Free public records in California start with a simple rule: any person can walk into a state or local agency during business hours and inspect records at no cost. The California Public Records Act (Government Code sections 7920.000 through 7931.000) presumes government records are open, and a growing set of state and county databases lets you search common records online without filing a formal request. Copies, custom data pulls, and a handful of restricted record types are where fees appear.
What’s Free and What Costs Money
Inspecting records in person at an agency’s office is always free. You can show up during business hours, ask to see files, take notes, and photograph pages with your phone at no charge.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code Section 7922.525 Costs enter when you ask the agency to produce copies for you.
Paper copies are limited to the “direct cost of duplication.” Courts have read that to mean the actual expense of running the copier, typically 10 to 25 cents per page. Staff time spent searching, retrieving, or redacting is not chargeable. If an agency tries to bill you for search-and-retrieval labor on paper records, that fee isn’t permitted.
Electronic records are where people get tripped up. If the agency already stores a record as a PDF, spreadsheet, or database file, it must give you a copy in that existing format, and the duplication cost is minimal or nothing.2California Legislative Information. California Government Code Section 7922.570 But if your request requires the agency to compile data from multiple systems, write custom queries, or do programming work, you bear the full cost of that production, including programmer time and computer services.3California Legislative Information. California Government Code Section 7922.575 Those charges can run into hundreds or thousands of dollars. Ask for a written cost estimate before you commit, and narrow the request if the number comes back high.
Certified copies of vital records and recorded property documents carry statutory per-copy fees regardless of format. Those are covered further down.
State Databases You Can Search for Free Online
Several high-demand records are already posted in searchable databases. Checking these first saves you the back-and-forth of a formal request.
Business Entity Records
The California Secretary of State’s bizfile Online portal searches every registered corporation, LLC, and limited partnership in the state. You can pull entity status, filing history, and free PDF copies of formation documents and recent Statements of Information across more than 17 million filings.4California Secretary of State. bizfile Online Search
Campaign Finance and Lobbying
The Secretary of State’s CAL-ACCESS system tracks state-level contributions and expenditures. Its Power Search tool is the fastest way to see who donated to a candidate or ballot measure, with data going back to 2001.5California Secretary of State. Power Search For lobbying activity, officeholder accounts, and committee expenditures Power Search doesn’t cover, the main CAL-ACCESS portal handles the rest.6California Secretary of State. Campaign and Lobbying
Financial Disclosures by Public Officials
Every elected official and public employee who influences government decisions files a Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700) disclosing their financial interests. The Fair Political Practices Commission hosts a searchable database of state-level filings, with a separate search path for statements filed with local agencies.7California Fair Political Practices Commission. Form 700 Search
Professional Licenses
The Department of Consumer Affairs runs a free license lookup covering accountants, physicians, nurses, psychologists, engineers, and dozens of other regulated professions. Each record shows whether a license is current or expired and whether the holder has faced discipline such as suspension or revocation.8CA.gov. DCA License Search A few boards, including the Contractors State License Board and the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, run separate search tools on their own sites.
County Records: Courts, Property, and Vital Records
Many of the records people actually want are held by county offices rather than the state. The formats vary by county, but the categories are consistent.
Court Case Files
Each Superior Court clerk maintains filings for civil, criminal, family law, probate, and small claims cases.9Judicial Branch of California. Who Where How Viewing a Courts Electronic Case Records Many counties offer free online case indexes where you can look up case numbers, parties, hearing dates, and filing histories. Actual document copies generally require a courthouse visit or the court’s electronic filing system, and per-page copy fees apply.
Property Ownership and Assessments
The County Assessor’s office holds the assessment roll: each parcel’s assessed value, ownership information, and Assessor’s Parcel Number. Most counties publish a free online GIS map or parcel search for this data. The County Recorder’s office holds recorded documents like deeds, liens, and easements; inspecting the recorder’s index is free, but certified copies carry per-page fees.
Birth, Death, and Marriage Certificates
Vital records are handled by the County Clerk-Recorder, and California draws an important line here. State law limits full “authorized” certified copies to the person named on the record, their parents, spouse, children, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, domestic partner, or a legal representative. Everyone else gets an “informational” copy stamped with a notice that it isn’t valid for establishing identity.
