Franklin County Court Record Requests
Finding the right office comes first. Michael J. Killian serves as Franklin County Clerk. He is also the ex officio Superior Court Clerk, and holds Benton-Franklin Counties Superior Court files with Franklin County venue. Franklin County District Court runs its own limited-jurisdiction records office. Pasco misdemeanors, infractions, parking tickets, and photo-enforcement files sit with Pasco Municipal Court. Juvenile Court records carry extra access rules of their own.
Each channel plays a distinct role. Search online through Odyssey or Washington Case Records. You can also use a courthouse public terminal, call, visit the counter, or send the court's form by mail, fax, email, pickup, or an online route it allows. The county's ordinary GovQA channel does not handle court records.
- Find the court, case number, party or case name, and requested document.
- Choose the Superior Clerk, District Court, or Pasco Municipal Court form.
- State whether a plain, certified, complete-file, audio, or selected-document copy is needed.
- Submit through the channels printed on that form and wait for the fee quote when required.
- Pay by the method the court confirms, then select mail, email, pickup, or another permitted delivery method.
Franklin County Superior Request Form
The Superior Clerk online request asks for the case name and number, party details, a document title, a filing or order date, a complete-file choice, the date you need it, and your contact information. Plan on seven days for processing. Certified copies go out by mail. Noncertified copies may arrive by email or mail instead.
The official request screen shows how Franklin County splits document details from delivery and certification choices.
Name the exact document title and filing date. That helps staff pull the right item on the first try, without a clarifying phone call.
The printable form and the online page disagree on some handling and electronic-copy points. Check the current mailing charge and accepted payment before you send money. The form takes a cashier's check or money order, not a personal check. It sets no general government-ID requirement.
Kinds of Court Records
A Franklin County court case record might be a single docket line, a few chosen filings, or the whole public file. Case type and court level decide which office to contact. Remember that a payment screen or a public search row is not the signed order or certified record the court actually holds.
- Dockets and Registers of Actions showing events in date order
- Complaints, citations, petitions, motions, answers, and other pleadings
- Judgments, sentences, orders, and public disposition records
- Hearing audio when the court provides it through its request process
- Public civil, probate, criminal, family, and juvenile material where access permits
District Court's form names guilty pleas, judgments and sentences, complaints or citations, audio, and dockets. Pasco Municipal Court covers record checks, certified records, audio, and copies. It excludes police reports.
Franklin County Custodian Map
Each Franklin County custodian controls only its own files, so a request sent to the wrong office just burns time. Court records also stay separate from county administrative records under the county's 2025 clarification.
| Record family | Custodian | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Superior civil, felony, family, probate, and related files | Franklin County Clerk | 509-545-3525 |
| District criminal, civil, infraction, and small-claim files | Franklin County District Court | 509-545-3593 |
| Pasco misdemeanor, traffic, parking, and photo-enforcement files | Pasco Municipal Court | 509-545-3491 |
| County administrative records | County Public Records Officer | Not the ordinary court-record route |
Franklin County's District Court page shows the correct limited-jurisdiction office along with its current operating notices.
District docket and document requests are fulfilled by the District office itself, not the Superior Clerk or the county Public Records Officer.
Court Records: What They Contain
The public file can hold more than what the online docket shows. Odyssey may list case information, parties, disposition events, events, and hearings. Behind those entries, the clerk file keeps the public documents tied to them. An event can be public. Its image may still stay unavailable online.
| Case identifier | The number, court, type, file date, and location tied to the matter. |
|---|---|
| Pleadings | Public petitions, complaints, motions, answers, and notices filed by the parties. |
| Orders and judgments | Signed rulings or disposition documents available under access rules. |
| Register of Actions | A dated event list that may include filings, hearings, and dispositions. |
| Hearing material | Calendar details or audio where the court permits release and the request identifies the date. |
A docket index does not promise that every linked document is open. Before release, the custodian applies redaction, sealing, and category-specific restrictions.
Franklin County Historical Court Files
Old Superior Court files from 1901 through 2026 sit in the Washington State Digital Archives Franklin collection. Search by case number or keywords within a year range. The archive suits old case discovery and genealogy work. For current certified copies, the Franklin County Clerk remains the source.
Digital Archives can display file metadata and ordering details. It publishes no sealed or confidential files, and no adoption, dependency, or mental-competency material. An online absence never proves a file does not exist. Ask the archive or the Clerk. A record may be held, restricted, stored elsewhere, or simply not scanned.
Copy Fees and Certification
A plain copy just reproduces an available record. A certified copy carries the court's certification for uses that demand an official version. Franklin County fees vary by court and service, so the form for your transaction controls. The Superior sources even conflict on some handling and electronic-copy charges.
| Item | Published amount | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Superior certified copy | $5 first page, $1 each added page per document | Printable Clerk request |
| Superior noncertified copy | $0.50 per page | Confirm electronic rate |
| Superior historical search, 1983 and older | $30 plus copies | Printable Clerk request |
| District certified copy | $5 per page | District request form |
| District noncertified copy | $0.50 per page | District request form |
| District audio | $20 by USB or email | District request form |
Franklin County District Requests
Mail or fax the District request form. Pick your return route from pickup, fax, mail, or email. Staff will contact you with the amount due. After that, pay by phone or online. The form wants a name, aliases, date of birth, and case numbers. Treat those as search fields only, not facts to republish.
That form lists no standard turnaround and no universal picture-ID requirement. Do not count on same-day service. Pasco Municipal Court goes its own way. Its form demands valid picture ID and prices an $11 noncertified record check, a $16 certified check for the first page, added certification charges, and audio charges. Follow each court's form exactly as written.
Access Rules for Court Records
Court rules govern access to Washington court records. The ordinary county Public Records Act portal does not control them. GR 31 covers indexes, calendars, dockets, registers, orders, and judgments. Family, protection, guardianship, and therapeutic matters get extra protection. Confidential personal information in those files is shielded under GR 22. Sealing and redaction are addressed by GR 15.
Key rules:
GR 31 supports public court-record access while preserving lawful privacy limits.
GR 22 restricts sensitive data and documents in listed case families.
GR 15 permits sealing when the legal standard is met and a narrower step is not enough.
RCW 13.50.260 governs how juvenile records get sealed. If part of a file is sealed, ask the custodian for the nonrestricted portion rather than working around the limit through some other database.
Franklin County Records Versus GovQA
Franklin County routes ordinary administrative records through its Public Records Officer and GovQA. The county's Public Records page spells that out. Court files are different. They stay with the court, not the county's GovQA pipeline. The five-business-day response framework in RCW 42.56.520 comes from the Public Records Act. It governs administrative requests, not court copies. It is not a promised turnaround for a court copy.
The split matters when one event produced both kinds of records. A court filing goes to the court custodian. An administrative county record goes to the county route. Police reports fall outside the Pasco Municipal Court records form too. So do not send that request there.