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.
Bellingham is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, with about 96,000 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 Bellingham 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 Bellingham, 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 Bellingham records are kept
- Kept by the City of Bellingham: police reports, council and board meeting records, ordinances and the city's own licenses and permits.
- Kept by Whatcom 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 Whatcom County public records guide under court records, jail lookups, property records and vital records.
Bellingham police reports and records
Incident reports, crash reports and the other records of the Bellingham 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 Bellingham police records.
- Website: cob.org/gov/dept/police/about-police/records-bureau (page title: Records Bureau | City of Bellingham)
- Phone: (360) 778-8000
- Address: 210 Lottie Street Bellingham, WA 98225
- Checked: September 26, 2026, the page answered.
Jail bookings and inmate lookups are usually handled by the county, not the city police. They are in the Whatcom County public records guide under jail and inmate lookups.
Bellingham 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: cob.org/about/contacts (page title: Contacts | City of Bellingham)
- Phone: (360) 778-8000
- Address: 210 Lottie St, Bellingham, WA 98225
- Checked: September 25, 2026, the page answered.
Public records requests to Bellingham
Washington public records law applies to the city government of Bellingham. 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.
Other cities and towns in Whatcom County
SearchSystems has a guide like this one for these other cities and towns in Whatcom County. The Whatcom County public records guide covers the records the county keeps for all of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the official Bellingham website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records directory, online since 1997. It links to the official Bellingham offices listed above, and the city's own website is cob.org; SearchSystems does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.
How do I get a police report in Bellingham?
Request it from the Bellingham police records unit at cob.org, phone (360) 778-8000. 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 Bellingham?
Bellingham cases are heard by the courts that serve Whatcom County, and people arrested in Bellingham are usually booked into the county jail. Both are covered in the Whatcom County public records guide on SearchSystems.
How do I request a public record from Bellingham?
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. Washington public records law applies to city governments.