Statute of Limitations for Washington Small Claims

Actions Limited to One and Two Years

The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) has only one action limited to one year; actions against a sheriff or other police officer involving the escape of an arrested person must be brought within one year. The RCW imposes a two-year statute of limitations for the following torts: false imprisonment, assault, libel, assault and battery and slander. Actions on these torts are limited to two years because damages become more difficult to prove after a certain amount of time has passed.

The RCW places a three-year statute of limitations on waste and trespass to real property, injury to personal property, actions on verbal contracts, actions on fraud and actions against police officers for liability incurred while a police officer was acting in his official capacity. The RCW gives heirs to a decedent's estate five years to file an action for the recovery of real estate sold by an executor or administrators of an estate. Wards have five years from the time a guardianship is terminated to bring an action against a guardian for recovery of real estate.

Pursuant to the RCW, actions for contract liability involving written contracts must be commenced within six years of an alleged breach; this applies to both express and implied terms. Business owners have six years to bring an action for payments on accounts receivable. The RCW also places a six-year limitation on actions involving use, rents and profits from real estate.

The statute of limitations for commencing an action for the recovery of real property is 10 years in Washington state. This is known as the 10-year statute of limitations for adverse possession. The RCW allows for an exception to the ten-year rule if the plaintiff is/was disabled. Generally, residents of Washington also have 10 years in which to file an action arising out of a judgment or decree from any United States' court. The RCW allows plaintiffs 10 years from the date of a child's 18th birthday to file for child support that is past due. As of 2011, the RCW states that any action to collect back child support is limited to child support orders entered after July 23, 1989.