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.
Cortez is a city in Montezuma County, Colorado, with about 9,200 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its public records are split between the city and the county. The city keeps 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 Cortez offices SearchSystems verified, links to each one's own website and gives the phone number and address where the office publishes them. SearchSystems verified 2 city office pages for Cortez, every one opened and checked.
In this guide: City or county, City Hall, Records requests and Questions.
City or county record: where Cortez records are kept
- Kept by the City of Cortez: council and board meeting records, ordinances and the city's own licenses and permits.
- Kept by Montezuma 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 Montezuma County public records guide under court records, jail lookups, property records and vital records.
Cortez 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: cortezco.gov (page title: Cortez, CO)
- Phone: 970-564-4008
- Address: 123 Roger Smith Ave. Cortez, CO 81321
- Hours: Monday - Thursday 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
- Checked: September 26, 2026, the page answered.
Public records requests to Cortez
Colorado public records law applies to the city government of Cortez. 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: cortezco.gov/210/Records-Services (page title: Records Services | Cortez, CO)
- Phone: 970-565-8441
- Address: 608 N. Park Street, Cortez, CO 81321
- Hours: Monday through Thursday 7:00am-5:00pm
- Checked: September 26, 2026, the page answered.
A record the request page does not cover is asked for from the office that holds it: the department that issued a permit or license for its records.
Cortez Arrest Records
The Cortez arrest records guide covers the agency that reports Cortez's arrests to the FBI and the 1,561 arrests it reported for 2025. It also says where a person arrested in Cortez is held, how to find out about an arrest and how to get a copy of the report.
Cortez Records Guides
SearchSystems has eight more guides to Cortez, each written from the city's own offices and figures: Cortez warrants (who issues and serves them, where a person arrested on one is held, how to check for one), Cortez inmate search (the jail page of the Montezuma County Sheriff's Office, the jail numbers and who books people), Cortez criminal records (the court file, the Colorado criminal history and the local arrest records), Cortez court records (which court hears what, the case search and who keeps the files), Cortez traffic tickets (which court takes the ticket, who writes them and the driving record), Cortez DUI (the DUI law, the arrest, the court case and the license case), Cortez divorce records (which court holds the file and how a certified copy is had) and Cortez property records (deeds, assessed values, permits and evictions).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the official Cortez website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records directory, online since 1997. It links to the official Cortez offices listed above, and the city's own website is cortezco.gov; SearchSystems does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.
Where do I find court records or jail bookings for Cortez?
Cortez cases are heard by the courts that serve Montezuma County, and people arrested in Cortez are usually booked into the county jail. Both are covered in the Montezuma County public records guide on SearchSystems.
How do I request a public record from Cortez?
Through the city's records request page at cortezco.gov/210/Records-Services, phone 970-565-8441. A record it does not cover is requested from the office that holds it: the department that issued a permit or license for its records.