Find Pierce County Court Dockets

What Is a Court Docket in Pierce County

A docket is a chronological list of every recorded event in a court case. Each line in the docket has a date, an event type, and a short description. Filings, orders, hearings, continuances, and judgments all appear as separate entries. The docket is the case's official timeline. It does not hold the full text of each document, but it tells you what was filed, when it was filed, and what the court did next. For Pierce County Superior Court cases, the docket also links to imaged documents filed after January 1, 2002.

Pierce County uses the cause number as the core case identifier. The format is something like 02-1-12345-1. That number ties every docket entry back to the same file. When you look up a docket, you are seeing all the case events that have been entered under that cause number. Attorneys, charges, and proceedings are part of what LINX, the county's Legal Information Network Exchange, makes visible on the public docket view. Criminal dockets show charges and attorneys. Civil dockets show parties, attorneys, and proceedings. Probate and guardianship dockets show the court's supervision of an estate or protected person. Each case type has a somewhat different set of standard entries, but the structure is the same: date, event, result.

A docket is not the full case file. The full file holds the actual motions, declarations, exhibits, and signed orders. The docket is the index to those documents. You can use the docket to track what stage a case is in, verify a hearing date, or see whether a judgment was entered. For the documents themselves, you either purchase them through LINX or request them from the clerk.

How to Search Pierce County Dockets Online

LINX is the search portal for Pierce County Superior Court dockets and District Court dockets. Pierce County built LINX locally and has used it for nearly 20 years. It is the case management system for Superior Court and gives public users access to dockets, proceedings, calendars, attorneys, charges, and judgments. The public search page at linxonline.piercecountywa.gov/linxweb/Search.cfm has separate tabs for Superior Court and District Court cases, so you start by picking the right court. Municipal court proceedings, such as Tacoma Municipal Court cases, are not in LINX. Those are searched through the Washington Courts Find My Court Date tool, which covers district and municipal court proceedings statewide except Seattle Municipal Court.

1. Open the LINX search page at linxonline.piercecountywa.gov/linxweb/Search.cfm, not a third-party aggregator.
2. Select the correct court tab. Use Superior Court for felonies, divorce, probate, guardianship, and major civil cases. Use District Court for misdemeanors, infractions, small claims, name changes, and anti-harassment matters.
3. If you have the cause number, enter it in the Cause Number field. LINX accepts the number with dashes, such as 02-1-12345-1, or without dashes, such as 021123451.
4. If you only have a name, enter it as last name, first name, such as Smith, John. Set a year range to narrow results. The public form shows years from 1980 through 2026.
5. Select the relevant case type if you know it. Options for Superior Court are Criminal, Civil, Domestic, Probate/Guardianship, and Tax Warrant/Judgment. District Court options are Criminal, Civil, and Infraction.
6. Click Search and review the result list. Click the cause number to open the case docket.
7. On the docket screen, review the list of entries by date. Each entry shows the event type and a description. For documents filed after January 1, 2002, a link lets you pay for and view the imaged document through LINX.
8. For documents from January 1991 through December 2001 that are not yet imaged, submit a Scan Document request through the Clerk. The Clerk says these become available for purchase through LINX within two business days.
9. For records filed before January 1991, call the Clerk of the Superior Court at 253-798-7455.
10. For municipal court hearing dates, use the Washington Courts Find My Court Date tool at dw.courts.wa.gov and search by case number or party name.

Note: LINX is a Pierce County system and is not used in other Washington counties. For statewide case searching, use the Washington Courts case search portal.

Pierce County Docket Entry Field Inventory

Each row in a LINX docket represents one event. The fields below are the standard elements that appear based on the LINX public feature description and how cause-number records are displayed. Criminal dockets include attorney and charge lines that civil dockets may not. Not every field appears in every case type, but this table covers what the public docket view typically shows for Pierce County Superior Court and District Court cases.

Some entries are not visible to the public. Sealed materials, family-law source documents restricted under Washington General Rule 22, juvenile data, and personal identifiers may be redacted or hidden. If a docket entry appears but the document link is locked, the file may require in-person access or a formal request.

Which Pierce County Courts Have Online Dockets

Not all Pierce County courts publish dockets through the same system. The table below shows how docket access breaks down by court level, based on the LINX feature description and the Washington Courts Find My Court Date system.

