Washington Squatters Rights and Adverse Possession Laws (2026)

Washington requires 10 years of continuous, open, and hostile possession to claim adverse possession under RCW 4.16.020. Three shorter 7-year routes exist: one for a claimant holding a connected title of record under RCW 7.28.050, one for a good-faith color-of-title holder who pays the taxes under RCW 7.28.070, and one for a color-of-title holder who pays the taxes on vacant and unoccupied land under RCW 7.28.080. Removal usually runs through an unlawful detainer action under RCW 59.12, but RCW 9A.52.105 lets a peace officer remove unauthorized occupants of residential property on a sworn owner declaration. Self-help removal by the owner is prohibited.

Verification note: Statutory periods confirmed against RCW 4.16.020, RCW 7.28.050, RCW 7.28.070, and RCW 7.28.080 via app.leg.wa.gov. Removal procedures confirmed against RCW 59.12.030, RCW 9A.52.105, and RCW 9A.52.115. Washington's peace-officer removal statute dates from 2017 (2017 c 284); no further expedited squatter-removal statute was enacted in Washington in 2024 or 2025.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers Washington State law only. For a comparison of adverse possession periods and squatter removal procedures across all 50 states, see the national squatters rights guide.

Adverse Possession in Washington: The 10-Year and 7-Year Periods

Washington law gives a would-be adverse possessor several possible timelines, depending on the nature of the claimant's title documents, whether taxes were paid, and whether the land was occupied at all.

The 10-year base period (RCW 4.16.020)

The default rule comes from RCW 4.16.020, which sets a 10-year limitations period on actions for the recovery of real property. A person who occupies land for 10 continuous years without the owner's permission and who meets all five elements of adverse possession can bring a quiet-title action at the end of that period.

The 7-year track with connected title of record (RCW 7.28.050)

RCW 7.28.050 cuts the period to 7 years when the possessor has, in the words of the statute, "a connected title in law or equity deducible of record from this state or the United States," or from a public officer, sheriff, or other person authorized to sell the land for unpaid taxes or on execution. That is a materially stronger showing than color of title: the claimant must trace a recorded chain of title back to a recognized source, not merely hold a document that appears on its face to convey the land. If the claimant has such a connected title and maintains actual, open, and notorious possession for 7 successive years, an action to recover the land must be brought within 7 years after possession began. When the possessor acquires title after taking possession, the 7 years run from the date title was acquired.

The 7-year track with color of title and tax payment (RCW 7.28.070)

RCW 7.28.070 provides a parallel 7-year path aimed at a different situation, and this is the section that turns on color of title. Under it, a person in actual, open, and notorious possession under a claim and color of title made in good faith who also pays all taxes legally assessed on the property during the entire 7-year period is held and adjudged to be the legal owner at the end of that period. Successor owners who acquire the property by purchase, devise, or inheritance can tack their predecessor's possession and tax payments onto their own to satisfy the 7-year requirement, as long as possession and tax obligations remain uninterrupted.

The 7-year track for vacant and unoccupied land (RCW 7.28.080)

RCW 7.28.080 is the outlier, because it asks for no possession at all. Every person having color of title made in good faith to vacant and unoccupied land who pays all taxes legally assessed on it for seven successive years is deemed and adjudged the legal owner of that land, to the extent of the paper title. Persons who hold under the taxpayer by purchase, devise, or descent may continue paying the taxes to complete the seven-year term.

The section carries a proviso that defeats the claim. If a person with a better paper title to the same vacant and unoccupied land pays the assessed taxes for any one or more years within the seven-year term, the color-of-title taxpayer gets no benefit from the section at all. For a record owner, that makes simply paying the tax bill a complete answer to this route.

The five elements required in Washington possession-based claims

Whether the claimant relies on the 10-year track or on either of the possession-based 7-year tracks, Washington courts require proof of all five elements throughout the statutory period:

1. Actual possession. The claimant must physically use the land in the manner a reasonable owner would use it, such as farming, landscaping, fencing, or building structures.
2. Open and notorious possession. The use must be visible and obvious, putting the true owner on notice that someone is asserting a claim.
3. Exclusive possession. The claimant cannot share possession with the true owner or with the general public.
4. Hostile possession. The claimant must occupy the land without the owner's permission. Possession under a license or with the owner's consent does not satisfy this element.
5. Continuous possession. The claimant must maintain possession without significant interruption for the entire statutory period. Brief absences that are consistent with normal ownership patterns do not break continuity.

If any element is missing for any portion of the statutory period, the clock resets and the claim fails.

Limits Washington Places on Adverse Possession Claims

Public land is off limits

RCW 7.28.090 provides that RCW 7.28.070 and RCW 7.28.080 "shall not extend to lands or tenements owned by the United States or this state, nor to school lands, nor to lands held for any public purpose." Occupying a piece of a state park, a school district parcel, a road right-of-way, or federally owned ground does not start either color-of-title clock. Anyone whose intended claim touches government-owned or public-purpose land should treat it as barred and get legal advice before spending money or making improvements on it.

The same section protects owners who cannot protect themselves. Where the person holding the title adverse to the possessor is under eighteen, under guardianship under RCW 11.130.265, or under conservatorship under RCW 11.130.360, that person has three years after the disability ends to bring an action to recover the land. For vacant and unoccupied land, that person may instead pay the possessor for betterments and taxes, with interest at the legal rate, within the same three-year window.

