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Sonoma County, California Public Records

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Find the right office in Sonoma County. Court cases, deeds and parcels, sheriff and jail records, vital records and county filings, each linked to the office that keeps them.

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Most requested Sonoma County records

Every card below goes to the government office responsible for that record. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.

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Showing 12 official sources

Official

Police & jail

Sonoma County Criminal Information

Sheriff recruitment information. For warrants, criminal reports and arrest information, use the Sheriff records and search routes in the research guide below.

joinsonomasheriff.com
Open official site Sonoma County Criminal Information
Official

Court records

Divorces, Family Law court

The family law division of the Superior Court of California, County of Sonoma, hears divorce, custody, support and domestic violence cases, and the court clerk keeps the case files.

sonoma.courts.ca.gov
Open official site Divorces, Family Law court

Everything else, organized

More official Sonoma County record sources

6 more Sonoma County sources not listed above.

More county sources

Local record guide

About public records in Sonoma County

County profile

Sonoma County at a glance

State
California
County seat
Santa Rosa
Population
488,863
Area
1,576 sq mi
Founded
1850
Cities and towns
34

Sonoma County offices and records

Sheriff & Law Enforcement. Sonoma County Sheriff's Office is responsible for law enforcement services in the unincorporated areas of Sonoma County, as well as managing Sonoma County jail.

Police Departments. In addition to Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, several municipal police departments operate within Sonoma County. Each department serves its respective city, handling local law enforcement and collaborating with the Sheriff's Office on major investigations and regional crime issues.

Law Enforcement & Arrests. Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, headquartered at 2796 Ventura Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (phone: 707-565-2650, website: sonomasheriff.org), provides law enforcement services to unincorporated areas and contracts with several cities including Sonoma, Windsor, and Cloverdale. Municipal police departments operate independently in Santa Rosa (Santa Rosa Police Department, 965 Sonoma Avenue), Petaluma (Petaluma Police Department, 969 Petaluma Boulevard North), Rohnert Park, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, and Cotati. Arrest records and booking logs are public records under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6254(f)), which specifically identifies arrest logs as disclosable public information.

Criminal Records. Sonoma County Superior Court manages court records, while the Sheriff's Office maintains arrest and booking records.

Arrest Records. Arrest records in Sonoma County are maintained by Sonoma County Sheriff's Office and local police departments.

Jail & Inmate Records. Inmates can be located through an online inmate lookup tool provided by the Sheriff's Office.

Mugshots & Booking Photos. Mugshots in Sonoma County are taken and retained by Sonoma County Sheriff's Office during the booking process. These images are part of the arrest record and can be accessed through the Sheriff's Office or court records, depending on the case status.

Business license requirements in Sonoma County vary by city and by unincorporated area jurisdiction. Sonoma County of Sonoma Permit and Resource Management Department (PRMD) at 2550 Ventura Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (phone: 707-565-1900) handles business registration and permits for unincorporated areas. Sonoma County Tax Collector (phone: 707-565-2281) handles property tax payments and delinquency records. Sonoma County Recorder-Clerk-Assessor's Office, located at 585 Fiscal Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (phone: 707-565-2651, website: sonomacounty.ca.gov/recorder-clerk-assessor), maintains property and land records for the entire county as the official custodian of recorded documents. The Superior Court of California, County of Sonoma, is the trial court of general jurisdiction handling all criminal, civil, family, probate, juvenile, and traffic matters in Sonoma County. The main courthouse is located at the Hall of Justice, 600 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (phone: 707-565-2937, website: Sonoma County.courts.ca.gov). For vital records occurring outside Sonoma County or for expedited statewide searches, applicants may contact the California Department of Public Health, Vital Records Office in Sacramento (phone: 916-445-2684, website: cdph.ca.gov/programs/chsi/pages/vital records.aspx).

Abandoned mine records

Old mine workings in Sonoma County

Where the workings are, and the office that holds the mine maps.

From the old mine records

What is on record in Sonoma County

Old mine sites
175
Sites with no status in the records
85
Past producers, now closed
69
Prospects and occurrences, never worked
106
Producing when recorded
93
Worked underground, in the mine records
63
Main minerals
Mercury; construction sand and gravel; Chromium
Holes drawn on the old survey maps
137
Shafts and tunnels
16
What they are
quarry, prospect pit, gravel pit, adit
Maps surveyed
1943 to 1993
Records behind them
565 records for 490 sites, the rest are the same working written down more than once
Sources
USGS mineral file and USGS topographic mine features

Is an old working under a property here?

The mine records hold 353 mine sites inside the county: 69 past producers, now closed, 106 prospects or occurrences that were never worked, 93 sites producing when the record was made, 85 sites with no status in the record; the old survey maps add 137 holes drawn inside the county, 16 of them shafts or tunnels. The minerals the records name are Mercury; construction sand and gravel; Chromium.

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.

