Washington earns a D+ for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Somewhat higher bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must provide clear, cogent, and convincing evidence that property is connected to a crime, a standard akin to clear and convincing evidence.
Innocent Owner Burden
Stronger protections for the innocent: The government must prove third-party owners knew about criminal activity connected to their property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 90% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects Washington’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Washington?
Under Washington law, the government’s and owners’ deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 120 days, but the wait may be longer as there is no deadline for the hearing itself. In addition, you must specifically request a court hearing; otherwise, the forfeiture will be decided by the agency that seized your property or its designee. While you wait, the government has your property, and you have no way to seek its return.
*If the seizing agency is a state agency rather than a local one, an administrative law judge can be appointed to hear your claim.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $303 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Washington Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $867,260 | $180,000 | $1,047,260 |
| 2001 | $7,050,840 | $1,607,481 | $804,000 | $9,462,321 |
| 2002 | $6,806,450 | $1,106,521 | $745,000 | $8,657,971 |
| 2003 | $9,864,000 | $908,482 | $310,000 | $11,082,482 |
| 2004 | $8,243,900 | $2,984,942 | $292,000 | $11,520,842 |
| 2005 | $13,299,350 | $2,725,294 | $575,000 | $16,599,644 |
| 2006 | $8,664,060 | $1,888,965 | $711,000 | $11,264,025 |
| 2007 | $1,043,408 | $2,945,689 | $4,249,000 | $8,238,097 |
| 2008 | $9,458,470 | $2,499,827 | $2,107,000 | $14,065,297 |
| 2009 | $8,872,587 | $4,752,146 | $8,910,000 | $22,534,733 |
| 2010 | $8,179,924 | $4,932,477 | $1,526,000 | $14,638,401 |
| 2011 | $10,688,738 | $2,299,774 | $997,000 | $13,985,512 |
| 2012 | $9,862,644 | $3,273,967 | $1,340,000 | $14,476,611 |
| 2013 | $6,354,510 | $6,531,452 | $2,871,000 | $15,756,962 |
| 2014 | $7,669,660 | $2,057,427 | $367,000 | $10,094,087 |
| 2015 | $1,165,640 | $3,765,576 | $1,338,000 | $6,269,216 |
| 2016 | $9,428,740 | $3,577,460 | $1,910,000 | $14,916,200 |
| 2017 | $9,269,500 | $2,279,115 | $366,000 | $11,914,615 |
| 2018 | $8,957,360 | $3,009,143 | $445,000 | $12,411,503 |
| 2019 | $11,821,271 | $3,078,978 | $102,000 | $15,002,249 |
| 2020 | $12,018,212 | $7,595,582 | $1,062,000 | $20,675,794 |
| 2021 | $11,403,934 | $1,692,689 | $158,000 | $13,254,623 |
| 2022 | $6,923,604 | $924,199 | $1,823,000 | $9,670,803 |
| 2023 | $10,219,352 | $2,939,866 | $2,386,000 | $15,545,218 |
| Totals | $197,266,154 | $70,244,312 | $35,574,000 | $303,084,466 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Washington does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Washington agencies have generated nearly $106 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 84 Washington agencies, or an estimated 35% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Washington Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UNKNOWN
Washington does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UNKNOWN
Washington does not report the types of property forfeited.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
Washington does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Additional Findings
UNKNOWN
Agencies do not provide detailed data on seized or forfeited property, resulting in limited transparency into forfeiture activity in the state.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
C-Statewide Forfeiture Reports
FPenalties for Failure to File a Report
FAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
FAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
DFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
FFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Statewide forfeiture reports were obtained via public records requests to the state treasurer. Revenues are calculated estimates of statewide forfeiture revenues based on calendar-year deposits to the state general fund, which receives, by law, 10% of all forfeiture proceeds. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Clear, cogent, and convincing evidence.
Wash. Rev. Code § 69.50.505(5).
Innocent owner burden: Government.
Wash. Rev. Code §§ 69.50.505(1)(d)(ii), (g), (h)–(i), .505(5).
Financial incentive: 90%.
Wash. Rev. Code § 69.50.505(8).
Process: Wash. Rev. Code § 69.50.505 (drug forfeitures and forfeiture procedure); Wash. Rev. Code §§ 34.05.010 et seq. (administrative procedure).