Maryland People Search

Maryland keeps court cases, property assessments and land records in statewide systems, so a search can start with these six offices before going to a county.

• Maryland Judiciary Case SearchDistrict and circuit court cases statewide by party name
• SDAT Real Property Data SearchEvery parcel in the 24 jurisdictions, by address, account or map
• MDLandRec, Maryland Land RecordsRecorded deeds, mortgages and liens; free account needed
• SDAT Business Entity SearchCorporations, LLCs, partnerships and trade names
• DPSCS Inmate LocatorPeople in state prisons and Baltimore pretrial detention
• Maryland Sex Offender RegistryKept by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services

Summary: SDAT (property) and Case Search (courts) are statewide, so most Maryland searches do not need to go county by county.

Maryland keeps its main public records at the state level instead of in each courthouse or assessor office. It has 24 local jurisdictions: 23 counties and Baltimore City, which is independent of any county.

The Secretary of State keeps a few more records on people:

• Maryland Secretary of StateNotaries, charities, trademarks and executive orders

Maryland operates a four-tiered court system: the Supreme Court of Maryland, the Appellate Court, the Circuit Courts (which handle major civil cases, serious crimes, and family law), and the District Courts (which handle minor crimes, traffic violations, and landlord-tenant disputes).

District and circuit court cases from every county can be searched in one place, Maryland Judiciary Case Search, linked in Where to Look.

• Maryland CourtsCourt directory, forms, rules and records help

In Maryland the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT), not county assessors, values all property, so one database covers every parcel. It is searched by address, account number or map and parcel, not by owner name. Deeds are kept by the clerk of the circuit court of each county and shown online on MDLandRec. Both are linked in Where to Look.

SDAT also keeps business entity records, so one agency covers both property and businesses; its business search is linked in Where to Look. Professional licenses are issued by boards under the Maryland Department of Labor.

• Maryland Department of Labor license lookupOccupational and professional licenses from the state boards

The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) runs the state prisons and keeps the sex offender registry, both linked in Where to Look. County detention centers are run by each county.

Maryland vital records are tightly controlled. The Division of Vital Records limits access to birth certificates to the individual and immediate family. Death certificates are similarly restricted until they become historic.

• Maryland Division of Vital RecordsBirth, death, marriage and divorce certificates for eligible requesters

Maryland law prohibits the commercial use of voter registration lists. While individuals can check their own polling place, bulk voter data is heavily restricted.

• Maryland Voter SearchCheck your own registration and polling place

Maryland was one of the original 13 colonies, and the Maryland State Archives holds records from colonial land grants to old court dockets.

• Maryland State ArchivesPermanent government records back to the colonial era
• Plats.net, Maryland State ArchivesLand survey, subdivision and condominium plats

Case Search shows dockets, but case files, land records and marriage licenses are kept by the clerk of the circuit court of each county. The most populous areas:

The DC Suburbs

These counties border Washington, D.C.:

• Circuit Court for Montgomery CountyRockville; the most populous county
• Circuit Court for Prince George's CountyUpper Marlboro; the Seventh Judicial Circuit
• Circuit Court for Howard CountyEllicott City
• Circuit Court for Frederick CountyFrederick; offices, hours and dockets

Baltimore Metro

Baltimore City and Baltimore County are two separate governments, each with its own circuit court.

• Circuit Court for Baltimore CountyTowson; the suburbs around the city
• Circuit Court for Baltimore CityThe courts and clerk for the city itself
• Circuit Court for Anne Arundel CountyAnnapolis, the state capital

Two points to keep in mind with the statewide systems:

Research Tip: SDAT cannot be searched by owner name. If you know a likely address, an SDAT search shows the owner. Case Search can be searched by name statewide, and MDLandRec by name county by county.

Common Mistake: paying a commercial data broker for Maryland deeds. MDLandRec is a free official service of the Judiciary and the Maryland State Archives; you only need to create an account.

Maryland records are open by law, with protections for victims of crime.

Privacy Tip: Maryland’s Safe at Home Address Confidentiality Program allows victims of domestic violence to use a substitute address to shield their actual physical location from public records like SDAT and voter rolls.

The state operates under the Maryland Public Information Act (PIA), which dictates that government records are open unless specifically exempted. Also, Maryland has enacted the Maryland Second Chance Act, allowing for the "shielding" of certain non-violent misdemeanor convictions from public view on Case Search, meaning an empty Case Search result does not perfectly guarantee a clean record.