Tacoma Bench Warrants

Tacoma bench warrants are court orders signed by a judge when a person fails to appear in Tacoma Municipal Court or skips a step in a criminal or traffic case. The city is the seat of Pierce County, and most local cases run through the municipal court at 747 Market Street. You can search for an active bench warrant or outstanding warrant in Tacoma by name through the state court data warehouse, the Pierce County LINX system, and the Tacoma Municipal Court records office. Most lookups are free and open to the public.

Tacoma Municipal Court Bench Warrants

Tacoma Municipal Court hears most local criminal misdemeanors, traffic cases, and code matters for the City of Tacoma. When a defendant misses a hearing the judge can issue a bench warrant under CrRLJ 2.2 and the local rules. The court is at 747 Market St, Tacoma, WA 98402, and the main line is (253) 591-5353. Tacoma Municipal Court warrants are valid only within Tacoma city limits, but a name search will still flag them in the state portals.

The court runs eFiling through the eFile and Serve service at efilewa.com under Local Rule 30.1. Lawyers must use eFiling for criminal cases and infractions. Most public records requests still go through paper or email forms.

The main court page at cityoftacoma.org links to records, forms, and hearing info. You can also pull a records request form there.

Visit the state data warehouse to start a free name search.

The data warehouse pulls Tacoma Municipal Court case and warrant data along with the rest of the state.

Pierce County LINX and Tacoma Bench Warrants

Pierce County runs LINX, an online case information tool that holds superior and district court cases across the county. LINX is the main county way to look up Tacoma area cases tied to felony filings or larger civil matters. The Tacoma Police Department holds and files Superior Court warrants for local cases at the Data Center on the 5th floor of Police Headquarters. Misdemeanor warrants stay with the municipal court.

Visit the Pierce County bench warrants page for the county side of the search. From there you can reach the LINX portal and superior court tools. The county also runs district court out of multiple locations.

The Washington Courts directory lists every court in Pierce County and the rest of the state. Use it to find clerk phone numbers if you need to call about a warrant.

Note: Tacoma Municipal Court warrants are valid only within city limits, but a name based search will still show the warrant on state portals.

Clearing a Tacoma Bench Warrant

If a Tacoma bench warrant comes back in your name, take action soon. Most warrants can be cleared. The first step is to talk to a lawyer. If you cannot afford one, the Pierce County Bar lawyer referral service can help. Then file a motion to quash the warrant with the court that issued it.

The motion asks the judge to recall the warrant and reset the case for a new hearing date. The judge may set bail or just give you a new court date. The state court forms page has the standard motions you can use.

You can grab the standard quash motion and other warrant related forms from the state forms page.

The forms page holds the standard motions to quash a Tacoma bench warrant or set new bail.

If you do not pay fines or fees, the court may send the case to a collection agency, order a new warrant of arrest, and notify the Department of Licensing to suspend your driver license.

DOC Warrants for Tacoma Residents

Some Tacoma warrants are run by the Washington Department of Corrections. The DOC handles people on community custody who broke the rules of their release. These warrants are governed by RCW 9.94A.716. You can read the law on apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw.

Start at the DOC warrant search. You can also see the wanted and absconder list. Both tools are free.

Visit the DOC wanted and absconder list to see current photos and case info for Tacoma area subjects.

The DOC wanted list shows the most current Tacoma area absconders under community custody.

Tacoma Court Records Requests

Tacoma Municipal Court keeps a full case file for every warrant. The public can ask for a copy. Fill out the records request form on the court website. Send it by mail or email. You will need to give a name, date of birth, case number if you know it, and the date of the incident if relevant.

Audio CD requests take about 5 to 10 business days. Pick them up at the customer service counter or have them mailed. Some files have copy fees if the work takes more than an hour.

For police records, file a separate request with the Tacoma Police Department records division at cityoftacoma.org/police. Police records are tied to the criminal case but live on a different system.

Public Access in Tacoma

Most Tacoma court records are public under GR 31 and the Public Records Act in RCW 42.56. Bench warrant data is part of the case file, so most of it is open to the public. Sealed cases do not show up. Juvenile warrants are not in the public system.

You do not need to give a reason for a basic name search. The clerk can tell you if a case is sealed.

For criminal history you can also use the Washington State Patrol WATCH tool at fortress.wa.gov/wsp/watch. WATCH covers conviction data for Tacoma and the rest of the state. Note: A Tacoma bench warrant search does not require ID, since court records are open by default under state law.