How to Postpone a Small Claims Hearing in Washington (Continuance)

Your hearing date is approaching and you can't make it — a medical emergency, a work obligation you can't reschedule, a family crisis. Washington allows you to request a postponement, but there's a specific process. A phone call to the courthouse doesn't move your court date, and simply not showing up gets you a default judgment.

File a Motion for Continuance

For an agreed continuance, use statewide form MISC 05.0300, Small Claims Order of Dismissal/Continuance. Otherwise, follow your county's procedure to request a continuance from the District Court. Serve a copy of your request on the plaintiff. Explain why you need more time and propose a new date or ask the court to reset the hearing.

Only a judicial officer can grant the continuance. The court date changes only when the judge signs the order. Until you have that signed order in hand, your original hearing date stands.

What Qualifies

Courts grant continuances for "good cause" — circumstances beyond your reasonable control:

• Medical emergencies (yours or an immediate family member's)
• Military deployment or service obligations
• Previously scheduled surgery or medical procedures
• Unavoidable work travel scheduled before you received the notice
• Death in the immediate family

Courts are less sympathetic to:

• General scheduling inconvenience
• Vacation plans
• Wanting more time to "think about it"
• Not having found a babysitter

There's no guaranteed right to a continuance. The judge weighs your reason against the burden on the other party and the court's calendar.

Timing Matters

File the motion as early as possible — days or weeks before the hearing, not the morning of. A last-minute motion is harder to grant because the plaintiff, witnesses, and the court have already prepared. Some courts require the motion to be filed a specific number of days in advance; check your county's local rules.

If the emergency is genuinely last-minute (you're in an ambulance on the hearing date), contact the clerk and submit the county's required written request as soon as possible. A call or a clerk's note does not change the hearing date; unless the court grants a continuance, you still need to attend.

What Happens If the Continuance Is Denied

If the judge denies your motion, the original hearing date holds. Attend it to avoid risking a default judgment.

If you were denied because the reason wasn't strong enough and your circumstances change (a new genuine emergency), you can file a second motion — but judges view multiple continuance requests unfavorably unless the circumstances are clearly different.

Don't Rely on the Plaintiff's Agreement

Even if the plaintiff agrees to postpone, the court must still approve. An informal agreement between the parties doesn't remove the case from the calendar. If both parties agree, file a joint stipulation for continuance with the court — it's more likely to be granted than a one-sided request, but the judge still has to sign off.

The Washington Small Claims Response Guide includes a deadline and hearing tracker that helps you manage your court date alongside the motion filing timeline, so a continuance request doesn't accidentally create a new deadline problem.

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