California, Marin County
Where San Rafael's records are kept. San Rafael 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 San Rafael's own offices, along with State of California offices; the Marin County offices are on our Marin County page. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.
Property 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
Sits in San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Rosa and San Jose and posts judges' and 341 meeting calendars, local rules, forms and guidance for people filing without an attorney.
Open official site U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern 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 GuideVital records
Order certified California birth, death and marriage records from the state Office of Vital Records, with forms, fees and processing times.
Open official site California Department of Public Health Vital RecordsState 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
FBI San Francisco Field Office posters for wanted fugitives, kidnapped and missing persons, cyber suspects and cases where agents ask the public for information; tips can be sent through tips.fbi.gov.
Open official site FBI San Francisco 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 WebsitePolice & 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 RecordCity records
City of San Rafael site with City Hall at 1400 Fifth Avenue, council agendas and ways to participate, a public meetings calendar, public records requests, building permits and applications, elections and emergency alerts.
Open official site City of San RafaelCity records
City legal records and files City Hall, Room 209 1400 Fifth Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901 Phone: 415-485-3066 Fax: 415-485
Open official site San Rafael City ClerkPolice & jail
San Rafael Police Department, with the incident reports, record requests and contacts the department publishes.
Open official site San Rafael Police DepartmentEverything else, organized
10 more San Rafael sources not listed above.
Local record guide
Local profile
San Rafael, a place of 61,271 people, is the seat of Marin County. Court and property records sit with Marin County, and birth and death certificates come from the State of California. San Rafael's own offices are in the cards above, and our Marin County page lists each county office.
Abandoned mine records
Where the workings are, and the office that holds the mine maps.
From the old mine records
The mine records hold 7 named mine sites inside the city or town limits, 5 of them worked out or abandoned; the old survey maps add 3 holes drawn inside the city or town limits, 0 of them shafts or tunnels. The minerals the records name are Clay; Stone; crushed stone.
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.
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
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 San Rafael.
Deeds for property in San Rafael are recorded by the Marin County Recorder, and the county office that assesses property keeps the tax values. Our Marin 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.