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.
Ferndale is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, 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 Ferndale offices SearchSystems verified, links to each one's own website and gives the phone number and address where the office publishes them. SearchSystems verified 3 city office pages for Ferndale, 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 Ferndale records are kept
- Kept by the City of Ferndale: 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.
Ferndale police reports and records
Incident reports, crash reports and the other records of the Ferndale 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 Ferndale police records.
- Website: cityofferndale.org/248/Police-Support-Services (page title: Police Support Services | Ferndale, WA)
- Phone: 360-384-3390
- Hours: Tuesday to Thursday, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- 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 Whatcom County public records guide under jail and inmate lookups.
Ferndale 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: cityofferndale.org (page title: Ferndale, WA)
- Checked: September 25, 2026, the page answered.
Public records requests to Ferndale
Washington public records law applies to the city government of Ferndale. 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: cityofferndale.org/182/Public-Records-Request (page title: Public Records Request | Ferndale, WA)
- Phone: 360-685-2354
- Address: 2095 Main St., Ferndale, WA 98248
- 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 police records unit for police reports and the department that issued a permit or license for its records.
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.
Ferndale Arrest Records
The Ferndale arrest records guide covers the agency that reports Ferndale's arrests to the FBI and the 187 arrests it reported for 2025. It also says where a person arrested in Ferndale is held, how to find out about an arrest and how to get a copy of the report.
Ferndale Records Guides
SearchSystems has nine more guides to Ferndale, each written from the city's own offices and figures: Ferndale warrants (who issues and serves them, where a person arrested on one is held, how to check for one), Ferndale inmate search (the custody page of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, the jail numbers and who books people), Ferndale criminal records (the court file, the Washington criminal history and the local arrest records), Ferndale court records (which court hears what, the case search and who keeps the files), Ferndale police reports (which agency holds a report and what the Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) requires), Ferndale traffic tickets (which court takes the ticket, who writes them and the driving record), Ferndale DUI (the DUI law, the arrest, the court case and the license case), Ferndale divorce records (which court holds the file and how a certified copy is had) and Ferndale property records (deeds, assessed values, permits and evictions).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the official Ferndale website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records directory, online since 1997. It links to the official Ferndale offices listed above, and the city's own website is cityofferndale.org; SearchSystems does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.
How do I get a police report in Ferndale?
Request it from the Ferndale police records unit at cityofferndale.org, phone 360-384-3390. 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 Ferndale?
Ferndale cases are heard by the courts that serve Whatcom County, and people arrested in Ferndale 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 Ferndale?
Through the city's records request page at cityofferndale.org/182/Public-Records-Request, phone 360-685-2354. A record it does not cover 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.