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.
East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, with about 26,000 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 East Chicago 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 East Chicago, every one opened and checked.
In this guide: City or county, City Hall, Records requests, Other cities and Questions.
City or county record: where East Chicago records are kept
- Kept by the City of East Chicago: council and board meeting records, ordinances and the city's own licenses and permits.
- Kept by Lake 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 Lake County public records guide under court records, jail lookups, property records and vital records.
East Chicago 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: eastchicago.com/289/Building-Corporation (page title: Building Corporation | East Chicago, IN)
- Address: 4525 Indianapolis Boulevard East Chicago, IN 46312
- Checked: September 25, 2026, the page answered.
Public records requests to East Chicago
Indiana public records law applies to the city government of East Chicago. 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: eastchicago.com/DocumentCenter/View/155/Request-for-Access-to-Publi... (page title: Pursuant to the Indiana Access to Public Records Act (Indiana Code 5-14-3))
- 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 department that issued a permit or license for its records.
Other cities and towns in Lake County
SearchSystems has a guide like this one for these other cities and towns in Lake County. The Lake County public records guide covers the records the county keeps for all of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the official East Chicago website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records directory, online since 1997. It links to the official East Chicago offices listed above, and the city's own website is eastchicago.com; SearchSystems does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.
Where do I find court records or jail bookings for East Chicago?
East Chicago cases are heard by the courts that serve Lake County, and people arrested in East Chicago are usually booked into the county jail. Both are covered in the Lake County public records guide on SearchSystems.
How do I request a public record from East Chicago?
Through the city's records request page at eastchicago.com. 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.