Each county in the United States has a Clerk-Recorder's office or equivalent. These offices provide marriage licensing and notary services, as well as maintain archives of documents, including:
- Birth, death and marriage certificates
- Fictitious business name statements for that county
- Property records such as deeds and mortgage documents
- Liens
Many counties are making these records available online. Alameda County's Clerk-Recorder, for example, has an online database for records from 1969 to present. Records from 1853 (when the county was first incorporated) to 1969 are available on microfilm at the office itself.
Here's a short video of Mike Rice at the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder's office discussing how to navigate your way around the office's in-house index systems:
To learn more about the property documents and liens, check out our previous blog entries:
- Property Documents Overview
- Deeds
- Mortgages
- Assessments and Tax Payments
- Permits and Inspections
- Tax Liens
- Mechanics' Liens