When They Take Your Property
RCW 69.50.505 — notice within fifteen days, and 60 days to claim, or 120 for real property
Notice in fifteen days. Forfeiture proceedings are deemed commenced by the seizure, and the seizing agency serves notice of the seizure and intended forfeiture within fifteen days on the owner, the person in charge of the property, and anyone with a known interest.
60 days, or 120 for real property. A person claims ownership or right to possession by notifying the seizing agency in writing within 60 days of the service of notice for personal property, or 120 days for real property. Without a timely claim, the property the section names is deemed forfeited.
The hearing, or court. A timely claimant gets a reasonable opportunity to be heard before the chief law enforcement officer of the seizing agency or a designee, and may remove the matter to court. In all cases the agency must establish by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence that the property is subject to forfeiture.
Fees. A claimant who substantially prevails is entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees reasonably incurred.
Criminal forfeiture ordered as part of a sentence, federal forfeiture, and what may be seized in the first place are set out in other law that is not on this page. Whether a deadline has run, and what follows in a particular case, are questions for a licensed Washington attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- RCW 69.50.505 — Seizure and forfeiture
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Washington attorney.