Rhode Island, Providence County
Where Cranston's records are kept. Cranston has its own city government, police department, municipal court, clerk's office and permit and planning office; the town clerk keeps land records and copies of birth and death certificates.
Start here
The cards below include Cranston's own offices, along with State of Rhode Island offices; the Providence County offices are on our Providence County page. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.
City records
City of Cranston, Rhode Island, with City Hall at 869 Park Avenue, online tax payments, a city directory, the municipal code, City Clerk records and meeting calendars.
Open official site City of CranstonPolice & jail
Cranston Police Department website with online police report filing, community resources, program information, forms and resources, and reports and logs for residents and businesses.
Open official site Cranston Police DepartmentPolice & jail
The Cranston Police Records Division at 5 Garfield Avenue holds all police reports filed with the department and handles report copies, background checks and crash reports, with a records request form.
Open official site Cranston Police Records DivisionMunicipal court
Cranston Municipal Court at 5 Garfield Avenue hears certain state moving traffic violations, local ordinance offenses such as parking and zoning, and minimum housing code cases; the clerk's office opens weekdays.
Open official site Cranston Municipal CourtCity records
The Cranston City Clerk, also clerk of the Probate Court and Recorder of Deeds, records land evidence, issues certified birth, death and marriage records and marriage and dog licenses.
Open official site City Clerk/Records & LicensesCity records
Cranston Building Inspections and Zoning, now at the rear of 155 Gansett Avenue, enforces the Rhode Island State Building Code and posts the statewide permit fee schedule and building appeals forms.
Open official site Building InspectionPolice & jail
FBI wanted posters, from the Ten Most Wanted list to fugitives, terrorism suspects, kidnapped and missing persons, bank robbers and seeking information cases; tips go to tips.fbi.gov.
Open official site FBI Most WantedVital records
Issues certified Rhode Island birth, death and marriage records at 6 Harrington Road, Cranston, for $22 in person or $25 by mail; any city or town hall also issues birth certificate copies.
Open official site Rhode Island Department of Health Center for Vital RecordsVital records
USAGov explains how to get certified copies of birth and death certificates, copies of marriage and divorce records, and replacements for lost or stolen government ID cards.
Open official site USAGov Guide to Copies of Vital Records and IDsCounty court
The federal judiciary's national index of district, bankruptcy and appellate court cases. Searching needs a free PACER account; pages cost $0.10, capped at $3 per document, with quarterly charges of $30 or less waived.
Open official site PACER Case LocatorFederal
USAGov sends you to your state's unclaimed property office, which holds most unclaimed money, and to federal searches for back wages, pensions, IRS refunds, savings bonds and deposits from failed banks.
Open official site USAGov Guide to Unclaimed MoneyVital records
The Social Security Administration explains survivor benefits, monthly payments to eligible relatives of workers who paid Social Security taxes before death, including who qualifies, possible amounts and when to report a death.
Open official site Social Security Survivor BenefitsPolice & jail
U.S. Department of Justice search of public sex offender registries from every state, territory and many tribes by name or ZIP code; address radius searches cover only states that send coordinates.
Open official site Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public WebsiteFederal
USAGov explains checking your registration through Can I Vote, which opens your state's election website, and advises doing it before the state deadline, which can be up to 30 days before an election.
Open official site USAGov Guide to Confirming Voter RegistrationCounty court
Federal judiciary guide to finding a case in PACER: search the court where it was filed for current data, or the nationwide PACER Case Locator, updated daily. A PACER account is required.
Open official site PACER Find a CaseState records
More than 10 million letters, photographs and state documents at 33 Broad Street, Providence, free and open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; search birth, marriage and death records or book a research appointment.
Open official site Rhode Island State ArchivesCourt records
The bankruptcy court for Rhode Island explains how to get case information and copies of filed documents, through PACER or from the clerk's office in Providence.
Open official site U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Rhode IslandCounty court
Rhode Island's state courts, from the Supreme Court to the Traffic Tribunal, with the Public Portal for finding cases, hearing calendars, court forms, opinions and Judicial Records Center requests.
Open official site Rhode Island JudiciaryEverything else, organized
15 more Cranston sources not listed above.
Local record guide
Local profile
Cranston, a place of 82,934 people, is in Providence County, whose county seat is Providence. Cranston's town clerk keeps its land records and copies of birth and death certificates, and court cases go through the Rhode Island state courts. Cranston's own offices are in the cards above, and our Providence County page lists each county office.
Abandoned mine records
Where the workings are, and the office that holds the mine maps.
From the old mine records
The mine records hold 4 named mine sites inside the city or town limits, 2 of them worked out or abandoned; the old survey maps add 16 holes drawn inside the city or town limits, 0 of them shafts or tunnels. The minerals the records name are Graphite; construction sand and gravel.
A point in either file is a location, not a property line: the sheet shows the opening on the surface, not the rooms under it. The record that shows what runs under a parcel is the mine map. The OSMRE National Mine Map Repository holds scanned underground mine maps and answers requests for a named mine or an area. No state page on mines or abandoned mines was found; Rhode Island has no active state geological survey site for this.
Rows taken off the old survey maps open the USGS record of what sits at that spot, because no single feature on those maps has a page of its own. Rows from the mine records open their own USGS page.
Disclaimer: The mine information here is for general information only. Old mine records can be incomplete, outdated or wrong, and finding nothing here does not mean there is nothing there. Check with the mine map office named here before you rely on it, and have a qualified engineer look at any ground you are worried about. PublicRecordCenter.com assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or consequences arising from the use of this information.
Straight answers
Open only the answer you need.
Voter registration in Rhode Island is run by the Rhode Island Department of State and local election officials. Its site lists the registration deadline, online voter registration, polling places and the local election office for Cranston.
Certified birth and death certificates for events in Rhode Island come from the state vital records office, Rhode Island Center for Vital Records, and the town or city clerk can also issue copies. The state office's site lists who may order a copy, the fee and how to order.
Businesses that operate in Cranston register with the Rhode Island Department of State, which runs the state business entity search. A local business license, where Cranston requires one, comes from the town or Providence County.
Same county
Use the city page when a record was created by a municipal police department or city office; use the county page for courts, deeds, vital records and jail custody.