Washington's trust account declaration: a plain-English walkthrough

What the declaration asks you to say

When Washington lawyers renew their licenses (online renewal opens in November, with the deadline in early February, so confirm the exact date for your renewal year), they file a trust account declaration. Every active member of the state bar files it, whether or not the firm holds a trust account. In substance, you are certifying that your records meet Washington's trust-account rules: RPC 1.15A, which carries the safekeeping and reconciliation duties, and RPC 1.15B, the rule that spells out what a Washington lawyer's trust records must contain.

It is a certification, which makes it different from a form you fill in casually. You are stating that specific records exist and are current. The walkthrough below is what that statement means in practice.

The records the rule assumes you have

RPC 1.15B's recordkeeping requirements are specific. In plain English, a Washington firm holding client funds must be able to produce:

• A record of every receipt and disbursement on the trust account: the check register or its electronic equivalent, kept current.
• A ledger for each client or matter, showing every transaction and the running balance of that client's funds.
• Monthly reconciliations tying the bank statement, the check register, and the client ledgers together. This is the three-way standard, named in the rule's own terms.
• Supporting documents: deposit records, canceled checks or their images, bank statements, and the reconciliation reports themselves.
• Retention of these records for the required period after a matter ends: seven years under the rule.

Where renewals go wrong

Almost no one certifies falsely on purpose. The common failure is certifying from memory: the books were current the last time anyone checked, some months ago, and renewal week is not when anyone checks again.

The rule does not grade on intent. If the records are three months behind when you certify they are current, the certification is inaccurate, and it surfaces later in the worst setting: a grievance or a random review of records.

How to make renewal season boring

The firms that find the declaration boring share one habit: the reconciliation happens monthly whether anyone asks or not. By the time renewal arrives, the records the rule names already exist. The certification is a statement of fact, not an act of optimism.

If your records are not there this season, the honest sequence is: bring them current first, then certify, then put a monthly standard in place so next year's declaration is the boring kind.