Whatcom County Local Rules: Filing, Forms, and Family Law

The Whatcom County local court rules are the county-specific procedures that fill in what Washington’s statewide court rules leave to each county, covering filing deadlines, required forms, hearing confirmation, remote appearances, fee waivers, and family law steps. They apply alongside the state rules in both Whatcom County Superior Court and Whatcom County District Court in Bellingham, and they are enforced strictly enough that a missed detail can cost you a hearing date.

Where to Find the Current Rules

Go to the county, not the state site, for the version you can rely on. The Washington Courts site republishes local rules for convenience but warns it “does not have the responsibility for updating these local court sites and therefore, cannot verify that the links, or published versions, are current.”¹

The Superior Court publishes its current local rules as a PDF, most recently effective September 2025.² The District Court maintains a separate set of its own.³ If you aren’t sure which court your case belongs in, check both before you file.

Which Rules Apply to Your Case

Superior Court civil disputes (contracts, property, personal injury) follow the Local Civil Rules (LCR). Criminal matters follow the Local Criminal Rules (LCrR). Family law cases have their own domestic relations rules. Civil cases eligible for mandatory arbitration follow the Local Mandatory Arbitration Rules (LMAR), read together with the state Superior Court Mandatory Arbitration Rules.⁴

District Court sits at a different tier. Small claims in Whatcom County District Court are capped at $10,000, and the court can only order money damages in those cases, not the return of property or any other non-monetary relief.⁵ The District Court’s motion procedures and timelines are not the same as Superior Court’s. One example that trips people up: a party who wants to present testimony at a District Court trial must contact the clerk at least ten business days before the hearing, and exhibits must be submitted at least five business days before.³

Filing: eFiling, Bench Copies, and Fees

Whatcom County uses the Tyler Technologies eFiling system at efilewa.tylertech.cloud. Self-represented parties who prefer paper can file in person at the Clerk’s Office. One important carve-out: bench copies (the documents you want the judge to actually read before the hearing) cannot go through eFiling. Send them to the Judicial Assistant for the assigned judge at 311 Grand Avenue, Suite 501, Bellingham, WA 98225, and label clearly which judge they are for.⁶

Fees depend on the court and the case type. A new Superior Court civil case costs $290 to file.⁷ In District Court, a civil claim or counterclaim is $83, a small claims filing is $50, and a civil appeal filing fee is $280.⁸ After the clerk processes a filing, you get a conformed copy with a date stamp as proof it was accepted.

If You Can’t Afford the Filing Fee

Washington’s General Rule 34 lets the court waive fees for indigent filers. You qualify if any one of the following is true:

A qualified legal aid provider has screened you and found you eligible for free civil legal services.
You receive benefits from a means-tested assistance program.
Your household income is at or below 125% of the federal poverty guideline.
Your income is above 125% but paying the fees would prevent you from covering basic household expenses.

File the Motion and Declaration for Waiver of Civil Fees and Surcharges together with a completed Financial Statement listing monthly income, household size, expenses, assets, and debts.⁹ If you’re mailing it in, include a self-addressed stamped envelope so the court can return your copy of the order.

Local Forms the Clerk Will Expect

Some forms are county-specific and won’t appear in the statewide rules. The Note for Motion Docket is listed among the required hearing and trial setting forms on the Clerk’s civil forms page.¹⁰ In District Court, civil motions must include a separate Note for Calendar/Docket identifying the purpose of the hearing along with the date and time.¹¹ Incomplete forms get rejected, and a rejected filing can mean losing your spot on the calendar.

Family law filings add another form. Whenever sensitive financial records (tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements) are filed, the Sealed Financial Source Documents cover sheet (FL All Family 011) must come with them. The cover sheet protects those records from public view under GR 22 and requires the filer to list every attached document.¹² Have your case number and party names ready; the Clerk will not accept it with blank fields.

