Reviewed and updated October 4, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. Every office link on this page was opened and checked against the office's own website at review time.
Hayward is a city in Alameda County, California, with about 158,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its public records are split between the city and the county. The city keeps police reports, council records and its own licenses and permits; court cases, jail bookings, deeds and vital records are county or state records. This guide names the Hayward offices SearchSystems verified, links to each one's own website and gives the phone number and address where the office publishes them. SearchSystems verified 3 city office pages for Hayward, every one opened and checked.
In this guide: City or county, Police records, City Hall, Records requests, Other cities and Questions.
City or county record: where Hayward records are kept
- Kept by the City of Hayward: police reports, council and board meeting records, ordinances and the city's own licenses and permits.
- Kept by Alameda County or the state: court cases, jail bookings, deeds and property values and birth and death certificates. These are not city records; they are in the Alameda County public records guide under court records, jail lookups, property records and vital records.
Hayward police reports and records
Incident reports, crash reports and the other records of the Hayward police are requested from the department's records unit, usually in writing or through an online form. Reports on open investigations and the names of victims and juveniles are usually withheld or redacted, and some states limit crash reports to the people involved and their insurers. The page below is the one SearchSystems verified for Hayward police records.
- Website: hayward-ca.gov/services/city-services/submit-public-records-act-req... (page title: Submit a Public Records Act Request to the Hayward Police Department | City of Hayward)
- Phone: (510) 293-7267
- Checked: September 25, 2026, the page answered.
Jail bookings and inmate lookups are usually handled by the county, not the city police. They are in the Alameda County public records guide under jail and inmate lookups.
Hayward City Hall: departments, licenses and permits
Business licenses, building permits, code enforcement cases and the city's other records are kept by the department that issued them. The city's own website below lists its departments and how to reach them.
- Website: hayward-ca.gov/your-environment/get-involved/contact-us (page title: Contact us | City of Hayward)
- Phone: 510.583.4700
- Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Checked: September 25, 2026, the page answered.
Public records requests to Hayward
California public records law applies to the city government of Hayward. The city runs one records request page for its departments; it is the page below, verified by SearchSystems. A request that names a date, an address, or a report or case number is the easiest to answer.
- Website: hayward-ca.gov/services/city-services/submit-public-records-act-req... (page title: Submit a Public Records Act Request to the City of Hayward | City of Hayward)
- Phone: (510) 583-4400
- Checked: September 25, 2026, the page answered.
A record the request page does not cover is asked for from the office that holds it: the police records unit for police reports and the department that issued a permit or license for its records.
Other cities and towns in Alameda County
SearchSystems has a guide like this one for these other cities and towns in Alameda County. The Alameda County public records guide covers the records the county keeps for all of them.
Hayward Arrest Records
The Hayward arrest records guide covers the agency that reports Hayward's arrests to the FBI and the 1,987 arrests it reported for 2025. It also says where a person arrested in Hayward is held, how to find out about an arrest and how to get a copy of the report.
Hayward Records Guides
SearchSystems has nine more guides to Hayward, each written from the city's own offices and figures: Hayward warrants (who issues and serves them, where a person arrested on one is held, how to check for one), Hayward inmate search (the custody page of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, the jail numbers and who books people), Hayward criminal records (the court file, the California criminal history and the local arrest records), Hayward court records (which court hears what, the case search and who keeps the files), Hayward police reports (which agency holds a report and what the California Public Records Act requires), Hayward traffic tickets (which court takes the ticket, who writes them and the driving record), Hayward DUI (the DUI law, the arrest, the court case and the license case), Hayward divorce records (which court holds the file and how a certified copy is had) and Hayward property records (deeds, assessed values, permits and evictions).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the official Hayward website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records directory, online since 1997. It links to the official Hayward offices listed above, and the city's own website is hayward-ca.gov; SearchSystems does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.
How do I get a police report in Hayward?
Request it from the Hayward police records unit at hayward-ca.gov, phone (510) 293-7267. Reports on open investigations and the names of victims and juveniles are usually withheld or redacted.
Where do I find court records or jail bookings for Hayward?
Hayward cases are heard by the courts that serve Alameda County, and people arrested in Hayward are usually booked into the county jail. Both are covered in the Alameda County public records guide on SearchSystems.
How do I request a public record from Hayward?
Through the city's records request page at hayward-ca.gov, phone (510) 583-4400. A record it does not cover is requested from the office that holds it: the police records unit for police reports and the department that issued a permit or license for its records.