(1) Except as provided
in subsections (2), (3), and (4) of this section, the party in
whose favor a judgment of a court has been or may be filed or
rendered, or the assignee or the current holder thereof, may have
an execution, garnishment, or other legal process issued for the
collection or enforcement of the judgment at any time within ten
years from entry of the judgment or the filing of the judgment in
this state.
(2) After July 23, 1989, a party who obtains a judgment or
order of a court or an administrative order entered as defined in
RCW 74.20A.020(6) for accrued child support, or the assignee or
the current holder thereof, may have an execution, garnishment,
or other legal process issued upon that judgment or order at any
time within ten years of the eighteenth birthday of the youngest
child named in the order for whom support is ordered.
(3) After June 9, 1994, a party in whose favor a judgment
has been filed as a foreign judgment or rendered pursuant to
subsection (1) or (4) of this section, or the assignee or the
current holder thereof, may, within ninety days before the
expiration of the original ten-year period, apply to the court
that rendered the judgment or to the court where the judgment was
filed as a foreign judgment for an order granting an additional
ten years during which an execution, garnishment, or other legal
process may be issued. If a district court judgment of this
state is transcribed to a superior court of this state, the
original district court judgment shall not be extended and any
petition under this section to extend the judgment that has been
transcribed to superior court shall be filed in the superior
court within ninety days before the expiration of the ten-year
period of the date the transcript of the district court judgment
was filed in the superior court of this state. The petitioner
shall pay to the court a filing fee equal to the filing fee for
filing the first or initial paper in a civil action in the court,
except in the case of district court judgments transcribed to
superior court, where the filing fee shall be the fee for filing
the first or initial paper in a civil action in the superior
court where the judgment was transcribed. The order granting the
application shall contain an updated judgment summary as provided
in RCW 4.64.030. The filing fee required under this subsection
shall be included in the judgment summary and shall be a
recoverable cost. The application shall be granted as a matter
of right, subject to review only for timeliness, factual issues
of full or partial satisfaction, or errors in calculating the
judgment summary amounts.
(4) A party who obtains a judgment or order for restitution,
crime victims' assessment, or other court-ordered legal financial
obligations pursuant to a criminal judgment and sentence, or the
assignee or the current holder thereof, may execute, garnish,
and/or have legal process issued upon the judgment or order any
time within ten years subsequent to the entry of the judgment and
sentence or ten years following the offender's release from total
confinement as provided in chapter 9.94A RCW. The clerk of
superior court, or a party designated by the clerk, may seek
extension under subsection (3) of this section for purposes of
collection as allowed under RCW 36.18.190, provided that no
filing fee shall be required.
(5) "Court" as used in this section includes but is not
limited to the United States supreme court, the United States
courts of appeals, the United States district courts, the United
States bankruptcy courts, the Washington state supreme court, the
court of appeals of the state of Washington, superior courts and
district courts of the counties of the state of Washington, and
courts of other states and jurisdictions from which judgment has
been filed in this state under chapter 6.36 or 6.40 RCW.
(6) The perfection of any judgment lien and the priority of
that judgment lien on property as established by RCW 6.13.090 and
chapter 4.56 RCW is not altered by the extension of the judgment
pursuant to the provisions of this section and the lien remains
in full force and effect and does not have to be rerecorded after
it is extended. Continued perfection of a judgment that has been
transcribed to other counties and perfected in those counties may
be accomplished after extension of the judgment by filing with
the clerk of the other counties where the judgment has been filed
either a certified copy of the order extending the judgment or a
certified copy of the docket of the matter where the judgment was
extended.
(7) Except as ordered in RCW 4.16.020 (2) or (3), chapter 9.94A RCW, or chapter 13.40 RCW, no judgment is enforceable for a
period exceeding twenty years from the date of entry in the
originating court. Nothing in this section may be interpreted to
extend the expiration date of a foreign judgment beyond the
expiration date under the laws of the jurisdiction where the
judgment originated.
(8) The chapter 261, Laws of 2002 amendments to this section
apply to all judgments currently in effect on June 13, 2002, to
all judgments extended after June 9, 1994, unless the judgment
has been satisfied, vacated, and/or quashed, and to all judgments
filed or rendered, or both, after June 13, 2002.
[2002 c 261 § 1; 1997 c 121 § 1; 1995 c 231 § 4; 1994 c 189 § 1; 1989 c 360 § 3; 1987 c 442 § 402; 1980 c 105 § 4; 1971 c 81 § 26; 1929 c 25 § 2; RRS § 510. Prior: 1888 p 94 § 1; Code 1881 § 325; 1877 p 67 § 328; 1869 p 79 § 320; 1854 p 175 § 242. Formerly RCW 6.04.010.]
NOTES:
Rules of court: Cf. CR 58(b), 62(a), and 69(a); JCR 54.
Application -- 1980 c 105: See note following RCW 4.16.020.
Entry of judgment: RCW 6.01.020.