room 110 counter hours and the phone service hours, the self-help pages including a probate page listing the minimum documents to open a case and the best hours to file, the E-Filing pages on LINX accounts and Ex-Parte via the Clerk, the local forms, court records requests, and the rules and fees pages |
| LINX, the Legal Information Network eXchange (linxonline.co.pierce.wa.us) | Pierce County's own court system: search Superior Court cases by cause number or party name under the Probate/Guardianship case type, e-file and e-serve, note hearings on a commissioner's calendar, present proposed ex parte orders, and retrieve local Superior Court forms with their revision dates. Registration is required and a subscription is required for remote document access; the LINX help desk is (253) 798-7455 |
| Pierce County Superior Court, Court Commissioner Hearings and Commissioner Calendars by Division (piercecountywa.gov/122/Superior-Court) | The court's own page on how each commissioner calendar runs, including the Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship/Probate calendar, its Zoom links, and the Ex Parte courtroom and hours. The page notes its information is in effect as of May 1, 2023 and subject to change, and PCLR 7(b)(1)(C) tells parties to verify the current calendar before noting a matter. Commissioner Services is (253) 798-6697 |
| Pierce County Superior Court Local Rules (courts.wa.gov/court_rules and piercecountywa.gov/1195/Local-Rules) | The rules that actually govern a Pierce County probate, current set effective as amended September 1, 2025: PCLGR 30 on mandatory attorney e-filing and its paper-only exceptions, PCLR 3(b) on the mandatory court review hearing for estates, PCLR 7 on the commissioners' calendars and Form U, and PCLSPR 98.04 on estates, probate and notices. The Washington Courts version is the authoritative current PDF, and the appendix holds the local forms including Form U |
| Pierce County Clerk local forms (LINX Forms section and the clerk's forms pages) | The Case Cover Sheet for domestic and probate cases, the Civil Hearing Information Form (Form U), the Note for Commissioner's Calendar and Note for Motion Docket, the fillable Request for Probate/Guardianship Letters, the Document Coversheet and sealed coversheets, Confirmation of Service, the LINX account setup forms and Subscription Agreement, Registration for E-Service, and the Fee Waiver Packet in English and Spanish |
| Pierce County Law Library | The county's public law library, which the Clerk's own probate page names as a place to find information and forms on the probate process, and which the Clerk's site links from its resources list. Its own pages publish probate legal research links and free legal forms pointers. Confirm the current locations, hours and services before relying on them |
| Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers (tacomaprobono.org) | Free civil legal aid for Pierce County, linked from the Clerk's own resources list. Its Volunteer Attorney Program advice clinics cover a range of civil issues that expressly include wills and estates and adult guardianship. General in-person intake is at 621 Tacoma Avenue South, Suite 302, and an online intake form is available at any time; the office is closed on Fridays and on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Confirm that the clinic can help with your specific probate question when you make intake |
| Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association (tpcba.com) | The county bar's lawyer referral service at (253) 383-3432, its Hire an Attorney pages, and a Wills Panel for Seniors program. The Clerk's own site links to lawyer referral from its resources list |
| WashingtonLawHelp (washingtonlawhelp.org) | The Northwest Justice Project's plain-language self-help library, Washington's main publisher of estate guidance, including small estate guidance and a Small Estate Affidavit packet. 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 and the GR 34 fee waiver forms, plus the court directory entry confirming the Pierce County Clerk's address, phone, fax and office email. There is no statewide probate forms category |
| Tacoma Daily Index (tacomadailyindex.com) | The Tacoma newspaper that carries Pierce County probate notices to creditors, which is the publication step that opens the four-month claim bar (RCW 11.40.020). Confirm a paper's qualification as a legal newspaper and the current publication requirements with the Clerk's Office before placing a notice |
When to hire an attorney
Many Pierce 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), the Clerk's Office publishes a self-represented probate checklist, and a self-represented filer can still file on paper at the Room 110 counter or use a clerk kiosk. Counsel makes more sense when the estate is insolvent or its solvency is in doubt, because nonintervention powers depend on solvency and an unsupervised estate is also the one the clerk reviews later rather than sooner; when there is a will contest, a petition to admit a rejected will, or a fight over who should serve, because those get a case schedule and a trial date rather than a commissioner's afternoon calendar; when a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act proceeding is filed and the initial hearing will need live testimony or run longer than twenty minutes, which sends it to a judicial department's Friday motion docket; when the estate holds a business interest, out-of-state property, or Pierce County real estate whose sale terms are disputed; when the estate may owe Washington estate tax; and when the personal representative is appointed under RCW 11.28.120(3) and therefore cannot receive nonintervention powers. An attorney also brings e-filing with them, since attorneys must e-file and e-serve through LINX under Pierce County Local General Rule 30. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Pierce 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, Pierce County real estate, business interests, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and can pick 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 Pierce County filing: the small estate affidavit where the estate qualifies, or the petition, the Pierce County case cover sheet, the oath, the proposed order and the proposed letters, plus the nonintervention powers request and the Civil Hearing Information Form where a hearing is noted, ready to file at the Room 110 counter, to mail, or to e-file through LINX.
