Contra Costa County, California Public Records

Booking photos are kept by the agency that made the arrest, such as the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff or a city police department in Contra Costa 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Its service description covers the current and previous calendar year. Request older local certificates from the Clerk-Recorder.

The dated Clerk fee table lists $38 per certified copy. Optional payment or delivery charges are separate.

No. The marriage-copy schedule lists $23 for a certified copy of an existing record; licensing is a separate service.

The records notice says in-person requests are unavailable until further notice. Follow its current ordering instructions even though a new office address is listed.

The file-order page distinguishes those requests. Select the criminal-record route instead of submitting a criminal request as a noncriminal order.

The Court notice reports unavailable online minutes, documents and orders. Obtain the needed document through the clerk rather than treating a case listing as the signed order.

Use the Assessor for assessment information. The Clerk-Recorder is the separate custodian for recorded deeds and liens.

The courthouse instructions state 4 p.m. for filing windows and 3 p.m. for answered telephone calls. Building access has a different closing time.