RCW 4.16.170

Tolling of statute—Actions, when deemed commenced or not commenced.

sha256 f8f2424f2a699ce21d04e16628c14370… · retrieved 7/17/2026, 1:38:19 PM · RCW — app.leg.wa.gov compilation (Last update: July 15, 2026; the certified PDFs in the RCW Archive are the official publication), per-chapter HTML verbatim · awaiting human verification flip (text is verbatim; the flip is the review gate)

For the purpose of tolling any statute of limitations an action shall be deemed commenced when the complaint is filed or summons is served whichever occurs first. If service has not been had on the defendant prior to the filing of the complaint, the plaintiff shall cause one or more of the defendants to be served personally, or commence service by publication within ninety days from the date of filing the complaint. If the action is commenced by service on one or more of the defendants or by publication, the plaintiff shall file the summons and complaint within ninety days from the date of service. If following service, the complaint is not so filed, or following filing, service is not so made, the action shall be deemed to not have been commenced for purposes of tolling the statute of limitations.

[ 1971 ex.s. c 131 s 1; 1955 c 43 s 3. Prior: 1903 c 24 s 1; Code 1881 s 35; 1873 p 10 s 35; 1869 p 10 s 35; RRS s 167, part.]

Verbatim from the official publication; the only normalization is removal of the publisher's page headers. Verify against the official source for filing-critical use — court publications change without notice.