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.
Portsmouth is a city in Scioto County, Ohio, with about 17,000 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 Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth, every one opened and checked.
In this guide: City or county, Police records, City Hall, Records requests and Questions.
City or county record: where Portsmouth records are kept
- Kept by the City of Portsmouth: police reports, council and board meeting records, ordinances and the city's own licenses and permits.
- Kept by Scioto 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 Scioto County public records guide under court records, jail lookups, property records and vital records.
Portsmouth police reports and records
Incident reports, crash reports and the other records of the Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth police records.
- Website: portsmouthohpd.gov (page title: Portsmouth Police Department)
- Phone: (740) 354-5538
- 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 Scioto County public records guide under jail and inmate lookups.
Portsmouth 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: business.portsmouth.org/list/member/city-of-portsmouth-231.htm (page title: City of Portsmouth | Government | Government)
- Phone: (740) 354-8807
- Address: 728 Second Street Portsmouth OH 45662
- Checked: September 25, 2026, the page answered.
Public records requests to Portsmouth
Ohio public records law applies to the city government of Portsmouth. A record that is not posted online 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. A request that names a date, an address, or a report or case number is the easiest to answer.
Portsmouth Arrest Records
The Portsmouth arrest records guide covers the agency that reports Portsmouth's arrests to the FBI and the 615 arrests it reported for 2025. It also says where a person arrested in Portsmouth is held, how to find out about an arrest and how to get a copy of the report.
Portsmouth Records Guides
SearchSystems has eight more guides to Portsmouth, each written from the city's own offices and figures: Portsmouth warrants (who issues and serves them, where a person arrested on one is held, how to check for one), Portsmouth inmate search (the jail page of the Scioto County Sheriff's Office, the jail numbers and who books people), Portsmouth criminal records (the court file, the Ohio criminal history and the local arrest records), Portsmouth court records (which court hears what, the case search and who keeps the files), Portsmouth police reports (which agency holds a report and what the Ohio Public Records Act requires), Portsmouth traffic tickets (which court takes the ticket, who writes them and the driving record), Portsmouth DUI (the OVI law, the arrest, the court case and the license case) and Portsmouth property records (deeds, assessed values, permits and evictions).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the official Portsmouth website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records directory, online since 1997. It links to the official Portsmouth offices listed above, and the city's own website is business.portsmouth.org; SearchSystems does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.
How do I get a police report in Portsmouth?
Request it from the Portsmouth police records unit at portsmouthohpd.gov, phone (740) 354-5538. 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 Portsmouth?
Portsmouth cases are heard by the courts that serve Scioto County, and people arrested in Portsmouth are usually booked into the county jail. Both are covered in the Scioto County public records guide on SearchSystems.
How do I request a public record from Portsmouth?
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. Ohio public records law applies to city governments.