Is there a time limit on filing a small claim in Washington State?
Small Claims cases are subject to statutes of limitation that govern the time in which a claim must be filed. The length of the statute of limitations is determined by the type of action, not the court in which the claim is filed. For most small claims cases, the statute of limitations is three years. However, some types of cases must be filed within one year; other types have longer periods within which to file. Please see the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), Chapter 4.16 - Limitations of Actions to determine which time period applies to your case.
For more information, visit the An Introduction to Small Claims Court page of the Washington Courts Web site. The site contains a brochure and links to the appropriate Washington State laws (Revised Code of Washington [RCW]), including links to the brochure in Word and PDF formats in English and Spanish.
For small claim forms, see: Court Forms: Small Claims.
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