Washington Public Records
The State of Washington provides many websites where residents and former residents can obtain specific types of information, whether it is a vital record or a certificate. The State of Washington also has an official website for the reporting of registered sex offenders.
Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records
If you need to obtain a birth certificate, a death certificate, a marriage certificate or divorce records, the Center for Health Statistics within the Washington State Department of Health issues certified copies of these records so long as they occurred in the State of Washington. Birth and death records are available from July 1, 1907 onwards, and marriage and divorce records are available from 1968 onwards.
The proper form must be printed out, completed and mailed to:
Washington Department of Health
Center for Health Statistics
Town Center 1
101 Israel Road SE
Tumwater, WA 98501
Email ContactCHS@doh.wa.gov
Phone: (360) 236-4300
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Walk-in Same Day Service if you cannot wait for the certificate to arrive in the mail.
Driving Record Information
Need to obtain a copy of your Washington State driving record? The Washington State Department of Licensing handles these requests. Once there, you will see a list of different types of records you can request and how to obtain them.
Property Tax and Land Records
The Department of Revenue of Washington State handles all property taxation issues. If you want more information regarding property tax, you can visit their site to apply for an exemption or a deferral or find out more information about valuation and tax rates.
Individual counties have information on local properties, so you will need to navigate to the website of the individual county where the property is located in order to find more specific information. This link provides a list of the various counties which will take you to their websites.
Court Cases and Documents
The Washington Courts have a website where you can access court records, find a court date, and search for attorneys on a particular case.
Criminal Record Checks
If you need to have a criminal record check completed, the Washington State Patrol provides you with all of the information you will need to obtain this record. They maintain the state's database of people that have been convicted of a felony.
Registered Sex Offenders
The State of Washington does not maintain an official state run website for the registration of sex offenders. You can obtain information from the National Sex Offender Public Website located here or you can navigate to each county sheriff’s office website for more detailed information. This link does navigate to a site that looks similar to the Sex Offender Registry of many states but you will need to know which county that the offender resides in. Once you have that information, you can select a county to be taken to their individual website where a registry is maintained of offenders residing in that specific county.