Publication
Newspaper pricing is commercial rather than a statewide fee.
Washington court costs
Washington probate filing cost: $290
Formal probate costs $290 statewide: a $200 base fee plus $40 and $50 surcharges that the same section makes mandatory for probate filings.
$290 is the amount the statute states. Sources reviewed August 7, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
What the statute charges
Every line below is computed from the statutory schedule quoted at the end of this page. These are court charges only. They are not an estimate of the total cost of settling an estate.
Instituting probate proceedings
| Charge | $25,000 estate | $100,000 estate | $400,000 estate | $1,000,000 estate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superior court filing fee, first document | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 |
| Judicial stabilization surcharge, subsection (5)(c) | $40 | $40 | $40 | $40 |
| Clerk operations surcharge, subsection (6) | $50 | $50 | $50 | $50 |
| Total from this schedule | $290 | $290 | $290 | $290 |
Not included in this total
- County law library charges
- Certified copies
- Publication of notice
The surcharges are not optional. Subsection (5)(c) applies to all fees under this section except (2)(b), (d) and (h), and subsection (6) lists (2)(f) expressly, so both attach to a probate filing.
Source: RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), Washington State Legislature. Edition/currentness: Section history through 2025 c 357 s 1. Verified September 15, 2026.
What the $290 is made of
Washington’s $290 figure is not a single line. It is the sum of the separate charges below, each set by its own part of the Washington fee provision. Every one is a permanent, statewide charge on opening this kind of case, which is why they combine into one number a filer can check rather than take on trust.
- $200Probate filing fee, RCW 36.18.020(2)(f)
- $40Surcharge, RCW 36.18.020(5)(c)
- $50Surcharge, RCW 36.18.020(6)
Added together, these come to $290 — the figure this page headlines. If any component changed in the source, the sum would no longer match, and the build withholds the total rather than publishing a number whose parts no longer add up.
Charges the $290 figure leaves out
These amounts appear in or beside the same Washington schedule, so a reader can easily mistake one for part of the fee. Each is held out of the figure above for the specific reason given, which is the difference between an honest total and an inflated one.
A fee for a different filing
- Unlawful-detainer case-initiating filing fee, RCW 36.18.020(2)(a)
- the $45 is the reduced fee for unlawful-detainer actions, a different proceeding; probate pays the $200 fee under (2)(f).
- Antiharassment protection order fee, RCW 36.18.020(2)(d)
- the $53 is the filing fee for an antiharassment protection order, a different proceeding.
- Appeal-fee surcharge, RCW 36.18.020(5)(b)
- the $30 surcharge is levied only on the (2)(b) appeal fee; a probate filing under (2)(f) is not subject to it.
- Civil-action initial-document fee, RCW 36.18.020(2)(a)
- the $200 in (2)(a) is the general civil-action filing fee (restitution, adoption, change of name, counterclaims); probate is filed under (2)(f), which carries its own $200 fee.
- Appeal from court of limited jurisdiction / civil appeal fee, RCW 36.18.020(2)(b)
- the $200 in (2)(b) is the fee for an appeal from a court of limited jurisdiction or any civil appeal, a different proceeding.
- Petition for judicial review fee, RCW 36.18.020(2)(c)
- the $200 in (2)(c) is the fee for a petition for judicial review under RCW 34.05.514, a different proceeding.
- Crime-victim notice-of-debt fee, RCW 36.18.020(2)(e)
- the $200 in (2)(e) is the fee for filing the notice of debt due for compensation of a crime victim under RCW 7.68.120, a different proceeding.
- Will-contest / petition-to-admit-rejected-will fee, RCW 36.18.020(2)(g)
- the $200 in (2)(g) is the fee to contest a will admitted to probate, admit a rejected will, or object to a written agreement under RCW 11.96A.220 — a contested filing distinct from instituting the probate proceeding priced under (2)(f).
- Criminal-conviction fee, RCW 36.18.020(2)(h)
- the spelled "two hundred dollars" in (2)(h) is the fee imposed on an adult defendant upon conviction in a criminal case, a different proceeding.
Costs no statute prices
These are the costs executors most often meet after the filing fee. None of them has a statewide statutory amount, so this site does not estimate them.
Bond
Premiums depend on the bond amount, the estate, and the applicant.
Copies and local charges
Certified copies, recording, inventory, accounting, and county surcharges are billed separately.
Professional fees
Attorney, accountant, and appraiser fees are negotiated or court-reviewed.
State-specific limits
- Solely owned real property counts toward the $100,000 limit but is not transferred by the affidavit. A separate proceeding is required for the house.
- The statute excludes a surviving spouse or domestic partner's community-property interest from the count. That figure is asked for separately, because characterising community property is a legal judgement this tool cannot make from an asset list. Until it is entered the route stays undecided rather than being resolved as though the interest were zero.
- The $290 total is the statewide statutory amount. County law library charges and certified copies are additional.
- Debts, funeral expenses, and expenses of last illness must be paid or provided for before the affidavit is used.