Find a local probate attorney. When an estate is insolvent or contested, or a Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act proceeding is filed, Sunset connects families to a vetted Pierce County probate attorney to file, e-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 Pierce County, Washington?
With the Pierce County Clerk, the Clerk of the Superior Court, in Room 110 of the County-City Building at 930 Tacoma Avenue South, Tacoma, WA 98402-2177. Mail goes to the same address; there is no separate post office box. The counter is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday except legal holidays, and the Clerk's Office phone is (253) 798-7455. Washington has no separate probate court, so the Superior Court in Pierce County handles probate as a case type under RCW Title 11. 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)).
What is LINX, and do I need an account to file probate in Pierce County?
LINX is the Pierce County Clerk's own Legal Information Network eXchange, and in Pierce County it is the e-filing system, the e-service system, the way hearings are noted on a commissioner's calendar, the way proposed ex parte orders are presented, and the public case search, all in one place. Attorneys must use it. A self-represented filer does not have to: you can file at the Room 110 counter, by mail, or from a public kiosk in the Clerk's Office. If you do want to e-file, you need a LINX account and PIN, which you get by contacting the Clerk's Office at (253) 798-7455 or submitting an account setup form; the clerk describes the case-participant account as free and the court states that LINX account fees are currently waived for self-represented parties. LINX registration is required, and a subscription is required for the service that lets you view, print and download Superior Court documents remotely.
Is e-filing required for probate in Pierce County?
For attorneys, yes. Under Pierce County Local General Rule 30, attorneys must electronically file all documents with the clerk using the clerk's e-filing system or a service provider that uses it, and must use electronic service on other attorneys in the case; an attorney who cannot comply applies to the clerk for a written waiver, files a copy of it in each case, and captions paper documents "Exempt from e-filing per waiver filed on (date)", and the clerk may reject an unwaivered paper filing. Self-represented parties are not required to e-file but may. Two exceptions matter in probate: original wills and codicils cannot be e-filed, and neither can a new case or fee-based document filed with a request for an order in forma pauperis or under GR 34, so plan on paper for the original will and for a fee waiver.
How much does it cost to file probate in Pierce 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)). Washington raised the total in 2025, so confirm the current figure with the Clerk's Office or on the current Pierce County Clerk Fee Schedule, because older county handouts and older versions of the schedule can still show the earlier amount. At the counter the clerk's probate guidance says a self-represented filer pays by cash, debit, money order or cashier's check, and a filer who cannot afford the fee may ask the court to waive it under GR 34 using the clerk's Fee Waiver Packet. Pierce County also charges a $40 ex parte presentation fee to present orders for signature through LINX, and a certificate of qualification or certified copy of the letters is $5 (RCW 36.18.016(9)).
When is the probate calendar in Pierce County, and how far ahead do I have to note a hearing?
