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The Office of Military and Veteran Legal Assistance (OMVLA) helps veterans, service members, and their families who have non-criminal legal problems. We may help you find a free lawyer. If we find you a free lawyer, the lawyer will not go to court with you. They may give you up to 60 minutes of free legal advice. We may also connect you with community groups or give you information about your legal rights.

We cannot provide urgent help. We cannot find you a lawyer if you have a hearing or deadline in the next 3 weeks. Call the CLEAR line at 1-888-201-1014. You may have to call a few times to get through. CLEAR is not part of OMVLA. It is part of Northwest Justice Project (NJP). NJP provides free legal help to people in Washington. If you have a question about what to do when you go to court, please review these resources: General court process | Washington Law Help.

Can We Help You?

We can help you if:

  1. Your home or military duty station is in Washington State. If you do not live in Washington, look at LawHelp.org to find help near you.

  2. You are a veteran, service member, or their family member. This means that:

    You are serving in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, or Space Force. You can get help if you are on Active Duty, or if you are in the Reserves or National Guard.
    OR
    You have ever served in the US military.
    OR
    You are married to someone who is serving or served in the US military.
    OR
    You are the surviving spouse of someone who served in the US military.
    OR
    You are under the age of 21 and your parent served or is serving in the US military.

  3. You need help with a non-criminal legal problem in Washington State, like a disagreement with your landlord, a family law problem, or a wills and trusts issue.

  4. Your income is under 5 times the federal poverty level. For one person, your monthly income can be up to $6,650. For a family of four, your monthly income can be up to $13,750.

We Cannot Help You If:

  • You need help with a criminal legal problem.
  • You do not live in Washington State (even if your legal problem is in Washington).
  • Your legal problem is in a different state (even if you live in Washington).
  • You want someone to go to court for you or represent you.

The Attorney General's Office is a government agency. This means that the information you share with us may be subject to public viewing under the Washington State Public Records Act. We suggest that you limit how much you share with us. Tell us only what is necessary to understand the nature of your legal problem.

What Happens Next?

We will:
  1. Read the form you sent us.
  2. Contact you if we have questions. Our emails might go to your spam or junk folder.
  3. Try our best to get back to you within 10 business days. We might need more time to find you help.
You should keep looking for other services in case we cannot give you the help you need.

OMVLA staff cannot give you advice (tell you what to do) about your legal problem. We try to find a free lawyer or other resource to help you. Not everyone will get help from a lawyer. We might also:

  • Connect you with a community group or nonprofit that might be able to help.
  • Give you guides about how to solve the legal problem on your own.

Help from a Lawyer

Once we ask a lawyer to help you, the lawyer will look at your case. They decide if they can help you and how much. You do not have to pay them anything.

The volunteer lawyer might:
  • Give you legal advice.
  • Help you fill out forms or answer questions about legal documents.
  • Give you information about how to solve your problem on your own.

Our lawyers will not go to court with you.