How a Washington lawsuit starts: service or filing, a 14-day demand, and service that can go void

Almost everywhere, a lawsuit begins when the complaint is filed. Washington is different, and the difference produces a whole set of consequences the rules then have to manage: a case that exists without a court file, a defendant who can force it into court, and a plaintiff who has to know the difference between commencing an action and tolling the statute of limitations.

Two ways to commence

CR 3(a):

Except as provided in rule 4.1, a civil action is commenced by service of a copy of a summons together with a copy of a complaint, as provided in rule 4, or by filing a complaint.

Either. Serve first and file later, or file first and serve later.

That is why other Washington rules are phrased around a trigger rather than a filing date. CR 33(a) allows interrogatories on the plaintiff "after the summons and a copy of the complaint are served upon the defendant, or the complaint is filed, whichever shall first occur," and CR 30(a) uses the same formula for depositions. A case that exists only by service still has discovery running in it.

The 14-day demand — and void service

The counterweight sits in the same subsection:

Upon written demand by any other party, the plaintiff instituting the action shall pay the filing fee and file the summons and complaint within 14 days after service of the demand or the service shall be void.

Three things to notice.

Any other party may demand it, not only the defendant who was served.

The plaintiff must both pay the fee and file — filing without the fee does not satisfy the rule.

The consequence is that the service is void, not merely that the case is stayed. Service being void matters most where a limitations period is involved, because the service that was tolling the statute stops having done so.

The demand is a real defensive tool. A defendant served with an unfiled complaint has no docket, no case number, and no court to bring a motion in. Fourteen days' written demand fixes all three.

And the summons has to tell the defendant about it. The CR 4(b)(2) form summons says so in terms:

You may demand that the plaintiff file this lawsuit with the court. If you do so, the demand must be in writing and must be served upon the person signing this summons. Within 14 days after you serve the demand, the plaintiff must file this lawsuit with the court, or the service on you of this summons and complaint will be void.

Commencement is not tolling

CR 3(a) closes with a warning that has caught out a great many plaintiffs:

An action shall not be deemed commenced for the purpose of tolling any statute of limitations except as provided in RCW 4.16.170.

So there are two separate questions, and CR 3 answers only one of them.

Has the action been commenced? Service or filing. CR 3(a).

Has the limitations period been tolled? RCW 4.16.170 — a statute, not a rule, and one this site does not reproduce.

CR 3(b) makes the split explicit: subsection (b), "Tolling statute," is reserved, with a cross-reference to RCW 4.16.170 and nothing else. So do the same as the rule does: treat tolling as a separate research question governed by statute, and do not assume that having commenced the action under CR 3(a) has stopped the clock.

CR 3(c) and (d) are reserved in the same way — obtaining jurisdiction points to RCW 4.28.020, and lis pendens to RCW 4.28.320 and 4.28.160.

Debt collection: file first

CR 3(e) carves out an exception to the whole service-first model:

No debtor shall be served with a summons and complaint unless the summons and complaint have been filed with the court and bear the case number assigned by the court.

In a collection case the ordinary Washington sequence is reversed. File, get a number, put it on the papers, and only then serve.

The summons

Who signs and what it demands — CR 4(a)(1): the summons "must be signed and dated by the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney, and directed to the defendant requiring the defendant to defend the action and to serve a copy of the defendant's appearance or defense on the person whose name is signed on the summons."

Note that the defendant serves the response on the signer, not on the court. In a case commenced by service there may be no court file to send anything to.

Twenty days, and it must say so — CR 4(a)(2): unless a statute or rule provides a different time, the summons "shall require the defendant to serve a copy of the defendant's defense within 20 days after the service of summons, exclusive of the day of service." Where another statute or rule sets a different time — the 60-day periods in CR 12(a)(2) through (4), for instance — that time shall be stated in the summons.

A summons that recites 20 days on a defendant served out of state, who is entitled to 60 under CR 12(a)(3), is wrong on its face.

Contents — CR 4(b)(1): the title of the cause, naming the court, the county designated as the place of trial, and the parties; a direction to serve a defense within the time stated; and "a notice that, in case of failure so to do, judgment will be rendered against the defendant by default." It is signed and dated by the plaintiff or their attorney, "with the addition of the plaintiff's post office address, at which the papers in the action may be served on the plaintiff by mail."