Marin County Napa County Santa Rosa Sea Ranch Petaluma Guerneville Bodega Bay Bloomfield Windsor Rohnert Park Timber Cove N 20 miles
Sonoma County: the boundary from the Census Bureau, and one dot for each old mine or hole on record inside it. The purple dots come off the old survey maps and the darkest of those are shafts and tunnels; the red, green and orange ones are mine records. The small open circles with a name are the towns and the pale shapes around the edge are the neighbouring counties, both from the Census Bureau. Hover a dot for its name.
California mine map and abandoned mine records
Named workings recorded in Sonoma County (218 shown, 153 more named and 119 unnamed on the map)

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.

California abandoned mine maps ranks every county and town in the state by the workings recorded inside it, names the office that holds the mine maps, and says what to do if the ground moves.

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.

Know before you ask

Sonoma County records: the figures and the rules

Each figure below was read on the official source linked beside it, October to November 2026. A fee or rule the source does not state is left out rather than guessed, and offices can change their schedules, so confirm on the source before you pay or travel.

What copies cost

Birth certificate
$34 through county Health for its covered years.source
Death certificate
$26 death certificate; fetal-death certificate USD 23 is a different product.source
Divorce record copy
$15 certified dissolution judgment; other court products differ.source

Deadlines and the law

The law behind it
California Public Records Act, Cal. Gov. Code section 7922.535(a)-(b)source

Who holds what

Deeds and recording
Sonoma County Clerk-Recordersource
Statewide court case search
Individual Superior Court portalsLocal court determines online civil, criminal, family, probate and traffic coverage.

Sonoma abbreviated indexes, record images and separate certificate offices

The Recorder search instructions describe an online index from 1964, with older handwritten indexes available at the office. Before 2010, business words may appear in abbreviated form; from 2010, the index follows the wording on the instrument. Try both the full business name and period-appropriate abbreviations when a search crosses that boundary. The online index is not the whole image collection, and a missing exact-name match should not end an older land search.

Order the selected court papers and the required authentication

Superior Court Records handles nonconfidential records from active and disposed criminal, civil and family matters. Give the case number and name the order, judgment or filing required. For a closed matter, specify whether exhibits or a transcript are also sought; they are not necessarily included with a docket or order copy. The court publishes a separate request process for these materials.

Read the current court request form before estimating cost

The court copy-request form revised July 17, 2026 lists $0.50 per page, a $15 search fee, $40 certification and a separate $15 certified dissolution-judgment charge. It also distinguishes exemplification and off-site retrieval. Identify the actual document and requested seal before applying a charge; the special dissolution product is not the general certification price for every case.

Choose Health or the Clerk by the event year

Sonoma Vital Statistics issues births for the current and preceding year and sends older requests to the County Clerk. Its current birth-certificate charge is $34. Authorized and informational copies serve different purposes, and an informational copy cannot establish identity. The office also directs amendments to the state forms; ordering a new copy does not correct the underlying registration.

Keep a death certificate distinct from a Sheriff investigation

The county death-certificate page lists $26 for a death certificate and $23 for a fetal-death certificate. It explains the informational-copy alternative and its use limits. For investigative material, the Sheriff Central Information Bureau is the separate Records Unit route for reports and related requests. Provide the event date and report number, if known, rather than assuming the certificate includes the police or coroner narrative.

Read each Sheriff search according to what it displays

Sheriff reports and statistics separates current jail searches, warrant information and crime-event mapping. A map location can be generalized for privacy; it is not an exact address finding about a named person. Current custody does not establish the disposition of a court charge. The California records guide explains the separate state criminal-history review route when a local report or jail entry does not answer the question.

Where to go

Sonoma County offices that hold the records

Each office below was read on its own site. A field the office does not publish is left out rather than filled in from a directory.

Superior Court Records Department

Nonconfidential court copies and related record requests.

Address
625 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Phone
707-521-6670

Office page: sonoma.courts.ca.gov

Sheriff Central Information Bureau

Sheriff report and records requests.

Phone
707-565-2204
Hours
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding closures

Office page: sonomasheriff.org

Labor Department file

Wage and hour cases in Sonoma County

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division closed 224 investigations in Sonoma County since fiscal 2005 and recorded $2,134,336 in back wages agreed for 1,294 workers. The county is the one the Census Bureau puts each employer's ZIP code in. Snapshot of April 22, 2026; a case here is a finding by the Division, not a court judgment.

