Access Washington Public Records

The Washington Public Records Act enables all the residents of the state to stay informed about the records. The laws under this Act guarantees general public access to the public records that have been created by them and are stored by government bodies. There is a certain limit to the release of these information, thus a segment of these records are exempted from the public access. You can learn about these exemptions at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=42.56.210.

When you search Washington State public record, you need to know which records are covered. Records of important events of life that is birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates or Vital Records, records of unclaimed property, inmates in State prison, professional licenses etc are considered public records. Washington PRA enables everybody to request for these records. No statement of purpose is required to submit.

Request Vital Records

If you require birth record issued between July 1, 1907 and present date, visit http://www.doh.wa.gov/EHSPHL/CHS/issuing_co.htm. This is a list of all the counties and their location of office for the Department of Health. You can order for certificates online or visit the office in person. You can also request for the vital records from the Center of Health Statistics.

Vital records in Washington require one single form to make the request. The database of Vital Records holds death and birth records since 1907 and records of marriages and divorces since January, 1968. To make your request, download the request form from http://www.doh.wa.gov/EHSPHL/CHS/422-044.pdf. Enclose a check of $20 for each record and send to Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health, PO Box 9709
Olympia, WA 98507-9709. If you want an Heirloom Certificate, fee is $40.00. For your unanswered queries, you can call at 360-236-4300.

For expedited delivery, an additional fee is charged. For Express Mail, $17.50, FedEx within US mainland $15 and FedEx in Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, and Mexico, $25 is charged. If you want to collect the records in person, visit the office at Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health, 101 Israel Road SE, Tumwater, WA 98501. The office hours are Monday through Friday 8.00 am to 4.30 pm.

You can also place your request through phone or Fax. For Fax, download the form from http://www.doh.wa.gov/EHSPHL/CHS/422-056.pdf and send it to CHS at (360) 352 2586. It will require your credit card information and the address where the records will be sent to. To place the request over phone, call up at (360) 236-4313 or (360) 236-4312. The cost of each certificate is $31.50. Tariff for expedited delivery can be known from http://www.doh.wa.gov/EHSPHL/CHS/phonefax.htm. There is no provision to apply for the certificates online.

Other Records

Washington public records search other than vital documents include documents of unclaimed properties. To collect records of this segment, you need to check with Revenue Department. Go to http://ucp.dor.wa.gov/ and find out if your property is withheld by the department or not.

Records of professional licenses are also accessible to public. You can gather information on your license from http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/professionals.html. Whether you want to know about its status or date of renewal, everything can be obtained here.