Form — CR 4(b)(2): except in condemnation cases and as provided in CR 4.1, the summons for personal service in the state "shall be substantially in the following form," and the rule prints it — captioned "SUMMONS [20 days]".

The form text is worth reading as a checklist of what a Washington defendant is entitled to be told: that a lawsuit has been started; that the response must be served on the signer, not filed; that a default judgment may be entered without notice; that serving a notice of appearance earns the right to notice before default; and that filing may be demanded on 14 days.

Notice of appearance — CR 4(a)(3): it must be in writing, signed by the defendant or their attorney, and served on the person whose name is signed on the summons.

That is a cheap and valuable step. Under CR 55(a)(3), a party who has appeared "for any purpose" must be served with written notice of a motion for default at least 5 days before the hearing; a party who has not appeared before the motion is filed is not entitled to notice at all. And under CR 55(a)(2), a party who has appeared before the motion is filed may respond "at any time before the hearing on the motion."

Counterclaims and cross claims — CR 4(a)(4): "No summons is necessary … for any person who previously has been made a party," and they may be served under CR 5.

Who may serve

CR 4(c): service of summons and process, except by publication, "shall be by the sheriff of the county wherein the service is made, or by the sheriff's deputy, or by any person over 18 years of age who is competent to be a witness in the action, other than a party."

Over 18, competent as a witness, and not a party. A self-represented plaintiff cannot serve their own summons.

How service is made

Together — CR 4(d)(1): "The summons and complaint shall be served together."

Personal service in state — CR 4(d)(2): as provided in RCW 4.28.080–.090 and the corporate, motor-vehicle and insurance statutes the rule lists, "and other statutes which provide for personal service." The rule points outward; the mechanics are statutory.

Publication — CR 4(d)(3): as provided in RCW 4.28.100 and .110 and the listed statutes. This is the route that triggers the 60-day answer period in CR 12(a)(2), running from the date of first publication.

Service by mail instead of publication — CR 4(d)(4): the alternative worth knowing about.

In circumstances justifying service by publication, if the serving party files an affidavit stating facts from which the court determines that service by mail is just as likely to give actual notice as service by publication, the court may order that service be made by any person over 18 years of age…

Two conditions: the circumstances must already justify publication, and the affidavit must let the court find that mail is just as likely to give actual notice. Where both are met, mail is faster, cheaper and more likely to reach the person than a legal notice in a newspaper.

Putting the sequence together

How Washington compares

A short checklist

Starting a case

1. Decide which route you want — service or filing — and remember they are not the same as tolling.
2. Research RCW 4.16.170 separately if limitations are close. CR 3 tells you it does not answer that question.
3. In a collection case, file first. CR 3(e) bars serving a debtor before the papers carry a case number.
4. State the correct response time in the summons. Twenty days is the default; publication, out-of-state and in-custody service each carry 60.
5. Use someone over 18, competent as a witness, and not a party to serve.
6. Serve the summons and complaint together.
7. If publication is on the table, consider CR 4(d)(4) — an affidavit showing mail is just as likely to give actual notice can get you a faster, better route.
8. If a filing demand arrives, calendar 14 days and pay the fee. Missing it voids the service.

Receiving one

1. Check whether anything has been filed. If not, you can demand it in writing and force a case number in 14 days.
2. Serve a written notice of appearance. It converts default from "without notice" to five days' notice, and lets you respond up to the hearing.
3. Read the response time off the summons — then check it against CR 12(a). How you were served may entitle you to 60 days rather than 20.
4. Serve your response on the person who signed the summons, not on the court, unless the case has been filed.

Where these rules live

• Wash. CR 3 — Commencement of action
• Wash. CR 4 — Process
• Wash. CR 4.1 — Optional summons procedure
• Wash. CR 4.2 — Summons; alternative form
• Wash. CR 5 — Service and filing of pleadings and other papers
• Wash. CR 6 — Time
• Wash. CR 12 — Defenses and objections
• Wash. CR 55 — Default and judgment

The statutes this rule points to — RCW 4.16.170 on tolling, RCW 4.28.080 and following on personal service — are not reproduced on this site. This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice.