Washington's "Vacation" - What It Is and What It Isn't
Most states call their primary record relief mechanism "expungement." Washington calls it vacation of conviction under RCW 9.96.060 (misdemeanors) and RCW 9.94A.640 (felonies). The distinction is not just semantic - it has significant consequences for what actually happens to your record and whether it disappears from public view.
When a court grants a vacation, it:
- Withdraws the guilty plea or verdict
- Dismisses the charge
- Allows you to answer "no" to most questions about prior convictions
What a vacation does not do is destroy the court record. The file still exists. The Washington Courts public access portal (docketaccess.courts.wa.gov) may still display the case - including the original charges - even after the court enters the vacation order. For the record to be hidden from public view, a separate sealing order under CrR 2.3 (criminal rules) or GR 15 (general rules) must be obtained.
| Relief Type | Legal Authority | Destroys Record? | Seals from Public? | Google Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vacation (misdemeanor) | RCW 9.96.060 | No | Only if sealed separately | None automatically |
| Vacation (felony) | RCW 9.94A.640 | No | Only if sealed separately | None automatically |
| Sealing (criminal) | CrR 2.3 | No | Yes - restricts portal access | Helps after Google request |
| Arrest record destruction | RCW 10.97.060 | Yes (non-conviction only) | Yes | Helps after source removal |
| Third-party aggregators | Opt-out / CCPA | No legal mechanism | Case-by-case opt-out | Removable with effort |
Who Is Eligible to Vacate a Conviction in Washington?
Vacation eligibility in Washington depends on the offense class and the time that has passed since sentence completion. The Legislature has expanded eligibility over recent years, including through SB 5475 (2021), which removed several prior categorical bars and allowed some class B and C felonies to qualify for the first time.
Misdemeanor Vacation - RCW 9.96.060
To vacate a gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor conviction, you generally must:
- Have completed all terms of the sentence, including probation, fines, and restitution
- Wait 3 years after sentence completion (for gross misdemeanors and most misdemeanors)
- Have no pending criminal charges in any jurisdiction
- Not have had a prior vacation of a misdemeanor in Washington within 10 years
Certain offenses are categorically excluded, including domestic violence offenses, vehicular assault, reckless endangerment, and DUI. Learn more about expungement vs. record sealing on our blog.
Felony Vacation - RCW 9.94A.640
Class B and Class C felonies may be eligible for vacation if:
- At least 5 years (Class C) or 10 years (Class B) have elapsed since sentence completion
- You have no subsequent felony convictions
- All legal financial obligations have been paid or the court has found you indigent
- The offense was not a serious violent offense, sex offense, or class A felony
Class A felonies, sex offenses, and crimes against children are categorically ineligible for vacation in Washington. Learn more about court record removal on our blog.
DUI convictions in Washington cannot be vacated. Neither can domestic violence offenses, sex offenses, or class A felonies. If your record falls into these categories, legal vacation is not available - but reputation management strategies, including aggregator opt-outs and content suppression, may still help reduce your record's online visibility.
Why Washington Court Records Persist Online After Vacation
Even when a Washington court enters a vacation order, the digital footprint of the case rarely disappears on its own. Understanding why requires looking at each source separately. For more information, visit the Washington Courts.
docketaccess.courts.wa.gov
Washington's public court portal pulls directly from the state's judicial information system (JIS). Vacation alone does not update the public-facing display. Without a concurrent or subsequent sealing order under CrR 2.3 or GR 15, the case - including original charge information - continues to appear on the portal with no indication it was vacated.
LINX - Legacy Information Network Exchange
LINX is King County's case management and public information system. Cases tried in King County Superior Court appear in LINX as well as on the statewide courts.wa.gov portal. A sealing order from King County Superior Court should trigger a LINX update, but processing delays mean the case may remain visible for weeks or months after the order is signed. Learn more about background check reports on our blog.
Seattle Municipal Court Records
Seattle Municipal Court operates its own separate case management system for city ordinance violations and misdemeanor offenses tried within Seattle. Cases resolved in Seattle Municipal Court may not appear on the statewide portal at all - meaning a courts.wa.gov search may miss them, but a direct search of Seattle Municipal Court records will surface them. Vacation orders entered by Seattle Municipal Court should restrict those records, but data brokers that indexed them previously are unaffected.
CourtListener and PACER (Federal Cases)
CourtListener indexes Washington State appellate opinions and some federal district court records. State trial court records generally are not indexed by CourtListener, but appellate decisions referencing your case may be. Federal cases are indexed by PACER (pacer.gov) - federal courts do not honor state vacation orders, and federal records cannot be sealed based on a state court order.