Pierce County Superior Court is the general-jurisdiction trial court and has 23 judicial departments. Most felony, divorce, probate, guardianship, and major civil matters produce Superior Court dockets. District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction and handles misdemeanors, infractions, small claims, and name changes. Municipal courts handle city ordinance, traffic, and municipal matters within city limits. All three levels serve the same law-and-justice campus at 930 Tacoma Avenue South, but they keep separate docket records.

Searching by Cause Number vs. Party Name

A cause number search is the most direct route. You enter the number, LINX pulls up a single case, and you see the full docket right away. Cause numbers in Pierce County look like 02-1-12345-1 for Superior Court criminal matters. The digits encode the year, case type, sequence, and a check digit. LINX accepts entry with the dashes or without them. If someone hands you a court document and it has a cause number printed on it, use that first.

Name searches take more steps. Enter the name as last name, first name. Add a year range to limit results. Common names can return dozens of matches across decades. You then scan the result list and compare case types, filing years, and party names to find the right file. Using the case type filter helps, especially if you know whether the matter was criminal, civil, domestic, or probate. If the name is very common, try narrowing the year range to a two or three year window around when you expect the case was filed. Once you find the right case in the list, click the cause number to open the docket.

When Pierce County Dockets Are Updated

LINX updates are tied to when information moves between the local Pierce County system and the state case management system. The LINX FAQ says the website is as current as the local system. Some data is first entered into a state system and then transferred back to LINX early the next business morning. Normally a filing reaches the state system about four hours after it is submitted, but it can take up to 24 hours. As a result, a same-day filing may not appear on the public docket until the next business morning or the morning after.

This matters most in fast-moving cases. If you are tracking an arraignment, a bail decision, or a sentencing entry from earlier the same day, the docket may not reflect it yet. Wait until the following business morning and check again. If the entry is still missing after a full business day, contact the Clerk of the Superior Court at 253-798-7455 or the District Court at 253-798-7487 to confirm the document was filed correctly.

Docket vs. Full Case Record in Pierce County

Many people use "docket" and "case record" interchangeably, but they are different things. The docket is the event log. The full case record is the collection of all actual documents filed under that cause number: complaints, motions, declarations, exhibits, hearing transcripts, signed orders, and judgment documents. The docket tells you a motion was filed on a given date. The full case record contains the actual motion text.

For full copies of case documents, see the Clerk's request instructions on the Request Court Records page. If you need a certified copy for legal use, the Clerk must issue it. Social Security does not accept electronically certified documents, so order a paper certified copy for that purpose.

The Clerk of the Superior Court page covers all the request methods: in-person, by mail, and through LINX. Certified copies cost $5 for the first page and $1 for each additional page under RCW 36.18.016.

Finding Hearing Dates for Pierce County Cases

Hearing dates for Superior Court cases appear in the LINX docket under the Proceedings section. You can search by cause number and see all scheduled court events. Superior Court civil calendars can be printed by judge or attorney through LINX, which is useful if you need to see what else is set for a specific department on a given day.

District Court hearing dates are also visible through LINX under the District Court tab. In addition, Pierce County District Court proceedings are indexed in the Washington Courts Find My Court Date system. That statewide tool searches district and municipal court proceedings by case number or party name. It covers all Pierce County municipal courts, including Tacoma Municipal Court, Bonney Lake Municipal Court, Fife Municipal Court, Gig Harbor Municipal Court, Lakewood Municipal Court, and others. It does not cover Seattle Municipal Court.

If you know a hearing is set but cannot find it in LINX, try Find My Court Date. A case may be in a Pierce County municipal court rather than District Court. If it still does not appear, contact District Court at 253-798-7487 or the relevant municipal court directly. Tacoma Municipal Court is at 930 Tacoma Ave S, Room 841, phone 253-591-5357. Gig Harbor Municipal Court is at 3510 Grandview St, phone 253-851-7808. Lakewood Municipal Court is at 6000 Main St SW, phone 253-512-2258.

How to Read Pierce County Docket Terms

Court dockets use legal shorthand. The glossary below covers the terms most likely to appear in Pierce County docket entries, drawn from the county's own case definitions and standard Washington court usage. Understanding these helps you interpret what the docket is saying without guessing.

Cause number

Pierce County's case identifier. Format: 02-1-12345-1. The first two digits are the year filed. The middle digit indicates case type (1 for criminal, 2 for civil, etc.). LINX accepts the number with or without dashes.

Docket

The chronological list of filings, orders, hearings, and events in a case. Each row is one event. Reading from the bottom up shows how the case began.

