[WSBARP] Title commitment and criminal judgment liens

Wed Oct 14 14:21:16 PDT 2026

This particular judgment isn’t recorded at all, just entered with the court in the same county as the real property.

A title company’s standard title search probably only includes a search for judgments in the court of the same county as the real property. Technically, a judgment entered in County X doesn’t attach as a lien on real property in County Y until an abstract of the judgment is recorded in County Y. RCW 4.56.200(3). So for title purposes, I think it should be enough to search the county court for judgments, and consult the county recorder’s records, to determine potential liens. Or so I think—there are probably exceptions I don’t know about that Dwight Bickel or John McCrady will school me on.

Sincerely,

Eric

Eric C. Nelsen
Sayre Law Offices, PLLC
1417 31st Ave South
Seattle WA 98144-3909
206-625-0092
eric at sayrelawoffices.com<mailto:eric at sayrelawoffices.com>

From: wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Inge Fordham
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2026 2:01 PM
To: WSBA Real Property Listserv <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: Re: [WSBARP] Title commitment and criminal judgment liens

In my experience, if a judgment has been recorded against the subject property (referencing the parcel number, etc.), it appears (or should appear) in a title search.  I’m not sure what the title company considers a “standard title search,” but title companies I’ve worked with often search for judgments in the county in which the subject property is located.  They do not, however, search other counties.  This often comes up in the context of probates where proceedings are filed in one county and the subject property is located in another county.  Eric, was the judgment you referenced recorded against the property for which the search was conducted?  Judgments are sometimes recorded without referencing a specific property, but if the recording was in a different county than the property, I wouldn’t expect it to show up in a standard search (which is scary for folks investigating whether to purchase property).

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Inge A. Fordham | Attorney
Fordham Law, PLLC
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Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 1:11 PM
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Subject: Re: [WSBARP] Title commitment and criminal judgment liens
I was always under the impression that a title report would disclose any liens or judgments of any kind affecting the property, but what do I know ... But... I wonder if the reason it’s not showing up is that the criminal judgment was incorporated into a court order rather than separately entered and indexed as a judgment, which could explain why it wasn’t picked up in the title search? Just a thought...

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Subject: [WSBARP] Title commitment and criminal judgment liens

I have a client who ordered a preliminary title commitment that doesn’t show any judgment liens. But the client does have a criminal restitution judgment that is in the process of being paid off. The title company apparently told the client that “certain criminal judgment liens do not appear in a standard title search.”

Huh? Any idea what that would mean? Judgments are judgments, indexed and discoverable in the same way regardless of whether they’re civil or criminal—so far as I know, anyway. Can anybody enlighten me?

Sincerely,

Eric

Eric C. Nelsen

Sayre Law Offices, PLLC

1417 31st Ave South

Seattle WA 98144-3909

206-625-0092

eric at sayrelawoffices.com<mailto:eric at sayrelawoffices.com>

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