Washington, county records

Pierce County, Washington Public Records

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Find the right office in Pierce 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 Pierce 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

Property records

Pierce County Property Search

The Pierce County property search gives the owner, the parcel number, the legal description and the assessed value of each parcel in the county.

atip.piercecountywa.gov
Open official site Pierce County Property Search
Official

State records

Pierce County Voter Registration

The Pierce County Auditor's elections office holds the county's voter roll, takes new registrations and address changes, and runs the elections held in the county.

co.pierce.wa.us
Open official site Pierce County Voter Registration

Everything else, organized

More official Pierce County record sources

6 more Pierce County sources not listed above.

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Local record guide

About public records in Pierce County

County profile

Pierce County at a glance

State
Washington
County seat
Tacoma
Population
921,130
Area
1,806 sq mi
Founded
1852
Cities and towns
38

Pierce County offices and records

Sheriff & Law Enforcement. Pierce County Sheriff's Department is responsible for law enforcement in the unincorporated areas of Pierce County.

Police Departments. Pierce County is served by several law enforcement agencies, including Pierce County Sheriff's Department and municipal police departments such as the Tacoma Police Department, Lakewood Police Department, and Puyallup Police Department.

Law Enforcement & Arrests. Pierce County Sheriff's Department, headquartered at 3325 96th Street South, Lakewood, WA 98499 (phone: 253-798-7530), provides law enforcement services to unincorporated areas and contract policing to several cities. The Sheriff's website at www.piercecountywa.gov/121/Sheriff offers information on services, community programs, and public safety alerts. Pierce County operates Pierce County Jail and Detention and Corrections Center located at 910 Tacoma Avenue South, Tacoma, WA 98402.

Arrest Records. They are maintained by the arresting agency, primarily the County Sheriff's Office and municipal police departments.

• Phone: (253) 798-7530 Pierce County Planning and Public Works (2401 South 35th Street, Tacoma, WA 98409, phone: 253-798-6959) issues building permits, zoning approvals, and land use permits for unincorporated areas. Marriage licenses are issued by Pierce County Auditor's Office (2401 South 35th Street, Suite 130, Tacoma, WA 98409, phone: 253-798-7240) with a $64 fee and a three-day waiting period after issuance. Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer's Office (2401 South 35th Street, Tacoma, WA 98409, phone: 253-798-7432, website: www.co.Pierce County.wa.us/assessor) maintains property tax records, assessed valuations, property characteristics, sales history, and ownership information. Pierce County Superior Court, located at 930 Tacoma Avenue South, Room 334, Tacoma, WA 98402 (phone: 253-798-7550), handles felony criminal cases, civil cases over $100,000, family law matters including divorce and child custody, probate, and appeals from lower courts.

Abandoned mine records

Old mine workings in Pierce County

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

From the old mine records

What is on record in Pierce County

Old mine sites
169
Sites with no status in the records
7
Still producing
9
Main minerals
construction sand and gravel; Gold; Copper
Holes drawn on the old survey maps
375
Shafts and tunnels
13
What they are
gravel pit, borrow pit, adit, mine shaft
Maps surveyed
1948 to 1997
Records behind them
572 records for 560 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 185 named mine sites inside the county, 169 of them worked out or abandoned; the old survey maps add 375 holes drawn inside the county, 13 of them shafts or tunnels. The minerals the records name are construction sand and gravel; Gold; Copper.

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.

Pierce County: the boundary from the Census Bureau, and one dot for each old mine or hole on record inside it. Purple is a shaft or a tunnel. Hover a dot for its name.
Washington mine map and abandoned mine records
Named workings recorded in Pierce County (197 shown, 363 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.

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.

Straight answers

Pierce County public-records FAQs

Open only the answer you need.

Where can I find mugshots or booking photos in Pierce County, Washington?

Booking photos are kept by the agency that made the arrest, such as the Pierce County Sheriff or a city police department in Pierce County. Ask that agency for its record. Under RCW 70.48.100 the jail register (name, date, time and cause of confinement, and release) is open to the public, but other records of a person confined in jail are confidential and go only to criminal justice agencies and the others the law lists. Law enforcement may use booking photographs to investigate crimes, and photographs of people convicted of a sex offense may be released under the sex offender notification laws.

How do I get a criminal background check in Pierce County, Washington?

The Washington criminal history record comes from the Washington State Patrol, Identification and Background Check Section. Run a name and date of birth search online through WATCH (Washington Access to Criminal History), or send the Request for Conviction Criminal History form or a fingerprint card to PO Box 42633, Olympia WA 98504-2633. Fee: $11.00 for a WATCH name search online; $32.00 for the Request for Conviction Criminal History form; $58.00 for a fingerprint card.

How can I look up sex offenders in Pierce County, Washington?

Search the Washington Sex Offender Public Registry (Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs), 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 Pierce County, Washington?

Register with the county auditor (the county elections office; King County Elections in King County) or through the Washington Secretary of State. You can also register online with the state online registration. Online and mail registrations must be received 8 days before Election Day; you can register in person at a county elections office until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

How do I look up property records in Pierce County, Washington?

Deeds and other recorded land documents in Pierce County are kept by the Pierce County auditor. Property values are set by the county assessor, and tax bills come from the county treasurer. Source: official state page.

How do I get a birth or death certificate in Pierce County, Washington?

Certified birth and death certificates for Washington come from the Washington State Department of Health Vital Records. Local health departments in Washington also issue certificates; check with your local health department for the certificates it offers and whether it serves people in person. By mail with check or money order to PO Box 9709, Olympia, WA 98507, online or by phone through VitalChek, or in person by appointment at the Tumwater office. Fee: $25 for each certified or informational birth certificate.

How do I find business license records in Pierce County, Washington?

Business entity filings are searched with the Washington Secretary of State, Corporations and Charities Division. More than 200 cities and towns, and some counties for their unincorporated areas, issue their business license endorsements through the state Business Licensing Service at the Department of Revenue; a city or county not on its lists must be contacted directly.

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.

TacomaLakewoodPuyallupGrahamUniversity PlaceSpanawayBonney LakeEdgewoodGig HarborFifeSumnerDuPontOrtingMiltonFircrestSteilacoomBuckleyWaunaLongbranchFox IslandMcchord AfbEatonvilleAnderson IslandVaughnRustonRoyAshfordMckennaCarbonadoWilkesonKapowsinSouth PrairieLa GrandeCamp MurrayElbeLakebayLongmireParadise InnKitsap CountyLewis CountyMason CountyKing CountyYakima CountyThurston County