California, Orange County
Where Costa Mesa's records are kept. Costa Mesa has its own city government, clerk's office and police department; county and state offices keep its other public records.
Start here
The cards below include Costa Mesa's own offices, along with State of California offices; the Orange County offices are on our Orange County page. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.
Police & jail
The California Department of Justice sends people a copy of their own state criminal history to review: Live Scan or card fingerprints and a $25 fee are required, and third party requests are refused.
Open official site California DOJ Request Your Own Criminal RecordProperty records
Oversees how California's 58 county assessors apply property tax law, audits their practices, certifies appraisers and itself assesses utility and railroad property and pipelines spanning two or more counties.
Open official site California State Board of Equalization Property Tax DepartmentState records
The Secretary of State's archives holds over 105,000 cubic feet of California government records, maps and photographs, described in its Minerva catalog, including court, legislative, land grant and family history collections.
Open official site California State Archives CollectionsCounty court
Bankruptcy court for California's Central District, offering PACER lookup, online petitions, live chat with court staff and self help desks with pro bono help in each of its five divisions.
Open official site U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of CaliforniaCounty court
Judicial Branch guide to looking up a California case: county courts keep the records, so start on the court's website or with its clerk; juvenile and adoption files are confidential.
Open official site California Courts Self Help GuideState records
The California Department of Justice unit that helps police locate missing people and identify unknown persons; its missing persons database, searchable by name, county and description, holds a subset of reported cases.
Open official site California DOJ Missing and Unidentified Persons SectionPolice & jail
Wanted and missing person posters from the FBI Los Angeles Field Office, including Ten Most Wanted fugitives, Most Wanted Fraudsters and cases where agents seek information; tips go to tips.fbi.gov.
Open official site FBI Los Angeles Wanted and Missing PersonsPolice & jail
California Department of Justice listing of registered sex offenders that state law allows it to disclose; some registrants are left out, and registrants who use the search face a fine or jail.
Open official site California Megan's Law WebsiteFederal
Latest Census Bureau numbers for Costa Mesa city, California: population estimates, veterans, median household income, housing and businesses, built from Population Estimates, the decennial census and American Community Survey data.
Open official site U.S. Census Bureau QuickFactsCity records
Costa Mesa 311 issue reports, public notices, meetings, CMTV, tenant protections, rental assistance, residential permit parking and job openings are on the city site; City Hall is at 77 Fair Drive.
Open official site City of Costa MesaCity records
City Clerk's Office off the City Hall lobby at 77 Fair Drive, keeping council agendas and minutes, contracts, deeds, ordinances, resolutions, the municipal code and municipal election records.
Open official site Costa Mesa City Clerk's OfficePolice & jail
LAw enforcement services 99 Fair Drive Costa Mesa, CA 92626 714-754-5368
Open official site Costa Mesa Police DepartmentEverything else, organized
9 more Costa Mesa sources not listed above.
Local record guide
Local profile
Costa Mesa, a place of 111,918 people, is in Orange County, whose county seat is Santa Ana. Court and property records sit with Orange County, and birth and death certificates come from the State of California. Costa Mesa's own offices are in the cards above, and our Orange County page lists each county office.
Straight answers
Open only the answer you need.
Voter registration in California is run by the California Secretary of State and local election officials. Its site lists the registration deadline, online voter registration, polling places and the local election office for Costa Mesa.
Deeds for property in Costa Mesa are recorded by the Orange County Recorder, and the county office that assesses property keeps the tax values. Our Orange County page lists the county offices.
Certified birth and death certificates for events in California come from the state vital records office, California Department of Public Health Vital Records. Its site lists who may order a copy, the fee and how to order.
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.