Access Yakima County DUI Records

DUI records in Yakima County are held by multiple courts across the region. Yakima County Superior Court handles felony DUI cases. Yakima County District Court covers misdemeanor DUI arrests in unincorporated areas. Municipal courts in Yakima, Selah, Union Gap, Grandview, and Sunnyside each handle cases from within their city limits. With a county population of roughly 260,000 and several active cities, Yakima County generates a significant volume of DUI court records each year. This page explains where to search, what records are available, and how to get copies.

Court Structure for Yakima County DUI Cases

Washington law directs DUI cases to specific courts based on offense level and location. A DUI under RCW 46.61.502 is a gross misdemeanor for a first, second, or third offense within ten years. These cases land in the court that has jurisdiction over where the arrest happened. Yakima Municipal Court handles the highest volume in the county, given that Yakima city is the county seat and the largest population center. Selah, Union Gap, Grandview, and Sunnyside each have their own municipal courts for incidents within their respective city limits.

Arrests in unincorporated parts of Yakima County, such as rural stretches of highway outside any city, go to Yakima County District Court. The District Court is reachable at (509) 574-1700 and is located at the county courthouse complex in Yakima. When a DUI becomes a felony, the case moves to Yakima County Superior Court. That happens when a driver faces a fourth DUI within ten years, or when the charge is vehicular assault or vehicular homicide involving impairment. The Superior Court Clerk is at (509) 574-1430, with the courthouse at 128 N 2nd St, Yakima, WA 98901.

One thing worth knowing: Yakima County is large geographically and includes several smaller cities and towns. If you're not sure which court handled a particular case, the online search portals described below will often resolve it quickly. Searching by name across multiple courts at once is faster than calling each court one at a time.

Online Search Options for Yakima County DUI Records

Washington maintains two public online tools for court case lookups. The first is the Washington State Odyssey Portal, which covers Superior Court records statewide. Yakima County Superior Court is included. You can search by name, case number, or date range. The system returns case details including the charge type, filing date, hearing schedule, and final disposition. It is free and requires no account to use. Data updates regularly from the court's live system.

The second tool is the Washington Courts public search portal, which covers district and municipal courts. Use this to search Yakima County District Court and many of the city municipal courts including Yakima, Selah, Union Gap, Grandview, and Sunnyside. Some smaller courts may not have complete historical data available online, so if a search returns nothing on a case you have reason to believe exists, a direct call to the court is the next step.

Both portals are free to use. Washington's Public Records Act, RCW 42.56, makes court records public for adult criminal cases by default. No reason or account is needed to search. Basic case information is available online. Detailed documents such as police reports, sentencing memoranda, or probation reports require a formal request to the specific court that handled the case.

In-person searches are available at the Yakima County Courthouse, 128 N 2nd St, Yakima, WA 98901. Clerk's office staff can pull case files, confirm case status, and process copy requests during regular business hours. Having the subject's full name and approximate date of the incident, or the case number if you know it, will make the search faster.

DUI Penalties That Appear in Case Records

The sentence in a Yakima County DUI case reflects the statutory requirements under RCW 46.61.5055. The law sets mandatory minimums that scale up with each offense and with BAC level. A first offense where the BAC was under 0.15 requires at minimum 24 hours in jail and a $350 fine. If the BAC was 0.15 or higher, or if the driver refused the breath test, the minimum rises to 48 hours in jail and a $500 fine.

Second offense minimums are 30 days in jail plus 60 days on electronic home monitoring and a $500 fine. Courts often impose more, especially when there are prior incidents within a short time frame. A third offense requires at minimum 90 days in jail, 120 days on EHM, and a $1,000 fine. At this level, courts routinely add ignition interlock requirements, mandatory alcohol evaluation, and treatment programs as conditions of probation.

Fourth offense is a Class B felony. The potential sentence is up to ten years in prison and fines up to $20,000. A felony DUI case in Yakima County Superior Court typically involves a more extended legal process than a misdemeanor case, including pretrial hearings, possible jury selection, and a more detailed sentencing phase. The record for a felony DUI case is correspondingly more extensive. It includes the full charging document, all pretrial filings, the judgment and sentence, and any subsequent probation violations or modifications.

Washington also sets specific BAC thresholds in statute. The standard limit is 0.08 for most drivers. Commercial drivers face a 0.04 limit. Drivers under 21 are subject to a 0.02 limit under the state's zero tolerance rule. Drug-impaired driving is also covered under the DUI statute, with a THC threshold of 5.00 nanograms per milliliter of whole blood.

License Actions and DOL Records

A Yakima County DUI arrest triggers an administrative license action by the Washington Department of Licensing, separate from the court case. If a driver fails a breath test or refuses to take one, the DOL moves to suspend the license unless the driver requests a hearing within the required time limit after the arrest. This process runs independently of the criminal case, meaning the two proceedings can reach different outcomes.

The DOL DUI resources page covers the suspension process, hearing procedures, and reinstatement requirements. License reinstatement typically requires proof of SR-22 insurance, payment of reinstatement fees, and sometimes completion of a treatment program. The timeline and conditions vary based on whether this is a first or repeat offense.

DOL driving records are separate from court records. When courts report a DUI conviction to the DOL, it appears on the driving abstract. But the administrative suspension entry may already be there before any conviction is recorded. Employers who check driving records through the DOL abstract process will see both the suspension and any subsequent conviction. This is why, for a complete DUI history in Yakima County, checking both the court portals and DOL records gives a fuller picture than either source alone.

How to Get Certified Copies of Yakima County DUI Records

Copy fees in Washington courts are $0.50 per page for standard copies. Certified copies cost $5 for the first page plus $1 for each additional page. These fees apply at all court levels in Yakima County. Contact the appropriate court based on where the case was heard. For Superior Court, call (509) 574-1430. For District Court, call (509) 574-1700. For municipal court records, contact the specific city court where the case originated.

Mail requests are accepted. Include the subject's full legal name, date of birth, and a case number or approximate date if you have it. Enclose a check or money order for the estimated fee and a return mailing address. It helps to call ahead to confirm the exact fee amount before sending payment. Older cases may be archived and take more time to retrieve. Allow extra processing time for mail requests, especially for files from several years back.

Records from sealed cases are not available to the public. Juvenile DUI records are sealed by default in Washington. Some adult records may include redacted information if they contain details about protected third parties. But the standard elements of an adult DUI conviction are public: the charge, the plea, the sentence, and the case disposition. Any member of the public can request these without giving a reason. Washington's Public Records Act establishes this as a right, not a privilege.

Expungement and Vacation of DUI Convictions in Washington

Washington allows some misdemeanor DUI convictions to be vacated under specific conditions. A person can only vacate one DUI conviction in their lifetime. The waiting period is ten years after the conviction date. During that time, the person must have no new criminal convictions, must have completed all sentence conditions including probation and fines, and must have no pending criminal charges at the time of the vacation request.

Even a successfully vacated misdemeanor DUI may still appear on a DOL driving abstract. The court record will reflect the vacation, but the DOL does not always remove the entry from its own records. This distinction matters for jobs that require clean driving history. Felony DUI convictions cannot be vacated in Washington under current law. They remain part of the criminal record permanently. Anyone with questions about whether a specific Yakima County conviction qualifies for vacation should speak with a Washington criminal defense attorney. Several legal aid organizations in Yakima County provide free or low-cost consultations for those who qualify based on income.