Data Broker Sites
Spokeo, BeenVerified, TruthFinder, Intelius, PeopleFinder, and dozens of other data aggregators scrape public court records and compile criminal history profiles. These sites are not updated when a Washington court vacates a conviction. They must be individually contacted with opt-out requests - a process that often requires submitting documentation of the vacation order and re-checking regularly as profiles are sometimes re-populated from other data sources.
In our experience, Washington State residents with vacated convictions are frequently surprised to find their records still appearing prominently in Google search results 12 to 18 months after their vacation was granted. The legal process and the online removal process are entirely separate tracks. Completing one does not advance the other without deliberate action targeting each source.
How to Remove Washington Court Records from Google and Data Broker Sites
After obtaining a vacation and, ideally, a sealing order, the following steps address the online dimension of your record. These are not guaranteed outcomes - we help determine whether removal may be possible for each specific URL and source. For more information, visit the Washington Legislature.
Most people in your position reach out right here.
You've already done the hard part - finding out what's out there. We handle the rest: every platform removal, Google de-indexing, and background check site. No upfront cost. Completely confidential.
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1
Obtain your vacation and sealing orders
File your petition in the court of conviction (Superior Court, District Court, or Municipal Court depending on the charge). Request both a vacation and a sealing order in the same proceeding if possible. Sealing under CrR 2.3 or GR 15 is the mechanism that actually restricts public access to the file and the portal listing. -
2
Confirm the Washington Courts portal is updated
Check docketaccess.courts.wa.gov directly for your name and case number. If the case still appears after a sealing order, contact the clerk of the court that entered the order - they can trigger a JIS update. Also check King County's LINX system if your case was in King County. -
3
Audit every URL showing your record in Google
Search Google for your full name, city, charge type, and arrest year in various combinations. Document every URL that returns a result. Include courts.wa.gov, CourtListener, Justia, FindLaw, data broker sites, and any news coverage. This list becomes your removal work queue. -
4
Submit data broker opt-out requests
Submit opt-out requests to Spokeo, BeenVerified, Intelius, TruthFinder, PeopleFinder, and all other aggregators showing your record. Each site has its own process - most require submitting your name, state, and sometimes a copy of the vacation order. Many will remove the record within 2 to 4 weeks. Set a calendar reminder to re-check each site in 90 days as profiles can be repopulated. -
5
Request removal from legal databases
Contact CourtListener and Justia if your case appears in their systems (usually appellate decisions). Submit removal requests with your sealing or vacation order. These platforms have varying policies - some will de-index sealed records, others require a DMCA notice or court order directed at them specifically. -
6
Use Google's Personal Information Removal Tool
Once source pages have been removed or restricted, submit removal requests through Google's Personal Information Removal Tool (myaccount.google.com/delete-services-or-account) for any URLs that were de-indexed at the source. Google's tool for outdated content (removals.google.com) can also de-cache pages from sites that have already restricted access.
Attorney vs. Reputation Management: Which Do You Need in Washington?
The answer depends on where your record appears and what your goal is. These are two separate professional disciplines addressing two separate problems.
When a Washington Criminal Defense or Expungement Attorney Is Essential
- You need a vacation or sealing order from a Washington court - only an attorney (or the court self-help center) can file this petition
- Your eligibility is uncertain and you need legal analysis of your specific conviction, sentence, and waiting period
- The prosecution has objected or may object to your vacation petition
- You are trying to clear a federal record, which is entirely separate from Washington State proceedings
When Reputation Management Is the Right Tool
- Your vacation or sealing order is already in hand, but the record still appears on Google and data broker sites
- Your offense is ineligible for vacation (DUI, domestic violence, class A felony) but you need to manage what employers and the public can find
- A third-party site (CourtListener, news archive, mugshot site) is surfacing your record and won't respond to individual requests
- You need an ongoing monitoring strategy to catch and address new appearances of your record online
CourtRecordRemoval works on the online removal side - not the legal filing side. We help Washington State residents understand which sources can realistically be addressed, submit opt-out requests to data brokers, work with Google's tools to de-index URLs, and develop suppression strategies for records that cannot be fully removed. We help determine whether removal may be possible and move forward only when there is a realistic path. You only pay when we get results.
Authoritative Resources
Frequently Asked Questions - Washington State Court Records
Is Your Washington Record Still Showing Online?
Vacation is only half the battle. We help Washington State residents determine whether online removal may be possible - and we do the work across every source showing your record.
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