Washington Guardianship Filing Fee and Fee Waiver: What Relatives Pay

The Relative Exemption Most People Miss

If you are a relative filing for minor guardianship in Washington, you likely owe nothing to file. Under RCW 11.130.170(3), no filing fee is charged when the proposed guardian is a relative and not a professional guardian or conservator in an Article 2 minor guardianship case. This is a statutory exemption — you do not need to prove financial hardship or fill out additional paperwork to claim it.

This matters because the standard Superior Court filing fee for a minor guardianship is substantial. King County's fee schedule, effective June 2026, lists a $290 filing fee for minor guardianship cases. Other counties set their own schedules, but the amounts are in the same range.

Many relatives do not know about this exemption and either pay the fee unnecessarily or assume they need to go through the GR 34 indigent waiver process. If you are a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, or other relative of the child, tell the clerk you are claiming the relative exemption under RCW 11.130.170 when you file.

Who Qualifies as a "Relative"

The statute exempts relatives who are not professional guardians or conservators. For this exemption, RCW 11.130.010 defines a relative as a person related by blood or by law to the person subject to guardianship.

A caregiver who is not related to the child by blood or by law does not meet that definition, but may seek a GR 34 fee waiver if eligible.

The GR 34 Fee Waiver for Non-Relatives

General Rule 34 allows an individual to seek a waiver of court filing fees and surcharges that are a condition of filing. You qualify if you receive means-tested public assistance (such as TANF, SSI, or Basic Food), your household income is at or below 125% of the federal poverty guideline, or your income is above that level but recurring basic living expenses leave you without the ability to pay the requested fees or surcharges.

The GR 34 forms are:

• WPF GR 34.0100 — Motion and Declaration for Waiver of Civil Fees and Surcharges
• WPF GR 34.0300 — Financial Statement
• WPF GR 34.0500 — Order Re Waiver of Civil Fees and Surcharges

You file these with your petition, and the court decides whether to grant the waiver. If approved, it covers the filing fee and court surcharges.

What GR 34 Does Not Cover

GR 34 waives filing fees and surcharges that are a condition of getting your case heard. It does not automatically cover every court-related expense. Certified copies of Letters of Guardianship, for example, come with per-page charges from the clerk's office. If you need those fees waived as well, you may need to ask the judge separately — King County, for instance, directs people seeking a waiver of Letters charges to request it from the judge during the hearing.

Other costs that fall outside GR 34:

• Process server fees (though you can use any competent person age 18 or older who is not a party to serve papers, avoiding professional server costs)
• The Washington State Patrol WATCH background check fee
• Certified mail costs for serving parties outside the state
• Copying and printing costs for your petition package

How to Minimize Total Filing Costs

Even without the GR 34 waiver, there are ways to reduce what you spend:

Use the statutory relative exemption. This eliminates the largest single cost.

Serve papers yourself — or rather, have a friend or family member do it. Washington court rules allow any competent nonparty who is at least 18 years old to personally serve court documents. You do not need to hire a professional process server or use the sheriff's office.

Print at a library or community center. Many public libraries offer free or low-cost printing. The petition package can run to many pages, so ask about bulk printing rates.

Use the free online lay guardian training. The mandatory guardian training is available through the Washington State Courts Guardian Portal at no cost.

The Washington Guardianship and Custody Court Process Guide includes a complete cost breakdown and fee-waiver filing instructions for each step of the guardianship process.

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