Public Records

Obtaining Public Records in California

The California Public Records Act gives every person the right to inspect and obtain copies of public records.
For a quick overview of the Act, see the Pocket Guide.

Copies of many real estate records in San Diego County can be purchased online at the Grantor/Grantee Index. Older records are available by mailing a request along with a check to cover the cost of copying. Copies are $1 per page, but you may enclose a signed blank check, made payable to San Diego County Assessor and write on it "value not to exceed $25" (or whatever you think the maximum amount might be). The Assessor/Recorder's office will fill in the correct amount. See these example public records request form letters:



Generic public records requests:
RecordRequestForm_Generic.doc
Requests for older recorded documents:
RecordRequestForm_SanDiegoRecorded.doc


Some records are available on this site. See topics to the left.