eService Center - Administrative Office of the Courts

Under Governor Jay Inslee's Marijuana Justice Initiative, misdemeanor marijuana charges under RCW 69.50.4014 are eligible for a governor's pardon. Persons interested in receiving a pardon must initiate the request by completing an online petition form and submitting it to the Office of the Governor.

If the Governor grants a pardon, the governor's office will provide a copy to the defendant, the court in the jurisdiction where the conviction occurred, and to the Washington State Patrol.

The Governor's Office has announced that it is granting pardon when the following criteria are met:

- It must be an adult conviction for misdemeanor marijuana possession;

- Prosecuted under Washington state law (RCW), not a local ordinance;

- The conviction must have occurred between January 1, 1998 and December 5, 2012;

- It must be the only conviction on the person's criminal record.

The court will receive a copy of the pardon in the mail from the governor's office in a sealed envelope. The pardon will display a printed seal as well as a signature of both the Governor and the Secretary of State. 

In JIS, if the case has been closed it will need to be reopened to process the pardon. On the Plea/Sentence screen (PLS), change the original Finding/Judgment Code to PG - Pardon by Governor and the date signed by the Governor, and remove the judge initials.

If there are fees and fines on the case, they can be waived by using the adjustment reason code of PG - Pardon by Governor on the Create Account Receivable screen (CAR). 

The case can then be closed.

Note: Cases with a PG - Pardon by Governor Finding/Judgment code will be retained permanently in JIS through the Destruction of Records process. Also, the PG code is available for use for ANY pardon received from the governor's office.

The court will receive a copy of the pardon in the mail from the governor's office in a sealed envelope. The pardon will display a printed seal as well as a signature of both the Governor and the Secretary of State.

In Odyssey or SCOMIS, change the original Charge Result Code on the Charge Tab or Charge Screen to PG - Pardon by Governor. Similar to a vacation of conviction, courts would then change the case resolution to Statistical Completion but do not change the resolution date. There is no change to the Completion Code. 

Note: This marijuana pardon is currently only available to adults; however the PG can be used on juvenile offender cases for OTHER pardons the governor might grant. 

For information for the public regarding this process, please see eService Answer - Marijuana Justice Initiative.