Washington, King County
Where Des Moines's records are kept. Des Moines has its own city government and clerk's office; county and state offices keep its other public records.
Start here
The cards below include Des Moines's own offices, along with State of Washington offices; the King County offices are on our King County page. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.
Police & jail
Washington State Department of Corrections Mailing Address: Post Office Box 41100, Mail Stop 41100 Olympia, Washington 98504-1100 Physical Address: 7345 Linderson Way SW Tumwater, WA 98501-6504
Open official site Find An Offender StatewideState records
A division of the Office of the Secretary of State that preserves Washington's public records, offering online records, an archives catalog, Ask an Archivist help and five regional branches.
Open official site Washington State ArchivesCounty court
Hears bankruptcy cases from Washington west of the Cascades, between the Oregon line and Canada, at courthouses in Seattle and Tacoma; links cover PACER case lookup, proof of claim filing and document copies.
Open official site U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of WashingtonVital records
The Center for Health Statistics issues certified Washington birth, death, stillbirth, marriage and divorce certificates; online orders go through VitalChek, its only approved vendor, and office visits are by appointment.
Open official site Washington State Department of Health Vital RecordsPolice & jail
Department of Corrections search of people now incarcerated or wanted for arrest by the department, plus Washington's wanted list and a tips form; you must accept its terms before searching.
Open official site Washington Department of Corrections Incarcerated Data SearchPolice & jail
Posts active alerts and lists of missing children, Indigenous people and other missing persons, takes tips on a 24 hour toll free line and helps families once local police have a report.
Open official site Washington State Patrol Missing and Unidentified Persons UnitPolice & jail
Washington State Patrol list of wanted people with downloadable posters; do not contact anyone shown, since they may be armed, and call 911 or the agency listed with each person.
Open official site Washington State Patrol Most WantedPolice & jail
The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs explains state registration rules and risk levels and links the public registry at wasor.org, which shows Level II and III offenders and some Level I.
Open official site WASPC Registered Sex Offender InformationPolice & jail
WSP sells conviction records: an instant WATCH search online for $11, or mail requests by name for $32 or by fingerprints for $58; public results show convictions and recent arrests still pending.
Open official site Washington State Patrol Criminal History RecordsFederal
U.S. Census Bureau fact table for Des Moines city, Washington: current population estimates plus age, sex, housing, income and business figures drawn from the 2020 Census, American Community Survey and Economic Census.
Open official site U.S. Census Bureau QuickFactsCity records
Des Moines posts agendas, minutes and public notices and handles permits and licensing, bill payment, problem reports and public records requests, plus municipal court help.
Open official site City of Des MoinesCity records
Official records and public files 21630 11th Ave South Suite A Des Moines, WA 98198 Phone: (206) 870-6519 Fax: (206) 870
Open official site Des Moines City ClerkEverything else, organized
12 more Des Moines sources not listed above.
Local record guide
Local profile
Des Moines, a place of 32,888 people, is in King County, whose county seat is Seattle. Court and property records sit with King County, and birth and death certificates come from the State of Washington. Des Moines's own offices are in the cards above, and our King County page lists each county office.
Abandoned mine records
Where the workings are, and the office that holds the mine maps.
From the two federal mine files
The USGS mineral file records 1 named mine site inside the city or town limits, 1 of them worked out or abandoned. The mineral the records name is 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. Washington has no state abandoned mine land program page; the survey's coal mine maps are the record.
Please read: Everything here can be wrong. This is information, not a guarantee: the two federal files can be wrong, incomplete or out of date, the boundaries and the geocoder can be wrong, a point is a location and not a property line, and nothing on this page says that a mine is or is not under any particular property. Do not buy, sell, move, or make any decision about a home or about your safety on this alone. Ask the state mine map office named here for the maps, and have a qualified engineer look at the ground.
Straight answers
Open only the answer you need.
Voter registration in Washington is run by the Washington Secretary of State and local election officials. Its site lists the registration deadline, online voter registration, polling places and the local election office for Des Moines.
Deeds for property in Des Moines are recorded by the King County Auditor, and the county office that assesses property keeps the tax values. Our King County page lists the county offices.
Certified birth and death certificates for events in Washington come from the state vital records office, Washington Center for Health Statistics. Its site lists who may order a copy, the fee and how to order.
Businesses that operate in Des Moines register with the Washington Secretary of State, which runs the state business entity search. A local business license, where Des Moines requires one, comes from the town or King 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.