Forestland claims face a heightened standard

RCW 7.28.085 raises the bar sharply for claims against forestland owners. Where the party defending the claim owns twenty or more acres of forestland in Washington, the adverse claimant must establish the open and notorious element by clear and convincing evidence of substantial improvements that have remained on the land, entirely or partially, for at least ten years. The statute defines a substantial improvement as a permanent or semipermanent structure or enclosure whose construction costs exceeded fifty thousand dollars. A fence line, a trail, or seasonal use will not carry a claim under this section.

Winning can still cost the claimant money

RCW 7.28.083 lets a court order a party who prevails on an adverse possession claim to reimburse the record title holder for taxes or assessments the title holder paid on the property during the period of possession, and to pay taxes or assessments that came due after the claim was filed. Where the claim takes only part of a parcel, the court allocates the taxes between the property acquired and the property the titleholder keeps. The prevailing party in an adverse possession action may also request costs and reasonable attorneys' fees, which the court may award in whole or in part if it finds the award equitable and just after considering all the facts. None of this is automatic, but a claimant should not assume that a win is free.

How to Remove a Squatter in Washington

Washington gives an owner two lawful routes: a sworn declaration to law enforcement under RCW 9A.52.105, which fits many true squatter situations, and the court-supervised unlawful detainer process under RCW 59.12. What an owner may never do is remove the occupant personally. Self-help removal, which includes changing locks, removing the occupant's belongings, or shutting off utilities to force someone out, is illegal in Washington and exposes the owner to civil liability.

Route 1: Officer removal on a sworn declaration (RCW 9A.52.105)

Since 2017, Washington has had a statute that lets a peace officer clear an unauthorized occupant out of residential property without any court case. Under RCW 9A.52.105, where an officer has probable cause to believe a person is guilty of criminal trespass under RCW 9A.52.070 for knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in a building that is residential real property as defined in RCW 61.24.005, and the officer receives a declaration that meets the statute's requirements, the officer may remove the person from the premises, with or without arresting them, and order the person to remain off the premises or be subject to arrest for criminal trespass.

The declaration is a specific form set out in RCW 9A.52.115, signed under penalty of perjury. Among other things, the owner or authorized agent must swear that the occupants entered and remain unlawfully, that they were not authorized to enter or remain, that they are not and have not been tenants, or homeowners on title, within the last twelve months on the property, that a demand to vacate was made and refused, and that the premises were neither abandoned nor open to the public when they were entered. The form also warns that a false statement can create civil liability under RCW 4.24.355, acknowledges the tenant protections in RCW 59.18.230 and RCW 59.18.290, and includes an agreement to indemnify law enforcement acting in good faith.

The statute contains an important safeguard for the occupant. Before removing anyone, the officer must give the occupant a reasonable opportunity to secure and present any credible evidence that they are lawfully occupying the property, and must consider that evidence. In practice, that means this route is for genuine trespassers. An occupant who produces a lease, rent receipts, or other credible proof of tenancy pushes the matter back into landlord-tenant law, and the owner is then in the unlawful detainer track below.

Note also what this statute does not cover: it is limited to residential real property. Commercial buildings, bare land, and cases where the occupant has any tenant history in the past twelve months fall outside it.

Route 2: Unlawful detainer (RCW 59.12)

Where the declaration route does not fit, or where an officer declines to act, the owner uses the standard unlawful detainer process.

Step 1: Serve a written notice to vacate

Under RCW 59.12.030, a person who enters upon the land of another without permission and remains after receiving 3 days' written notice to vacate is guilty of unlawful detainer. The notice must be served in the manner specified in RCW 59.12.040, which allows personal service, service on a person of suitable age and discretion at the premises, or posting and mailing if no one is present.

If the squatter has any characteristics of a residential tenant, such as paying occasional rent or receiving mail at the property, the owner should also review the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act under RCW 59.18 before serving notice. Residential tenants receive longer notice periods under RCW 59.18.650, and a court may scrutinize whether an occupant qualifies as a tenant.

Step 2: File an unlawful detainer complaint

If the squatter does not vacate after the notice period expires, the owner files a complaint for unlawful detainer in the superior court of the county where the property is located. The complaint is governed by RCW 59.12.070. The court issues a summons requiring the defendant to appear and answer, typically within 7 to 30 days depending on the circumstances.

Step 3: Obtain a writ of restitution

After the hearing, if the court rules in the owner's favor, it issues a judgment and a writ of restitution under RCW 59.12.090. The writ directs the county sheriff to remove the occupant and restore possession to the owner. The sheriff carries out the actual removal; the owner does not do so personally.

No new expedited removal statute in 2024 or 2025

Several states passed expedited squatter-removal bills in 2024 and 2025. Washington was not one of them. Its officer-removal provision is older than that wave, dating to 2017. Owners who read about a brand-new fast-track law elsewhere should work from RCW 9A.52.105 and RCW 59.12 as they stand.

Document everything

Owners should photograph the property before and after occupation, keep records of any communications with the occupant, save utility and tax records, and retain copies of all legal notices served. These records become evidence in the unlawful detainer proceeding, in support of a removal declaration, and in any future quiet-title defense.

Legal disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Washington State law only and is not legal advice. Laws change, and individual circumstances vary. Consult a lawyer licensed in Washington before taking action on any adverse possession claim or squatter removal.

Page last reviewed: September 2026. Washington law only. For other states see the national squatters rights guide.

More Washington Laws

• Washington Landlord-Tenant Laws