Blake Refunds
After your conviction is vacated, you may be eligible for a refund of costs you paid related to your conviction. There are three kinds of refunds available: Legal Financial Obligations (LFO) Refunds, Cost of Supervision (COS) Refunds, and Third-Party Refunds. There is currently no refund for time spent incarcerated for a Blake conviction.
You must first have a vacate order before you can be refunded any costs. If you don’t yet have a vacate order, not sure if you have a vacate order, or have questions about a Blake refund owed to you, please fill out the Intake Form [External Link] or call 800-414-6064.
Legal Financial Obligations (LFO) Refunds
LFO Payments are fines and fees a court ordered you to pay because of your drug possession conviction. These payments are made to a court clerk’s office.
After your conviction is vacated, the clerk will check to see how much you paid and will calculate what your LFO refund is, including any interest you paid on the principle of your LFO or any collection fees you paid to the clerk or administrator. That information will be sent to the Blake Refund Bureau and you can claim it by following the steps on the Refund Bureau's website [External Link]
Please note that the Blake Refund Bureau is at a separate agency from Washington State Office of Public Defense and our office cannot answer questions about the status of pending refunds.
Steps to a Blake LFO Refund:
- Have a Blake order vacating your conviction
- Fill out a Blake Refund Bureau application (online or by mail)
- Receive a refund check mailed to the address provided on your application
If you did not make any LFO payments on your vacated Blake conviction, there will be no LFO refund.
- LFO Refund FAQs
-
How long until I get my refund?
You may end up waiting for months for the refund check to arrive after you request it. You can check the status of your refund by logging back into the Blake Refund Bureau or contacting the Blake Refund Bureau directly by calling 360-704-1913.
My conviction was vacated but I do not see my refund on the Blake Refund Bureau website
It can take 4-6 weeks for the court to upload refund information. If it is taking a while, you can contact the court clerk to request an update.
What if I do not have access to the internet to fill out an application for a Blake refund?
Please contact us, we will mail you a paper application.
Other questions about LFO refunds?
Please visit the Refund Bureau website [External Link] or call the Refund Bureau at 360-704-1913.
Cost of Supervision (COS) Refunds
If you were on community custody for a Blake case with the Department of Corrections (DOC) you will be refunded the cost of supervision fee that you paid to the DOC. COS refunds are done per person, not per conviction. If you have multiple convictions that are eligible for this refund, DOC will hold your refund until all eligible convictions have been vacated.
The DOC is refunding these payments in the order that the convictions are vacated. You can check their progress on the DOC Blake Refund Website [External Link].
To receive your COS refund, you must have an up-to-date address on file with DOC. Please visit their website for more information.
If you did not make any COS payments toward your Blake community custody, there will be no COS Refund.
- COS Refund FAQs
-
How long until I get my refund?
The DOC will issue your refund approximately 3 years from the date your first vacate order was received.
Other questions about COS Refunds?
Please visit the DOC Blake Refund Website [External Link] or email them at DOC-docblakecos@doc1.wa.gov
Third-Party Refunds
You may have paid costs because of your conviction that were not included in the LFOs. These kinds of payments are known as Third-Party Payments and can sometimes be refunded to you.
The Blake Refund Bureau may refund “document-verified costs paid to third parties previously paid by defendants whose convictions have been vacated by court order due to the State v. Blake ruling.” ESSB 5187, Sec. 114(10) (pp.8-9). Some examples of these kinds of payments might be but are not limited to:
- Electronic home monitoring fees
- Attorney fees
- Bail
- Money or property seized at the time of your arrest (civil forfeiture)
Because these payments are not tracked by the courts, you will need paperwork to show what you paid.
Steps to get a Third-Party Refund:
- Have your Blake case vacated.
- Gather paperwork for Third-Party costs. Examples include receipts for bail or attorney fees paid.
- File a motion with court clerk where you had Blake case with the help of lawyer OR file it by yourself (pro se).
- File note of calendar to schedule when the motion will be heard by a judge.
- Serve the motion and note for calendar to the Prosecutor’s Office.
- Attend motion hearing.
- If you win your motion hearing, fill out application at Blake Refund Bureau.
- Wait for check to arrive.
A lawyer can help you with this process or you can do it by yourself (also called pro se). Contact the OPD Blake Program to inquire about an attorney, or fill out this sample motion [External Link] and proposed order [External Link] to get started pro se.
- Third-Party Refund FAQs
-
What type of documentation do I need to claim a Third-Party Refund?
Documentation can be anything that shows you made payments directly related to your conviction. Examples can include:
- Receipts, bank statements, or invoices showing the payment were made
- Signed affidavits from you or the person/business that received your payment
- Court documents that reference payments you made
- Police reports that note the amount of money or property seized from you
What if I don’t have any documentation but I know that I made payments?
Documentation helps the court figure out exactly how much you should be refunded. It is difficult for the court to grant your third-party motion if they don’t know how much you paid. In some cases, an attorney can assist you in gathering documentation.
Blake Refund FAQs
- Will my refund be taxed or garnished?
-
Your refund check will not be taxed before it is sent to you. LFO and Third-Party Refunds may be garnished by the Division of Child Support if you meet all three of the following criteria:
- You owe debt to a custodial parent on at least one child support case.
- Your past-due support owed totals at least $100.
- Your Blake refund is for a minimum of $50.
If you meet the above criteria, your refund will be garnished the amount of past-due support owed, or 50% of the refund, whichever is less. More information can be found here Withholding from Blake Refunds | DSHS [External Link]
Any refund sent to a Department of Corrections Trust Account will be subject to normal DOC deductions.
- Can currently incarcerated people receive refunds?
-
Yes, please visit our webpage on Blake for people in a WA DOC facility for more information.
If you or your loved one is currently incarcerated not at a WA DOC facility, please call our office at 800-414-6064.
- What if I receive benefits from the Social Security Administration?
-
Your benefits may be impacted by your refund. Please read this information on Blake Refund Check and Social Security Benefits [External Link] from Civil Survival.
- Can I apply for a refund on someone else’s behalf?
-
In limited circumstances a person can apply for a refund on behalf of someone else by filing a motion with the court. Those circumstances can include if you have a deceased spouse or relative who is eligible for a Blake refund. A lawyer may be able to assist you if this applies to you. Please contact our office for more information.