eService Center - Administrative Office of the Courts

For Washington State, where can I find the Oath of Office for a new judge, including a judge Pro Tempore?

Does the judge need to sign a new oath at the beginning of a new term of office?

Where is the oath filed?

Locations of sample Oaths of Office:

• Attached at the bottom of this answer is an oath that appears to meet the statutory requirements.  Please note that this is not a pattern form and may/should be altered to fit local needs.
  
  
• The Directories and Contacts/Elected Judges Pro Tempore page of the Inside Courts Web site contains a sample Oath for a judge pro tempore.
   
• A Certificate of Appointment and Oath of Office form in PDF format is available from the Washington State Secretary of State's Web site.
  
  
• See the Oaths of Office by Court Level section below. Please note that the oath of office for many judicial officers is not the same as the oath for other elected officials.

New Oath of Office at beginning of a judge's new term of office:

Per Washington State Constitution - Article IV, Section 28 and RCW 2.08.080, the Legal Services section of the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) believes judges should sign a new oath at the beginning of each new term.

Where to file the Oath of Office:

Please see: Answer ID: Where does our court file its judge's Oath of Office? (Varies by court level.)

Oaths of Office by Court Level

There are a number of statutes (RCWs - Revised Code of Washington) and also the Washington State Constitution, from which the content of the oaths in Washington State are derived:

RN id: 1433