Easements in King County, WA
Steep lots, dense infill, and a long rail history give King County a mix of shared-driveway easements, sewer easements, and rail-corridor conversions.
King County Recorder's Office
The county publishes a free public parcel viewer showing platted easement strips.
About 10 years of open, continuous, adverse use is generally required.
Wash. Rev. Code § 4.16.020
Read the Washington rulesEasements you'll see most often here
- Shared driveway and ingress/egress easements
- Side sewer easements crossing neighboring lots
- Utility easements for power and fiber
- Rail-to-trail corridor easements
Local things to watch for
- Side sewer easements are common on older Seattle blocks and are frequently unrecorded — a survey often catches them first.
- Critical-area buffers act like easements in practice even when they are zoning, not title.
Check your own lot
Upload your title commitment and we'll translate Schedule B into plain English, then map the easements against your parcel boundary — free.
Common questions
How do I find out if my King County property has an easement?
Start with the title commitment or owner's policy from your purchase — easements are listed in Schedule B. Recorded easements are also indexed by the King County Recorder's Office, and the county's free public parcel viewer usually shows platted easement strips. A current survey catches anything used on the ground but never recorded.
What easements are most common in King County?
Shared driveway and ingress/egress easements, Side sewer easements crossing neighboring lots, Utility easements for power and fiber, among others. Side sewer easements are common on older Seattle blocks and are frequently unrecorded — a survey often catches them first.
Can a neighbor gain a permanent right to cross my King County land?
In Washington, open, continuous, and adverse use generally has to run for about 10 years before a prescriptive easement can be claimed. Permission given in writing usually stops the clock, because the use is then no longer adverse.
Does an easement lower property value in Seattle?
It depends on where it sits and what it prohibits. A narrow utility strip along a rear lot line rarely affects value. An easement that crosses the buildable area, bars fences and structures, or gives someone else a driveway through the yard can meaningfully limit what the property can become.
Know your easements before you close
Upload your title commitment and get a plain-English easement audit in minutes.
General educational reference only. Prescription periods and their exceptions change, and several states set the period by case law rather than by statute. Read the linked official code and consult a licensed attorney in that state before relying on any of it.