Proceeding

A scheduled court event: hearing, trial, arraignment, motion calendar, or review date. Proceedings are listed by date and can be searched in LINX by cause number.

Arraignment

A criminal hearing where charges are formally addressed. The defendant enters a plea or the court addresses release conditions. Often the first docket entry after a criminal filing.

Continuance

A postponement of a hearing or trial to a later date. Common in both criminal and civil cases. Shows in the docket as a new hearing date replacing the old one.

Motion

A request asking the court to do something, such as dismiss a charge, exclude evidence, or change conditions. Motions show as individual docket entries with a filing date.

Order

The court's written decision or direction. An order can grant or deny a motion, set conditions, or finalize a matter. Shows in the docket with the entry type "Order" and the date entered.

Judgment

A final or enforceable decision. In civil cases, often a money amount. In criminal cases, includes sentencing terms such as confinement, fines, and conditions. A judgment entry near the end of the docket typically means the case is resolved.

Disposition

The outcome of a charge or the whole case. May be guilty plea, not guilty, dismissed with prejudice, dismissed without prejudice, or deferred. A disposition entry does not always mean the case is fully closed; post-conviction or probation entries may follow.

Bench warrant

A warrant issued by a judge, often for failure to appear. Shows in the docket as a warrant entry and may trigger a new set of proceedings once the warrant is served.

No-contact order

An order restricting contact with a protected person. Common in domestic violence and assault cases. Shows as a separate docket entry and may be modified or extended by later entries.

Affidavit of service

Sworn proof that documents were delivered as required. LINX FAQ notes it is signed, sworn, and notarized. Appears in the docket as a filing entry.

Vacate

A Washington process to clear certain conviction records under RCW 9.94A.640 for felonies or RCW 9.96.060 for misdemeanors. A vacated conviction shows changed status in the docket but the case history remains.

Public Access Rules for Pierce County Dockets

Pierce County court records, including dockets, are not subject to the Washington Public Records Act under chapter 42.56 RCW. The county notes this explicitly, citing court decisions that separate court records from other government public records. Court case records are accessed under Washington General Rule 31, which defines access as the right to view or obtain a copy of a court record. GR 31 also sets out how access can be limited by federal law, state law, court rule, court order, or case law.

Some docket access is automatically restricted by rule. Family law and guardianship files are subject to General Rule 22, which limits public viewing of financial source documents, health care records, and certain personal identifiers. You can often see the docket index for a family case but not the documents attached to sensitive entries. General Rule 15 governs sealing, redaction, and destruction of court records. A party can ask the court to seal a file or specific entries by filing a motion and showing sufficient legal grounds. If the court seals a record, the entry may show as sealed in the docket or disappear from public view entirely. Court administrative records, as opposed to case records, are governed by General Rule 31.1 and may be requested through a separate administrative-records process.

Juvenile records carry the tightest restrictions. Pierce County directs juvenile case records to the Juvenile Court Clerk at 253-798-7973, not to LINX. RCW 13.50.050 controls confidentiality and sealing for juvenile offender records. Do not expect to find juvenile matter dockets through a general LINX search. Similarly, civil commitment records at the Involuntary Commitment Court are restricted under RCW 71.05.620 and are not part of the public docket system.

Related Pierce County Court Resources

A docket search is often the first step in finding a Pierce County case, but it is rarely the last. The full case file, certified copies, and court contacts are separate steps. The links below cover the most common next steps after finding a docket entry.

• Pierce County court records - full case file access, certified copies, how to request documents, and a detailed overview of all case types available through LINX and the Clerk.
• Pierce County criminal records - arrest records, booking entries, charges, and the distinction between an arrest and a criminal conviction in Superior or District Court.
• Pierce County Superior Court - the general-jurisdiction trial court with 23 departments; handles felonies, divorce, probate, guardianship, and major civil matters that generate most Superior Court dockets.
• Clerk of the Superior Court - the office that maintains Superior Court case files, processes certified copy requests, manages LINX access, and handles mail and in-person document requests.
• Pierce County probate records - estates, wills, guardianship of incapacitated adults, and guardianships of minor children, all filed as Superior Court cases with their own docket entries.

For questions about a specific case or docket entry, contact the Clerk of the Superior Court at 253-798-7455, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., in-person or by phone (phone hours end at 3:30 p.m.). District Court questions go to 253-798-7487. The Pierce County court records contact list for Superior, Juvenile, and District records is at the Pierce County Court Records page.