The Washington deadline registry
Every clock below is a pure traced function whose operative numbers are pinned to the LIVE corpus text by a corroboration gate — the parameter and the law cannot drift apart silently. Compute your answer clock with the full trace on /wa/served.
Answer — served in Washington
20 days, day of service excluded
CR 12(a)(1); CR 4(a)(2)
Answer — served OUTSIDE Washington
60 days
RCW 4.28.180
Answer — served by publication
60 days from first publication
CR 12(a)(2)
THE COMMENCEMENT TRAP
90 days to complete filing↔service
RCW 4.16.170
Computing time — the under-7 twist
periods under 7 days skip weekends/holidays; the last day rolls
CR 6(a)
Mail service complete
the third day — the rule rolls itself
CR 5(b)(2)(A)
Summary judgment calendar
28 / 11 / 5 calendar days before the hearing
CR 56(c)
Notice of appeal
30 days from entry
RAP 5.2(a)
RALJ appeal
30 days from entry
RALJ 2.5(a)
Trial de novo after arbitration
20 days from proof-of-service of the LATER of award/fee decision
SCCAR 7.1(a)
Government-claim standstill
60 calendar days; limitations tolled
RCW 4.96.020(4)
Traffic infraction response
30 days personal / 33 days mailed
IRLJ 2.4(a)
The limitations table (accrual is ROUTED, never computed)
| Years | Covers | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | actions upon a contract in writing or liability arising out of a written agreement | RCW 4.16.040 |
| 6 | actions upon an account receivable | RCW 4.16.040 |
| 3 | trespass, taking/injuring personal property, and other injury to the person or rights of another not otherwise enumerated | RCW 4.16.080 |
| 2 | libel, slander, assault, assault and battery, false imprisonment | RCW 4.16.100 |
| 2 | actions for relief not otherwise provided for | RCW 4.16.130 |
WHEN a cause accrues — discovery rules, tolling, continuing violations — is a legal judgment this board never makes. And RCW 4.16.170's ninety-day completion rule decides whether a filing HOLDS its date.
TrialVector is software, not a lawyer and not a law firm, and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. It provides information of a general nature about the law and legal procedures — not legal advice — and forms no attorney-client relationship.