Probate, trust, guardianship and conservatorship matters are heard by a court commissioner on the afternoon calendars in Civil Division A, the 1:30 civil hearing on the Civil Hearing Information Form (PCLR 7(b)(1)(G)). A hearing is set with a Note for Commissioner's Calendar filed through LINX or from a public kiosk in the Clerk's Office at least seven court days before the hearing date; opposition papers are due by noon three court days before, papers in strict reply by noon two court days before, and the Civil Hearing Information Form (Form U) with the proposed orders by noon two court days before (PCLSPR 98.04). Not every step needs a noted hearing: the initial order appointing a personal representative may be presented to the commissioner in the Ex Parte Division, which sits in Courtroom 129 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. daily. Verify the current calendar before noting anything, because the schedule can change without the local rules being republished.
Can I attend a Pierce County probate hearing by Zoom?
Usually, yes. Pierce County Superior Court states that commissioner hearings are conducted in person or by Zoom at the option of the parties unless the court notes otherwise, and it publishes a Zoom link for the Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship/Probate calendar on its Commissioner Calendars by Division page. Ex Parte matters in Courtroom 129 are heard both in person and by Zoom. The exception is a matter that ends up before a judge rather than a commissioner, such as a contested will contest or an annual review on a Friday motion docket: judicial department hearings are in person unless the department approves a Zoom appearance in advance, and each department sets its own lead time, which ranges from three to seven days in the department information the court publishes. Confirm the format for your date before appearing.
How do I look up a Pierce County probate case?
Through LINX. Search Pierce County Superior Court cases at linxonline.co.pierce.wa.us by cause number, or by party name with a year range, and choose the Probate/Guardianship case type, which covers estates, wills and guardianships. The Administrative Office of the Courts search at dw.courts.wa.gov routes Pierce County Superior Court lookups to LINX, and Odyssey Portal, which serves 37 of Washington's 39 counties, does not cover Pierce or King. Treat the statewide index as a pointer only, because its own notice warns that dockets, judgments, document links and case status may be inaccurate. Public documents filed in 2002 or later can be viewed and printed at the Clerk's Office in Room 110; remote document access through LINX requires a subscription.
What probate forms does Pierce 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. Pierce County does add its own: the Case Cover Sheet for domestic and probate cases to open the case, the Civil Hearing Information Form (Form U) for any matter on the probate calendar, the Note for Commissioner's Calendar to set a hearing, and a fillable Request for Probate/Guardianship Letters to get the letters issued, plus a Document Coversheet and sealed coversheets, Confirmation of Service, a Declaration regarding electronic signature, Notice of Change of Address and of Email Address, the LINX account setup forms, and the Fee Waiver Packet in English and Spanish. They are published on the Clerk's forms pages and in the Forms section of LINX, which shows each form's revision date, and Form U is in the appendix to the local rules.
What is the mandatory court review hearing in a Pierce County probate?
It is a progress check Pierce County builds into every estate. For an estate the clerk issues an Order Assigning Case to Judicial Department and Setting Hearing Date when the order appointing the personal representative is filed. Where full nonintervention powers are granted the review is set 36 months after filing; where the court is supervising the estate, because a bond is required, a guardian or guardian ad litem is appointed for a minor or incompetent heir, or the estate is insolvent, it is set 12 months after filing (PCLR 3(b)(4) and (b)(5)). File a status report with the court by close of business on the seventh court day before the date and you do not have to appear unless the court directs you to. Ignore it and the rule allows dismissal of the case without prejudice or closure of the matter without further notice, so put the date in your calendar the day you are appointed.
Do I have to travel to Tacoma to settle a Pierce County estate?
Usually not. A self-represented filer can mail the filing to Room 110 or e-file it through LINX after getting an account from the Clerk's Office, the initial appointment order can be presented in the Ex Parte Division without a noted hearing, and commissioner hearings are conducted in person or by Zoom at the option of the parties. The steps that are hard to do at a distance are the paper ones: the original will and any codicil must be filed on paper, as must a new case filed with a GR 34 fee-waiver request (PCLGR 30(b)(5)(B)). If you do come in person, the clerk's own probate guidance says the best hours to file a new probate case are 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., and note that the main phone line stops taking calls at 3:30 p.m. even though the counter stays open until 4:30 p.m.
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.