Snohomish County Clerk of the Superior Court

The Snohomish County Clerk of the Superior Court

Heidi Percy is the elected Snohomish County Clerk. By law the County Clerk also serves as the Clerk of the Superior Court. That means her office is the official keeper of every Superior Court case file in the county. When a case is filed, the Clerk logs it, assigns a case number, and stores the papers. The office is the central hub to find, get, and file Superior Court records.

The Clerk's main office sits in the county campus in Everett. Walk-in service runs Monday through Friday during set hours, with a short break for lunch. Staff can help you locate a case, request a copy, or start a new filing. If you are not sure where to begin, the Clerk's Office is the first place to ask. Below is the contact card for the main office.

What the Snohomish County Clerk's Office Handles

The Clerk does far more than store paper. The office is the filing and record-access point for a broad slice of Superior Court work. Its own site groups tasks into Find, Get, and File. That structure shows the office is not just a records desk. It is where many court matters begin and where the official copy of the outcome ends up.

Here is a sample of what the Clerk's Office manages:

• Court records and case numbers for Superior Court matters
• Filing fees and fee waivers for people who cannot pay
• Court forms and jury information
• Court dates and hearing schedules
• Juvenile records and the will repository
• Divorce filings and parenting plan changes
• Probate, will filings, and estate matters
• Protection orders and eviction or unlawful detainer information
• Appeals and Ex Parte orders
• Joel's Law filings

Each of these touches a different kind of record. A divorce creates a family law file. A probate creates an estate file. A protection order creates its own case. The Clerk keeps them all in the same system, sorted by case number, so the office can pull any one of them on request.

Accessing Snohomish County Court Records

There is more than one way to reach Superior Court records, and the right path depends on what you need. To find basic case information, the public can search the Washington Courts Odyssey Portal for free. The catch is simple. Searching is free, but viewing the actual documents is not free for the general public.

If you want a saved copy of a document and you only need one now and then, the Clerk points you to the Washington State Digital Archives to buy certified or non-certified copies. People who pull records often can pay for an annual Odyssey Portal subscription instead. You can also view records in person at the Clerk's Office at no charge during business hours. The catch there is that free viewing does not include free printing or copying.

The official self-help guide explains the broad options for the public. The lead-in below links to the Washington Courts find court records help page.

That guide is a good map for deciding whether you need only case information or a full document copy before you contact the Clerk.

Sealed or confidential records work differently. You cannot view them online or by mail. You must come in person, show a valid government photo ID, and have a legal right or a court order. Without that, staff cannot release the file.

Note: Searching case information on the portal is free, but document images are not broadly free for public users.

Snohomish County Clerk Copy and Research Fees

The Clerk charges set fees for copies and for research work. These fees are tied to state law. The amounts come from RCW 36.18.020, which sets clerk fees for Washington Superior Courts. The table below lists the current Superior Court copy and research charges.

The fee schedule for Superior Court records is shown on the statute page that backs these clerk charges. The lead-in here links to RCW 36.18.020 on the state legislature site.

The statute is the legal basis for the per-page and research rates the Clerk applies.

One point trips people up. Research is billed by the hour with a one-hour minimum, so a quick lookup that takes ten minutes still costs the full $30. Plan for that if you ask the Clerk to dig through old or hard-to-find files.

How to Request a Certified Copy from the Clerk

You can get a certified copy by mail. The Clerk's mail process has a few firm rules, and a request that skips a step gets sent back. Personal checks are never accepted for mail requests, so do not send one. Follow the steps below to mail a request that the office can act on.

1. Complete the Clerk's copy request form. Include the case number if you know it.
2. Add a self-addressed stamped envelope with enough postage for the return.
3. Pay by cashier's check or money order made payable to the Snohomish County Clerk.
4. Write your daytime phone number and email on the request.
5. Mail it to the Clerk's Office at 3000 Rockefeller Ave., M/S 605, Everett, WA 98201.
6. Allow 10 business days after the office receives full payment.

If you do not know the page count or the copy cost, call or email the Clerk before you send payment. Staff can give you an estimate so you send the right amount. For a broader look at how Washington courts handle copy requests, the official self-help page on how to find court records walks through the public's options.

Note: Mail requests need payment up front unless you first contact the Clerk to confirm the unknown cost of your copies.

Snohomish County Odyssey Portal Subscription

People who need records often can skip one-off purchases and sign up for an annual Odyssey Portal subscription through the Clerk. The fee is based on company size, not on how many people use the portal login. That makes it a fit for law firms, title companies, and other heavy users who pull files all the time.

The Clerk's subscription page lists the annual fee tiers and the sign-up steps. The lead-in below links to the Snohomish County Odyssey Portal Subscription page.

That page also explains how the bill is pro-rated when service starts midyear. The annual fee tiers are shown below.

Service is billed each year on February 1. If you start after that date, the Clerk pro-rates the fee by whole months. You can pay by mail with a check, cashier's check, or money order, or in person with cash or card. Questions about the subscription go to the dedicated email on the Clerk's subscription page.

The Juvenile Court Clerk

The Clerk also runs a separate Juvenile Court Clerk office. It is not at the main campus. The juvenile office sits at its own address in Everett and has its own phone line. Records there are more restricted than adult Superior Court files because juvenile cases carry added privacy by law.

If you need a juvenile record, expect to show that you have a legal right to it. Access is limited, and staff cannot hand out these files the way they can release a public civil case. Call the juvenile office first to learn what you must bring and what the rules allow.

Recent Snohomish County Clerk Changes

The Clerk's Office has made a few changes worth knowing before you file or request anything. These shifts affect how Ex Parte orders move through the court and what the office charges.

The biggest change is about Ex Parte orders. Starting May 1, 2026, the Clerk will no longer accept mail-in or drop-off Ex Parte requests. After that date, you must present Ex Parte orders through the Ex Parte Portal or in person in Ex Parte Courtroom 1B. The change follows Local Court Rule 0.02(f)(2). If you have handled Ex Parte work by mail in the past, you will need to switch methods.

There was also a fee change. On July 27, 2025, several Clerk and recording filing fees went up. So an older fee list may be out of date, and you should confirm the current amount before you pay.

Note: As of May 1, 2026, the Clerk stops taking mail-in or drop-off Ex Parte requests, so plan to use the Portal or Courtroom 1B instead.

Related Snohomish County Records

The Clerk's files connect to several other record types in the county. If your question is broader than one case file, these pages may help you find the right office and the right path. Each one covers a piece of the local court system.

• Court Records for a general overview of Snohomish County court files and how to access them.
• Superior Court for the trial court whose cases the Clerk keeps.
• District Court Clerk for the separate clerk that handles infractions, small claims, and limited cases.
• Probate Records for wills, estates, and the county's will repository.
• Marriage & Divorce Records for family law filings and divorce case copies.

Picking the right office at the start saves time. The Clerk holds Superior Court files, while District Court keeps its own. When in doubt, start with court records and work from there.