Investigations closed
224
Back wages agreed
$2,134,336
Workers due back wages
1,294
Civil money penalties
$391,184
Employers on the record
183
EmployerCityCasesBack wagesWorkers
O'Reilly Media Inc.Sebastopol2$174,31362
El Charro Casita Inc.Santa Rosa3$147,95529
Monte Verde HomeSanta Rosa1$125,64717
Sonoma Valley PlasteringSonoma1$120,91529
Sarah's Group HomesSanta Rosa3$118,72235
Genevie Dream Home Inc.Sonoma1$104,5326
Kingsbourgh Atlas Tree SurgerySanta Rosa1$96,969188
Westside Mechanical, IncorporatedCotati1$88,02316
Rincon Valley Gardens, LLCSanta Rosa1$73,9308
Vino Farms, LLCHealdsburg4$55,18015
R.T. Angel, Inc.Santa Rosa1$54,6137
NADHAM Inc.Santa Rosa1$51,89613
Hoen's Care HomeSanta Rosa1$51,5514
Al Lewis TruckingSanta Rosa2$49,68218
The Mystical RoseSanta Rosa1$45,9287
Pacific Heating & AirRohnert Park1$43,2594
KC Vineyards Management inc.Fulton1$39,74316
Agave Mexican Restaurant and Bar, Inc.Healdsburg1$35,7283
Luciani Pump Company Inc.Healdsburg1$35,53910
Humberto Castaneda ProduceFulton1$31,10223
Buckingham Residential Care HomeWindsor1$26,63012
Saint Josephs Health System -SonomaSanta Rosa1$25,63115
Standards of ExcellenceRhonert Park2$24,78668
Wilkinson Adobe House Senior Housing, LLCPetaluma1$22,50016
Mora's Boots, Inc.Santa Rosa1$19,4987

The 25 employers with the most back wages agreed, of 183 on the Sonoma County record; 66 employers have a page of their own and open from the table, the rest show their whole record here. The 158 more with smaller records are on the California wage theft records page, whose search answers for every employer in the state.

Straight answers

Sonoma County public-records FAQs

Open only the answer you need.

Where can I find mugshots or booking photos in Sonoma County, California?

Booking photos are kept by the agency that made the arrest, such as the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office or a city police department in Sonoma County. Ask that agency for its record. Under Penal Code 13665, a police department or sheriff's office may not share on social media the booking photos of a person arrested on suspicion of a nonviolent crime unless an exception applies, and must remove booking photos it shared on social media within 14 days unless an exception still applies.

How do I get a criminal background check in Sonoma County, California?

The California criminal history record comes from the California Department of Justice. Record Review of your own record only: submit fingerprint images through Live Scan and follow the DOJ Record Review instructions. Fee: $25 processing fee to the DOJ, plus the Live Scan agency's fingerprint fee; a fee waiver may be available.

How can I look up sex offenders in Sonoma County, California?

Search the California Megan's Law Website (Department of Justice), or every state at once on the National Sex Offender Public Website run by the U.S. Department of Justice.

How do I register to vote in Sonoma County, California?

Register with the county elections official (county elections office or registrar of voters) or through the California Secretary of State. You can also register online with the state online registration. The deadline to register is 15 days before Election Day; after that, same day (conditional) registration and voting is available at the county elections office.

How do I look up property records in Sonoma County, California?

Deeds and other recorded land documents in Sonoma County are kept by the Sonoma County Recorder. Property values are set by the County Assessor, and tax bills come from the County Tax Collector. Source: official state page.

How do I get a birth or death certificate in Sonoma County, California?

Certified birth and death certificates for California come from the California Department of Public Health, Vital Records (CDPH VR). Copies may be obtained in person at the county office (County Registrar or Recorder) where the birth was registered, for events in that county. By mail with form VS 111 to California Department of Public Health, Vital Records, MS 5103, P.O. Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410, or in person at the county office where the event was registered; since July 1, 2026 CDPH VR no longer accepts applications sent through online third party vendors. Fee: $31 for each certified copy of a birth record.

How do I find business license records in Sonoma County, California?

Business entity filings are searched with the California Secretary of State (bizfile Online). Most California cities and counties require a business license, permits or registration to do business within their limits.

Why might a Sonoma business name fail in an older land search?

The Recorder used abbreviations in earlier indexes; try the historical abbreviation as well as the full name.

Does Sonoma land indexing begin with its oldest records?

No. The online index starts in 1964, while older material has office indexes.

Does Sonoma Health issue birth certificates for every year?

It handles the current and preceding year and directs older copies to the County Clerk.

What is the current Sonoma Health birth-copy charge?

The reviewed county page lists $34 per certificate.

Is Sonoma court certification always $40?

No. The court form separately lists a $15 certified dissolution-judgment product.

Does a Sonoma death certificate contain the Sheriff case file?

No. Investigative records require a separate request through the Sheriff Records Unit.

Does the Sonoma Sheriff crime map reveal an exact incident address?

The map generalizes locations for privacy; do not use its point as an exact-address finding.

Is the existing Join Sonoma Sheriff link a records search?

It is a recruitment website; use the records and search routes for investigative information.

Same county

Cities, towns and neighboring counties

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.

Santa RosaPetalumaRohnert ParkWindsorHealdsburgCloverdaleCotatiSebastopolBoyes Hot SpringsGuernevilleForestvilleEl VeranoCamp MeekerPenngroveGratonBodega BayOccidentalGlen EllenGeyservilleMonte RioFultonEldridgeKenwoodBodegaCazaderoJennerAnnapolisDuncans MillsRio NidoStewarts PointThe Sea RanchValley FordVilla GrandeVineburgMarin CountyContra Costa CountyNapa CountySolano CountyLake CountyMendocino County