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.
Oakland is a city in Alameda County, California, with about 444,000 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 Oakland 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 Oakland, 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 Oakland records are kept
- Kept by the City of Oakland: 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.
Oakland police reports and records
Incident reports, crash reports and the other records of the Oakland 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 Oakland police records.
- Website: oaklandca.gov/Public-Safety-Streets/Police/Request-a-Police-Report (page title: Request a Police Report | City of Oakland, CA)
- Phone: (510) 238-7143
- 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.
Oakland 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: oaklandca.gov/Government/City-Council-Leadership/City-Hall (page title: City Hall | City of Oakland, CA)
- Checked: September 25, 2026, the page answered.
Public records requests to Oakland
California public records law applies to the city government of Oakland. 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: oaklandca.gov/Government/Public-Records (page title: Public Records | City of Oakland, CA)
- Phone: (510) 238-3612
- 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the official Oakland website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records directory, online since 1997. It links to the official Oakland offices listed above, and the city's own website is oaklandca.gov; SearchSystems does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.
How do I get a police report in Oakland?
Request it from the Oakland police records unit at oaklandca.gov, phone (510) 238-7143. 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 Oakland?
Oakland cases are heard by the courts that serve Alameda County, and people arrested in Oakland 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 Oakland?
Through the city's records request page at oaklandca.gov/Government/Public-Records, phone (510) 238-3612. 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.