Access Yakima County Public Records

Three Rule Sets for Yakima County Public Records

Washington splits public records into three separate rule sets, and Yakima County's own public-records page is blunt about it. County departments and offices fall under the Public Records Act, RCW 42.56. Court case records do not. They follow the Washington Court General Rules instead, mainly GR 31 and GR 31.1. Jail records follow a third statute, RCW 70.48.100. That means a single request style does not cover all three. The county states the split plainly so people stop sending court-file requests to the wrong desk.

You can read the Public Records Act itself on the Washington Legislature site.

The Act sets out how state and local agencies must handle requests, what they may withhold, and how fast they must respond. It is the right tool for county department records, but not for a Superior Court case file. The comparison table below shows how the three tracks differ.

What the Clerk of Superior Court Maintains

The Clerk of Superior Court is the court-record custodian for Yakima County. The office is not a general county department, so its records follow court rules, not the Public Records Act. The Clerk's legal duties trace to the Washington State Constitution and to state law on county clerks, RCW 36.23. As the administrator of court records and exhibits, the Clerk processes and keeps every document filed in a Superior Court cause of action.

The records the Clerk maintains run wide. They include felony criminal cases, civil litigation, domestic and family law, paternity, adoptions, mental illness matters, dependency, juvenile offender matters, probate, guardianship, and will-depository records. Many are public under GR 31. Several are sealed by law. You can read the statute that sets the Clerk's role on the Washington Legislature county clerks page.

That statute, paired with the state constitution, is why the Clerk operates as an independent court-record office rather than an ordinary county department. For a copy of a case file, use the Clerk's copy request, not a Public Records Act request. The Clerk of Superior Court page covers the copy steps.

How to File a Public Records Request

A Public Records Act request to the county is straightforward once you have the right office. The steps below cover the standard path for county department records. For court files, skip this and use the Clerk instead, since the Act does not reach the courts.

1. Identify the record. Decide whether it is a county department record, a court record, or a jail record, since each follows a different rule.
2. For county department records, direct the request to the county Public Records Officer under RCW 42.56.
3. Describe the records clearly. The more specific you are, the faster staff can find them and the lower the research cost.
4. Submit the request through the county's public-records process and keep a copy of what you sent.
5. Wait for the agency's initial response, then pay any copy or research fees before the records are released.

The county explains the routing for each record group on the Yakima County public records page, which is the best place to confirm the right office before you file.

Court Records Under GR 31

Court case records in Yakima County are open by default, but under a court rule rather than the Public Records Act. GR 31 is the governing rule. It starts from the position that court records are open unless a federal law, state law, court rule, court order, or case law restricts them. So most filings can be viewed, but the rule also protects sealed material and personal identifiers.

There is a second court rule for a different kind of record. GR 31.1 covers court administrative records, which are not case files. Think court budgets, policies, or administrative correspondence. If you want a case file, GR 31 and the Clerk are your route. If you want how the court runs as an agency, GR 31.1 is the path. Mixing them up is the most common mistake people make.

Jail Records Under RCW 70.48.100

Jail records follow their own statute, RCW 70.48.100. Under it, the jail roster holds inmate information that is available for public release. Most other inmate jail records, including booking photos, are confidential and exempt from public disclosure. So the public roster is open, but the deeper file is not. Non-medical inmate records require the inmate's authorization, a signed release, or a court order. Medical records require a health-care information authorization or a judge's order.

You can read the jail-register statute on the Washington Legislature site.

That law is why a Public Records Act request will not pull a full jail file the way it might pull a county department record. For the roster and inmate lookup tools, see the Yakima County inmate records page.

Yakima County Public Records Fees

Fees depend on which office holds the record and what form you want. For court-record copies, the Clerk charges set rates under state law, RCW 36.18.016. Paper copies cost more than emailed ones. Certified copies cost more again. When staff must search old files, a research fee applies by the hour, billed in short increments. The court-copy figures below come from the Clerk's copy-fee page and that statute.

The county clerk fee statute is online on the Washington Legislature site.

It backs the per-page, certified-copy, and research rates the Clerk charges for court-record copies.

Response Timelines and Payment

The Public Records Act sets duties on how an agency responds. After a request comes in, the agency must give an initial response rather than sit on it, and it may release records, ask for clarification, or explain a needed delay. Larger requests can be filled in installments. The county routes each record group to the right office, so the clock and the process can vary by record type.

For court-record copies through the Clerk, payment rules are specific. You can pay at the front counter with cash or business check, or online through nCourt. Cards work only for online orders. For online orders, a confirmation number must go on the copy request, and the Clerk does not process it until payment or that number arrives. If payment is not received within 30 days, the request is deleted.

Records That Stay Restricted

Open by default does not mean open without limit. Several record groups are closed regardless of which rule applies. The list below covers the main ones the county and state withhold from public access.

• Dependency files, which are confidential sealed records not open to the public.
• Mental illness and involuntary commitment matters, which are confidential.
• Adoption files, sealed so tightly the Clerk needs a court order even to confirm a case exists.
• Paternity matters, confidential until the order determining parentage is entered.
• Juvenile records, which carry their own statutory limits.
• Jail booking photos and most non-roster inmate records, exempt under the jail statute.
• Personal identifiers such as Social Security and financial account numbers.

To view a sealed court record, a person usually must be a party, an attorney of record, or hold a court order, and the item may be released only on paper.

Where to Send Your Request

The contact below covers court-record copy requests, which are the most common ask tied to court files. For county department records, the county's public-records page lists the Public Records Officer routing. For jail records, the Department of Corrections handles requests beyond the public roster. Match the office to the rule and the request goes faster.

Related Yakima County Records

For the court search portals and case files, see Yakima County court records. For copy steps and the full fee schedule, see the Clerk of Superior Court page. For the jail roster and inmate lookup, see inmate records.