As of January 1, 2026, Assembly Bill 64 set statewide fees for certified vital record copies: $34 for a birth certificate, $26 for a death certificate, and $19 for a marriage certificate.10OC Clerk Recorder Department. Vital Records New Fees Effective January 1 2026 Those are statutory, so they don’t vary by county.
Filing a Public Records Act Request
When the record you want isn’t already online, the CPRA gives you a direct route to ask for it. You don’t need to be a California resident, a U.S. citizen, or a journalist. Any person can request records from any state or local agency, and agencies are prohibited from asking why you want them.
Oral requests are allowed, but a written request creates a paper trail if disputes arise later. A workable request includes:
- The name of the agency and, if you know it, the department or division that holds the records
- A specific description of what you want; “all emails between Director Smith and the budget office regarding the 2025 contract with XYZ Corp” gets you further than “all documents about XYZ Corp”
- Your preferred format, especially if you want electronic copies rather than paper
Agencies are required to help you narrow or refocus an unclear request. Larger agencies typically have a designated CPRA coordinator or an online request portal, and using the official intake channel speeds processing.
Once the agency receives your request, it has 10 calendar days to tell you whether it holds disclosable records and, if so, when to expect them.11California Legislative Information. California Government Code Section 7922.535 That’s a determination deadline, not a production deadline; the records themselves may follow later depending on volume. In unusual circumstances (an unusually broad request, records stored off-site, or the need to consult another agency), the agency can extend the deadline by up to 14 additional calendar days by notifying you in writing with a specific date. An agency that blows past both deadlines without any response is violating the law.
The burden falls on the agency, not on you. To withhold a record, it must either point to an express statutory exemption or show that the public interest in secrecy clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure.12California Legislative Information. California Government Code Section 7922.000 Common exemptions cover personnel and medical files whose release would invade personal privacy, preliminary drafts and internal memos the agency doesn’t retain in the ordinary course of business, and records that would compromise an active criminal investigation. Even when an exemption applies to part of a document, the agency must release any reasonably separable non-exempt portions. A whole file can’t be withheld because one paragraph is sensitive.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code Section 7922.525
What You Can’t Get for Free (or at All)
A few categories sit outside the free-access model, and knowing where the lines are keeps you from wasting a request.
Another person’s criminal history is not available to the general public. The California Department of Justice maintains the state’s criminal records database, but background checks are restricted to law enforcement, authorized employers, and licensing agencies. You cannot request someone else’s rap sheet as a private citizen.13State of California. Criminal Records Request Your Own You can request your own by submitting fingerprints to the DOJ with a $25 processing fee; fee waivers are available for qualifying individuals. For information about a specific criminal case rather than a person’s full history, the Superior Court case index is the right route, since criminal court filings are generally public.
Certified authorized copies of vital records are limited to the family members and representatives listed above. Anyone else can still buy an informational copy at the same statutory price, but it won’t work as proof of identity.
Custom data compilations aren’t free either. If your request would require the agency to build something that doesn’t already exist as a stored file, expect a bill for programming and computer time.
If Your Request Is Denied
Agencies deny CPRA requests more often than they should, and many denials fold under pressure. Start by reading the written response carefully. It must identify the specific exemption the agency is relying on. A vague refusal citing “privacy” or “confidentiality” without pointing to a statute isn’t legally sufficient.
Push back in writing first. Ask the agency to identify the exact code section, explain why the exemption applies to your particular records, and release any non-exempt portions. A well-crafted follow-up often resolves the issue without further escalation.
If the agency won’t budge, you can file a court action, either a petition for a writ of mandate or a proceeding for injunctive or declaratory relief, in any court with jurisdiction over the agency.14California Public Law. California Government Code Section 7923.000 Courts handle CPRA cases on an expedited basis, and the agency carries the burden of justifying its withholding. If you prevail, the CPRA entitles you to recover your attorney fees from the agency, which makes it realistic to challenge an improper denial even against a well-funded government legal department.