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County Of Sonoma › Administrative Support & Fiscal Services › Clerk-Recorder-Assessor › Public Records Requests
Clerk-Recorder-Assessor

Public Records Requests

READ BEFORE SUBMITTING PUBLIC ACT REQUEST FORM

 If you believe the information you are requesting falls under the California Public Records Act, you can make a request using our NextRequest portal. 

The County of Sonoma DOES NOT maintain a centralized record keeping system. Each County Department maintains their own records. Requests to inspect and copy public records, which are not otherwise immediately available to the public, should be made directly to the responsible department, agency head, commission, committee secretary or to an identified designee.

Examples of requests for the Clerk-Recorder-Assessor (CRA) Department:

  • CRA-specific contracts, RFPs, sole-source agreements

Examples of requests for other County departments or agencies:

  • Arrest records, 911 transcripts = Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office
  • Building zoning and planning, code enforcement, hazardous materials information, sewer & septic, building permits = Permit Sonoma
  • Restaurant, apartment, hotel inspection reports = Department of Health Services
  • Purchasing (RFPs, solicitations), road designs, traffic signal plans, county facilities & buildings, capital projects, airport = Sonoma Public Infrastructure
  • Property tax payment records and overpayments = Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector 
  • Voter registration, voter turnout, election results, precinct maps, campaign finance = Sonoma County Registrar of Voters
  • Civil, criminal, probate & divorce records = Sonoma County Superior Court (State Agency)

Under California law, the following records are subject to specific legal requirements and limitations and may be requested from the Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor (CRA) through processes other than a California Public Records Act request.  These requirements and limitations may include, but are not limited to, who may request the record, what the record may be used for, the information to be included in the request for the record, exemptions and other limitations that may apply to the records, and required fees.  Please click on the links below for more information.  Certain records may be available for public viewing at the office. 

 Official Records / Recorded Documents

Official Records ARE NOT Public Records

Disclosure of official records are not required if the public record is available;
The County Recorder makes real estate records available to the public for free using public kiosks. The public is permitted to photograph these records. The Clerk-Recorder does not perform searches for the public. Clerks may assist in explaining how the kiosk is operated but will not assist in interpreting the records or performing searches. 

If you are requesting copies of real estate documents recorded in Sonoma County, the information is available for search through our real estate records index (https://crarecords.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Web/). The index is available on the website. Images of the recorded document may be viewed for free through our public kiosks located in the office. The Clerk-Recorder is prevented from displaying Official Record images on the web due to which prohibits posting of public official addresses on the web. Below are examples of recorded documents that may be located via the online index.

  • Real estate records (including deeds, deeds of trusts / mortgages, recorded maps, liens and releases, agreements) (Gov. Code §§ 27201, 27360, 27366)
  • Tax lien records (Gov. Code §§ 27330, 27360, 27366, 54354 et seq.))
  • Military discharge records (Gov. Code §§ 6107, 27337, 27360, 27366)
  • UCC financing statement records (Commercial Code § 13105; Gov. Code § 27360, 27366)

Data Available Online

MAKE A PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST

* Citations to law are provided for informational purposes only.  They do not represent an exhaustive list of applicable laws and regulations, which may also be amended or recodified from time to time.