California, county records

Sonoma County, California Public Records

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Find the right office in Sonoma 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 Sonoma 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

Court records

Divorces, Family Law court

The family law division of the Superior Court of California, County of Sonoma, hears divorce, custody, support and domestic violence cases, and the court clerk keeps the case files.

sonoma.courts.ca.gov
Open official site Divorces, Family Law court

Everything else, organized

More official Sonoma County record sources

6 more Sonoma County sources not listed above.

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Local record guide

About public records in Sonoma County

County profile

Sonoma County at a glance

State
California
County seat
Santa Rosa
Population
488,863
Area
1,576 sq mi
Founded
1850
Cities and towns
34

Sonoma County offices and records

Sheriff & Law Enforcement. Sonoma County Sheriff's Office is responsible for law enforcement services in the unincorporated areas of Sonoma County, as well as managing Sonoma County jail.

Police Departments. In addition to Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, several municipal police departments operate within Sonoma County. Each department serves its respective city, handling local law enforcement and collaborating with the Sheriff's Office on major investigations and regional crime issues.

Law Enforcement & Arrests. Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, headquartered at 2796 Ventura Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (phone: 707-565-2650, website: sonomasheriff.org), provides law enforcement services to unincorporated areas and contracts with several cities including Sonoma, Windsor, and Cloverdale. Municipal police departments operate independently in Santa Rosa (Santa Rosa Police Department, 965 Sonoma Avenue), Petaluma (Petaluma Police Department, 969 Petaluma Boulevard North), Rohnert Park, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, and Cotati. Arrest records and booking logs are public records under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6254(f)), which specifically identifies arrest logs as disclosable public information.

Criminal Records. Sonoma County Superior Court manages court records, while the Sheriff's Office maintains arrest and booking records.

Arrest Records. Arrest records in Sonoma County are maintained by Sonoma County Sheriff's Office and local police departments.

Jail & Inmate Records. Inmates can be located through an online inmate lookup tool provided by the Sheriff's Office.

Mugshots & Booking Photos. Mugshots in Sonoma County are taken and retained by Sonoma County Sheriff's Office during the booking process. These images are part of the arrest record and can be accessed through the Sheriff's Office or court records, depending on the case status.

Business license requirements in Sonoma County vary by city and by unincorporated area jurisdiction. Sonoma County of Sonoma Permit and Resource Management Department (PRMD) at 2550 Ventura Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (phone: 707-565-1900) handles business registration and permits for unincorporated areas. Sonoma County Tax Collector (phone: 707-565-2281) handles property tax payments and delinquency records. Sonoma County Recorder-Clerk-Assessor's Office, located at 585 Fiscal Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (phone: 707-565-2651, website: sonomacounty.ca.gov/recorder-clerk-assessor), maintains property and land records for the entire county as the official custodian of recorded documents. The Superior Court of California, County of Sonoma, is the trial court of general jurisdiction handling all criminal, civil, family, probate, juvenile, and traffic matters in Sonoma County. The main courthouse is located at the Hall of Justice, 600 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (phone: 707-565-2937, website: Sonoma County.courts.ca.gov). For vital records occurring outside Sonoma County or for expedited statewide searches, applicants may contact the California Department of Public Health, Vital Records Office in Sacramento (phone: 916-445-2684, website: cdph.ca.gov/programs/chsi/pages/vital records.aspx).

Abandoned mine records

Old mine workings in Sonoma County

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

From the old mine records

What is on record in Sonoma County

Old mine sites
175
Sites with no status in the records
85
Still producing
93
Worked underground, in the mine records
63
Main minerals
Mercury; construction sand and gravel; Chromium
Holes drawn on the old survey maps
137
Shafts and tunnels
16
What they are
quarry, prospect pit, gravel pit, adit
Maps surveyed
1943 to 1993
Records behind them
565 records for 490 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 353 named mine sites inside the county, 175 of them worked out or abandoned; the old survey maps add 137 holes drawn inside the county, 16 of them shafts or tunnels. The minerals the records name are Mercury; construction sand and gravel; Chromium.

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.

Sonoma County: the boundary from the Census Bureau, and one dot for each old mine or hole on record inside it. The purple dots come off the old survey maps and the darkest of those are shafts and tunnels; the red, green and orange ones are mine records. Hover a dot for its name.
California mine map and abandoned mine records
Named workings recorded in Sonoma County (218 shown, 153 more named and 119 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

Sonoma County public-records FAQs

Open only the answer you need.

Where can I find mugshots or booking photos in Sonoma County, California?

Booking photos are kept by the agency that made the arrest, such as the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office or a city police department in Sonoma County. Ask that agency for its record. Under Penal Code 13665, a police department or sheriff's office may not share on social media the booking photos of a person arrested on suspicion of a nonviolent crime unless an exception applies, and must remove booking photos it shared on social media within 14 days unless an exception still applies.

How do I get a criminal background check in Sonoma County, California?

The California criminal history record comes from the California Department of Justice. Record Review of your own record only: submit fingerprint images through Live Scan and follow the DOJ Record Review instructions. Fee: $25 processing fee to the DOJ, plus the Live Scan agency's fingerprint fee; a fee waiver may be available.

How can I look up sex offenders in Sonoma County, California?

Search the California Megan's Law Website (Department of Justice), 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 Sonoma County, California?

Register with the county elections official (county elections office or registrar of voters) or through the California Secretary of State. You can also register online with the state online registration. The deadline to register is 15 days before Election Day; after that, same day (conditional) registration and voting is available at the county elections office.

How do I look up property records in Sonoma County, California?

Deeds and other recorded land documents in Sonoma County are kept by the Sonoma County Recorder. Property values are set by the County Assessor, and tax bills come from the County Tax Collector. Source: official state page.

How do I get a birth or death certificate in Sonoma County, California?

Certified birth and death certificates for California come from the California Department of Public Health, Vital Records (CDPH VR). Copies may be obtained in person at the county office (County Registrar or Recorder) where the birth was registered, for events in that county. By mail with form VS 111 to California Department of Public Health, Vital Records, MS 5103, P.O. Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410, or in person at the county office where the event was registered; since July 1, 2026 CDPH VR no longer accepts applications sent through online third party vendors. Fee: $31 for each certified copy of a birth record.

How do I find business license records in Sonoma County, California?

Business entity filings are searched with the California Secretary of State (bizfile Online). Most California cities and counties require a business license, permits or registration to do business within their limits.

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.

Santa RosaPetalumaRohnert ParkWindsorHealdsburgCloverdaleCotatiSebastopolBoyes Hot SpringsGuernevilleForestvilleEl VeranoCamp MeekerPenngroveGratonBodega BayOccidentalGlen EllenGeyservilleMonte RioFultonEldridgeKenwoodBodegaCazaderoJennerAnnapolisDuncans MillsRio NidoStewarts PointThe Sea RanchValley FordVilla GrandeVineburgMarin CountyContra Costa CountyNapa CountySolano CountyLake CountyMendocino County