- Other successors generally must receive advance written notice.
Use this as a starting point.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
How to verify the amount for this case
Name the proceeding before asking for a total. A small-estate affidavit, an application for letters, formal administration, a later inventory or account, and a certified copy can each carry a different charge. Asking only “what does probate cost?” invites an answer for the wrong filing.
- Identify the county where the proceeding will be filed.
- Identify the exact route or petition you expect to use.
- State the value basis the schedule uses; it is not always the gross estate value.
- Ask the clerk to separate the opening fee, mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
- Record the schedule date or rule cited.
- Record whether payment is due at filing.
Keep that clerk quote with the estate record and compare it with the itemised statutory lines above. For the broader budget, use the probate cost-line guide; court filing is only one category.
Washington filing-cost map
Separate the Washington filing charge from the estate budget
The Washington filing record prices a proceeding, not every cost of settling an estate. This map connects the published amount or schedule to its value basis and identifies the local items that still need a clerk or court schedule.
| Question | Recorded Washington answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Successor affidavit | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $100,000 | Establish community-property interest before treating the screen as decided. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 40 days after death; Washington keeps the creditor clocks separate: a creditor given actual notice is barred on the later of 30 days after that notice and four months after first publication; a creditor given no actual notice who is not reasonably ascertainable at four months after first publication; and a reasonably ascertainable creditor given no actual notice — or any creditor where no notice issues — at 24 months after death (RCW 11.40.020, 11.40.051). | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | $290 is the recorded statewide amount. | Ask the Superior Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | The court determines compensation that is just and reasonable. The relevant base is the estate accounting. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Filing record
What the Washington cost record can answer
Instituting probate proceedings
Basis: estate-value. Status: operative. The surcharges are not optional. Subsection (5)(c) applies to all fees under this section except (2)(b), (d) and (h), and subsection (6) lists (2)(f) expressly, so both attach to a probate filing.
- Superior court filing fee, first document $200
- Judicial stabilization surcharge, subsection (5)(c) $40
- Clerk operations surcharge, subsection (6) $50
Case-file context
Keep the Washington answer with its neighboring conditions
A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Washington descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Route context
Washington provides a successor-affidavit route for qualifying personal property after a 40-day wait.
The decedent's entire estate subject to probate, less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed $100,000. The affidavit itself only collects personal property, so solely owned real property counts toward the limit but does not transfer under this procedure.
Compensation context
The court determines compensation that is just and reasonable.
The court determines compensation that is just and reasonable. The relevant base is the estate accounting.
Deadline context
Washington keeps the creditor clocks separate: a creditor given actual notice is barred on the later of 30 days after that notice and four months after first publication; a creditor given no actual notice who is not reasonably ascertainable at four months after first publication; and a reasonably ascertainable creditor given no actual notice — or any creditor where no notice issues — at 24 months after death (RCW 11.40.020, 11.40.051).
- Solely owned real property counts toward the $100,000 limit but is not transferred by the affidavit. A separate proceeding is required for the house.
- The statute excludes a surviving spouse or domestic partner's community-property interest from the count. That figure is asked for separately, because characterising community property is a legal judgement this tool cannot make from an asset list. Until it is entered the route stays undecided rather than being resolved as though the interest were zero.
- The $290 total is the statewide statutory amount. County law library charges and certified copies are additional.
- Debts, funeral expenses, and expenses of last illness must be paid or provided for before the affidavit is used.
- Other successors generally must receive advance written notice.
Court-material note: Washington publishes no statewide pattern form for the RCW 11.62.010 successor affidavit. The affidavit content is set by the statute itself, and the superior court clerk in the county of filing states local requirements.
Arithmetic illustration
See the Washington amount screen without mistaking it for a result
The recorded Washington ceiling is $100,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $75,000 sits below the Washington figure and $125,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Washington counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Washington ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $75,000 | Below $100,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $125,000 | Above $100,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Name the proceeding and ask for mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, and later filings separately.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- Washington Courts forms indexWashington Courts
Washington publishes no statewide pattern form for the RCW 11.62.010 successor affidavit. The affidavit content is set by the statute itself, and the superior court clerk in the county of filing states local requirements.
Source trail
Records used by this Washington map
- RCW 11.62.010Revised Code of Washington, Small Estates; reviewed August 7, 2026
- RCW 36.18.020(2)(f)Revised Code of Washington, Superior Court Fees; reviewed August 7, 2026
- RCW 11.48.210Revised Code of Washington, Personal Representative Compensation; reviewed August 7, 2026
- RCW 11.40.020(1)Revised Code of Washington, Notice to Creditors; reviewed August 7, 2026
- RCW 11.40.051(1)Revised Code of Washington, Claims Against Decedent - Time Limits; reviewed August 7, 2026
Filing-cost source
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
RCW 36.18.020(2)(f)
Reviewed source note: (f) In probate proceedings, the party instituting such proceedings, shall pay at the time of filing the first document therein, a fee of $200.