(a) To what proceedings applicable. Except where inconsistent with rules or statutes applicable to special proceedings, these rules shall govern all civil proceedings. Where statutes relating to special proceedings provide for procedure under former statutes applicable generally to civil actions, the procedure shall be governed by these rules.
Rule 81.Applicability in general
Group 11: General Provisions · Last amended July 1, 1967 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 81 defines how far the Superior Court Civil Rules reach: they govern every civil proceeding except where a statute or rule specific to a special proceeding conflicts, and where they do apply, they override any conflicting procedural statute or rule.
Full Text of Rule 81
(b) Conflicting statutes and rules. Subject to the provisions of section (a) of this rule, these rules supersede all procedural statutes and other rules that may be in conflict.
Amendment History
Adopted May 5, 1967, effective July 1, 1967.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 1 states that the Civil Rules govern superior court practice in every civil suit "with the exceptions stated in rule 81." Rule 81 is that exceptions clause. Rather than listing particular kinds of cases that fall outside the Civil Rules altogether, subsection (a) sets a conditional rule: the Civil Rules govern all civil proceedings except where a rule or statute that applies specifically to a special proceeding is inconsistent with them. The exception works provision by provision -- a special proceeding is carved out of the Civil Rules only to the extent, and only for the particular point, where its own governing statute or rule conflicts with a Civil Rule.
Subsection (a)'s second sentence handles an older drafting problem: some statutes governing special proceedings direct that procedure follow "former statutes" that used to apply generally to civil actions before the Civil Rules existed. Rule 81(a) reads those cross-references as pointing to the Civil Rules instead, so a special-proceeding statute that still cites now-superseded general civil practice statutes lands on functioning procedure rather than a dead end.
Subsection (b) then states the default outside that special-proceedings carve-out: subject to (a), the Civil Rules supersede all procedural statutes and other rules that conflict with them. Read together, the two subsections make the Civil Rules the governing source of civil procedure in superior court, subordinate only to whatever a special proceeding's own statute or rule specifically requires.
Frequently Asked Questions
What proceedings does Rule 81 exclude from the general Civil Rules?
None by name. Rule 81(a) excludes only the particular Civil Rule provision that conflicts with a statute or rule governing a special proceeding -- it is not a list of exempted case types.
How does Rule 81 relate to Rule 1?
Rule 1 states the Civil Rules govern all civil suits "with the exceptions stated in rule 81" -- Rule 81 is the rule that defines those exceptions.
What happens when a special-proceeding statute refers to procedure under a since-superseded general civil statute?
Rule 81(a)'s second sentence directs that the Civil Rules now supply that procedure, so the old statutory cross-reference still functions.
Do the Civil Rules override a conflicting statute?
Yes. Rule 81(b) states the Civil Rules supersede all conflicting procedural statutes and rules, subject to the special-proceedings carve-out in Rule 81(a).
Does Rule 81 apply to criminal cases?
Rule 81's text addresses civil proceedings and the statutes and rules that govern special civil proceedings; it does not speak to criminal practice.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Washington Superior Court Civil Rules, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Washington. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: scope of washington civil rulesCR 81 applicabilityspecial proceedings washington civil procedurewhen do the civil rules not applyconflict between statute and court rule washington