Scheduling Hearings and Confirming Them

Getting on the calendar isn’t enough; you also have to confirm. In Superior Court, motion hearings run on various commissioner calendars throughout the week, and judges hear specially set motions and trials Monday through Thursday. Notice requirements and filing deadlines for motions live in the local civil rules, and the exact day counts should be verified against the current version before you file.²

Unconfirmed matters are stricken. For the Friday Civil Motion Calendar, the moving party should request Zoom (if wanted) when confirming the hearing, and non-moving parties must request a Zoom appearance no later than 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.¹³ Miss the confirmation window and you restart scheduling, which can push things back weeks.

Ex Parte and Emergency Orders

Whatcom County has permanently discontinued its ex parte calendars. You can still get an emergency order; there just isn’t a dedicated calendar for one. Walk-in ex parte requests are accepted at no charge. Submitting by mail or courier carries a $30 fee.¹³

Remote Appearances

The two courts treat Zoom very differently. In District Court, anyone can appear remotely unless a judicial officer has directed otherwise, with no special request or filing required. The exception is the 1:30 p.m. in-custody calendar, which does not permit remote appearances. Participants have to identify themselves by name to be admitted, and observers must give their name along with the case number or case name.¹⁴

Superior Court is tighter. For a Zoom link on the Friday Civil Motion Calendar or the Eviction Calendar, contact the Judicial Assistant for the assigned judge or commissioner. Not every case is approved for remote appearance.¹³ Headphones or earbuds help; open-mic echo is the fastest way to annoy the bench.

Extra Steps in Family Law Cases

Domestic relations cases carry requirements beyond a standard civil matter. At the start of a dissolution, the court typically issues a case schedule setting out discovery cutoffs and the trial date. Falling behind can lead to sanctions or exclusion of evidence.

Parenting Class

Any parent in a court action involving custody of children must complete an approved parenting class. Whatcom County accepts only two providers:¹⁵

Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center, in person, “Helping Children Through Family Changes.”
Children In Between, which is the only online class the court accepts.

File the certificate of completion with the Clerk. Any other online course, however convenient, will not count.

Mandatory Mediation

Under Whatcom County Superior Court Local Rule WCSPR 94.08, most contested family law cases must go through mediation before being set for trial.¹⁶ A neutral mediator works with both sides on contested issues like custody or property, and many cases settle at this stage.

Financial Disclosure

In child support or maintenance cases, both parties exchange financial records, typically recent tax returns and pay stubs, which feed into Washington’s child support calculation. Failing to produce them can trigger penalties or exclusion of your financial evidence at trial. Use the Sealed Financial Source Documents cover sheet when filing those records with the court.¹²

Family Law Facilitator

The county’s Family Law Facilitator reviews paperwork for self-represented parties at $20 per review. There are no fee waivers for this service, and you cannot use it if you have an attorney. Reviews happen remotely by emailed scans or by dropping hard copies at the Clerk’s Office. For dissolution, legal separation, and invalidity of marriage cases, uncontested final documents must be reviewed by the facilitator before a judge will sign them. One exception: no fee is charged for submitting final agreed-upon orders in those same case types.¹⁷

Pay the County Clerk before the review starts, by phone at (360) 778-5560 or in person on the 3rd floor of the courthouse. Cash, debit, and credit are all accepted.¹⁷

1
Washington State Courts. Washington State Court Rules
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Whatcom County. Local Court Rules
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Whatcom County, WA. Whatcom County District Court Local Court Rules
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Whatcom County, WA. Mandatory Arbitration
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Whatcom County, WA. District Court
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Whatcom County, WA. Filing
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Whatcom County. Whatcom County Clerk’s Fee Schedule
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Whatcom County. Fee Schedule
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Whatcom County. Motion and Declaration for Waiver of Civil Fees and Surcharges
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Whatcom County, WA. Civil Forms
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Washington Courts. Whatcom County District Court Local Court Rules
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Washington Courts. Sealed Financial Source Documents
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Whatcom County, WA. Superior Court Administration
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Whatcom County, WA. District Court Calendar / Remote Hearing Information
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Whatcom County, WA. Parenting Class Information
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Whatcom County, WA. Mandatory Family Law Mediation
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Whatcom County, WA. Family Law Facilitators