Tumwater Bench Warrants

Tumwater bench warrants are court orders signed by a judge when a person fails to appear in court or skips a step in a Thurston County criminal or traffic case. The City of Tumwater sits just south of Olympia in Thurston County. Most local cases run through the Thurston County District Court system at the county level. You can look up an active bench warrant or outstanding warrant in Tumwater by name through the state data warehouse and the county court tools. Most lookups are free and open to the public.

Tumwater Bench Warrants and District Court

Tumwater cases are handled through the Thurston County District Court system. The court site is at co.thurston.wa.us/distcrt. The court hears most local misdemeanor and traffic cases. The judge can issue a bench warrant under CrRLJ 2.2 when a person fails to appear. The warrant stays active until the person is arrested, posts bail, or asks the court to quash it.

If you have a warrant in Thurston County District Court you can contact the court directly at (360) 786-5450 or by email at TCDC@co.thurston.wa.us. The court asks for picture identification when you turn yourself in. You will be scheduled for the next available court date.

Visit the state data warehouse to start a free Tumwater bench warrant lookup.

The data warehouse pulls Tumwater and Thurston County district court cases into one search.

Thurston County Court Tools

Thurston County is the host for most Tumwater area court records. Felony bench warrants live in the Thurston County Superior Court file. Misdemeanor warrants live in the district court file. The county clerk feeds case data into the state portals so a name search will pick up most warrants.

Visit the Thurston County bench warrants page for the county side. From there you can reach the superior court and district court tools.

The Washington Courts directory lists every Thurston County court. Use it to find clerk phone and address info if you need to call about a Tumwater warrant.

Note: Tumwater works with the Olympia, Lacey, Yelm, and Tenino police on joint efforts, so a warrant tied to one Thurston County address may show up in records from many sources.

Voluntary Turn In and Quash Motions

If a Tumwater bench warrant comes back in your name, do not wait. Most warrants can be cleared. The first step is to talk to a lawyer. Then file a motion to quash with Thurston County District Court. The motion asks the judge to recall the warrant and reset the case for a new hearing.

For voluntary turn in you can visit the court in person. Bring picture identification. The court will schedule you for the next available court date. The warrant will remain active until you appear before the judge.

Pull the standard quash motion from the state forms page.

The forms page holds the standard motions used to clear a Tumwater bench warrant.

DOC and Tumwater Warrants

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

Start at the DOC warrant search. You can also see the wanted and absconder list.

The DOC tool lists Tumwater area people with active community custody warrants.

The DOC warrant search is the main starting point for Tumwater area community custody warrants.

Note: Always call 911 or Tumwater police if you spot a wanted person; never try to detain or confront them on your own.

WATCH Criminal History for Tumwater

The Washington State Patrol runs a tool called WATCH. It is a name based search of the state's criminal history system. WATCH does not show every bench warrant, but it does show conviction data and some active case info.

You can reach WATCH at fortress.wa.gov/wsp/watch. There is a small fee for a full record check. The WSP also runs a criminal history page with more on how the system works.

Public Access in Tumwater

Most Tumwater 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. Sealed cases and juvenile warrants do not show in the public tools.

You do not need to give a reason or show ID for a basic name search. The clerk can tell you if a case is sealed. For the Odyssey portal you can use odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov for Thurston County area court files.