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.
Des Moines is a city in King County, Washington, with about 33,000 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 Des Moines 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 Des Moines, 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 Des Moines records are kept
- Kept by the City of Des Moines: police reports, council and board meeting records, ordinances and the city's own licenses and permits.
- Kept by King 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 King County public records guide under court records, jail lookups, property records and vital records.
Des Moines police reports and records
Incident reports, crash reports and the other records of the Des Moines 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 Des Moines police records.
- Website: desmoineswa.gov/436/Request-Information-from-Des-Moines-Poli (page title: Request Information from Des Moines Police Department | Des Moines, WA)
- Phone: 206-870-7603
- 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 King County public records guide under jail and inmate lookups.
Des Moines 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: desmoineswa.gov (page title: Des Moines, WA)
- Checked: September 25, 2026, the page answered.
Public records requests to Des Moines
Washington public records law applies to the city government of Des Moines. 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 King County
SearchSystems has a guide like this one for these other cities and towns in King County. The King County public records guide covers the records the county keeps for all of them.
Des Moines Arrest Records
The Des Moines arrest records guide covers the agency that reports Des Moines's arrests to the FBI and the 620 arrests it reported for 2025. It also says where a person arrested in Des Moines is held, how to find out about an arrest and how to get a copy of the report.
Des Moines Records Guides
SearchSystems has nine more guides to Des Moines, each written from the city's own offices and figures: Des Moines warrants (who issues and serves them, where a person arrested on one is held, how to check for one), Des Moines inmate search (the jail page of the King County Sheriff's Office, the jail numbers and who books people), Des Moines criminal records (the court file, the Washington criminal history and the local arrest records), Des Moines court records (which court hears what, the case search and who keeps the files), Des Moines police reports (which agency holds a report and what the Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) requires), Des Moines traffic tickets (which court takes the ticket, who writes them and the driving record), Des Moines DUI (the DUI law, the arrest, the court case and the license case), Des Moines divorce records (which court holds the file and how a certified copy is had) and Des Moines property records (deeds, assessed values, permits and evictions).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the official Des Moines website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records directory, online since 1997. It links to the official Des Moines offices listed above, and the city's own website is desmoineswa.gov; SearchSystems does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.
How do I get a police report in Des Moines?
Request it from the Des Moines police records unit at desmoineswa.gov, phone 206-870-7603. 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 Des Moines?
Des Moines cases are heard by the courts that serve King County, and people arrested in Des Moines are usually booked into the county jail. Both are covered in the King County public records guide on SearchSystems.
How do I request a public record from Des Moines?
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.