A divorce in Snohomish County follows rules specific to this courthouse, and most of what’s online describes some other county or no county at all. This post is part of a series answering the questions our clients ask about how the process actually works here.
A commissioner. In Snohomish County, court commissioners decide temporary orders, restraining orders, temporary support, and temporary parenting schedules. Judges preside over trials and hear motions to revise a commissioner’s ruling. If you think the commissioner got it wrong, you have 10 days to ask a judge to look again, and the judge can only consider what the commissioner saw.
What a court commissioner is
Court commissioners are judicial officers appointed by the superior court judges. The Washington Constitution allows each county to have them. State law gives them authority concurrent with the judges over a defined list of matters, including temporary restraining orders and injunctions, defaults, and ex parte and uncontested matters. RCW 2.24.040. In practice, Snohomish County assigns family law motion practice to its commissioners. When you walk into a temporary orders hearing here, a commissioner is on the bench.
Many people arrive expecting “the judge,” and some websites describe Snohomish County temporary orders hearings that way. It’s not accurate, and the difference matters for how you prepare.
Where and when commissioners hear family law motions
Under the court’s current administrative order, the Domestic Motions calendar is heard by the assigned commissioners in Courtrooms 1C and 1D. Those are on the first floor of the courthouse at 3000 Rockefeller Avenue. The calendar runs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1:00 PM and Thursday at 9:00 AM. Immediate restraining orders, fee waivers, agreed orders, and defaults go to the commissioner’s ex parte calendar in Courtroom 1B, which runs every weekday morning and afternoon.
The Domestic Motions calendar handles everything a divorce needs before trial. That includes temporary orders, discovery motions, motions to waive or compel mediation, motions for attorney fees, and even summary judgment in family law cases. The commissioner hears each matter in person, about five minutes per side, and rules from the bench. SCLCR 7(b)(10)(d).
How a commissioner’s ruling differs from a judge’s
A commissioner’s order has full force the moment it’s signed and you have to follow it. But it’s subject to one form of review that a judge’s order isn’t, which is revision.
Any party may ask a superior court judge to revise a commissioner’s order by filing a written motion within 10 days after the order is entered. RCW 2.24.050. If nobody files within 10 days, the commissioner’s order becomes the order of the superior court, and the only remaining route is an appeal.
What happens on a motion for revision
The judge reviews the commissioner’s decision de novo, which means the judge decides the issues fresh rather than deferring to the commissioner. But the review is on the record that was before the commissioner. The judge doesn’t take new evidence, doesn’t read new declarations, and doesn’t consider anything the commissioner struck. State v. Ramer, 151 Wn.2d 106 (2004). Snohomish County’s local rule says the same thing and adds that a transcript of the commissioner hearing isn’t filed or considered unless the judge specifically allows it. SCLCR 7(b)(12)(a).
The local rule adds procedure. The motion is noted on the judges’ civil motions calendar, which runs Tuesday through Friday at 9:30 AM, and a judge is assigned to it once you note it. Unlike the commissioner’s calendar, the civil motions calendar can be attended by Zoom. The moving party has to schedule the revision hearing no more than 14 days after filing the motion. The motion must identify each finding or ruling being challenged and state what the correct ruling should have been. And the moving party has to deliver working copies to the judge of everything that was submitted to the commissioner, both sides’ materials included. SCLCR 7(b)(12)(a).
If the judge denies revision, the commissioner’s ruling stands as the judge’s own. If you then appeal, the Court of Appeals reviews the judge’s decision, not the commissioner’s. In re Marriage of Williams, 156 Wn. App. 22 (2010); Maldonado v. Maldonado, 197 Wn. App. 779 (2017).
Why this changes how you prepare
Because the record closes at the commissioner hearing, the declarations you file for temporary orders are the only evidence a judge will ever see on revision. There’s no second chance to add the text message you forgot or the pay stub you didn’t have. That’s why the 25-page declaration limit for temporary orders motions matters so much. Those 25 pages have to carry the motion in front of the commissioner and carry any revision in front of the judge.
It also means revision is a narrow tool. It’s for a ruling that was wrong on the record, not for a ruling you’d like to supplement. If new facts have developed, the local rule allows a new motion based on a change of circumstances or newly discovered information. SCLSPR 94.04(c)(6)(B). That’s a different motion, back in front of a commissioner.
Reconsideration is a separate option
A party can also ask the same commissioner to reconsider under CR 59. Reconsideration motions in Snohomish County are decided on the papers without oral argument unless the court asks for it. They’re noted on the ruling officer’s own calendar, and they don’t require confirmation. SCLCR 59(e)(3). Reconsideration and revision have different purposes and different clocks. Talk to your attorney about which fits, and do it quickly, because the 10-day revision deadline doesn’t pause while you decide.
One thing you can do
Ask for a copy of the signed order before you leave the courthouse. The revision clock runs from the entry of the written order. Knowing the exact date it was filed tells you exactly when your 10 days expire.
Common questions
Is a commissioner’s order less binding than a judge’s? No. A commissioner’s order has full force when it’s signed. The difference is that a party can ask a judge to revise it within 10 days under RCW 2.24.050.
Can I bring new evidence on a motion for revision? No. The judge reviews the ruling de novo, but only on the materials that were before the commissioner. SCLCR 7(b)(12)(a) bars new supporting materials and, without leave, transcripts.
How fast does a revision hearing happen? The moving party has to schedule it within 14 days after filing the motion. Together with the 10-day filing deadline, most revisions are heard within about a month of the original ruling.
This post is part of our series on how a divorce works in Snohomish County. Start with the main guide, How a Divorce Actually Works in Snohomish County, or read about what happens at a temporary orders hearing and why Snohomish County’s local rules matter.
This post describes Snohomish County procedure as of September 2026. Calendars, courtrooms, and local rules change on their own schedule; check the court’s current administrative order and local rules before relying on a deadline.
Last updated September 2026.
Law Offices of Daniel Ehrlich, Everett. Family law in Snohomish, Island, King, and Skagit Counties. (425) 954-5578.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different. If you’re facing a divorce in Snohomish County, talk to an attorney.
