Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Whatcom County, Washington, has about 235,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In Washington the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the County Clerk; the statewide criminal history kept by the Washington State Patrol is open to anyone who asks. This guide says where each record of a criminal case from Whatcom County is kept and how it is seen.
This guide covers the court file, the statewide record, local arrest records, the crimes behind the records, the prosecutor, sex offender registry, records requests and common questions.
Related guides: Whatcom County public records, Whatcom County arrest records, Whatcom County warrants, Whatcom County inmate search, Whatcom County court records, Washington arrest records and Washington inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Whatcom County Superior Court
A criminal case from Whatcom County is filed in the Whatcom County Superior Court or the District Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic infractions, small claims and civil cases up to $100,000, and the court file, kept by the County Clerk, is the record of it that the public may see.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at dw.courts.wa.gov (page title: Find My Court Date | WA.gov), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, Washington Courts Search Case Records is the Administrative Office of the Courts' free statewide case search.
The Washington Criminal History and Your Own Copy
Washington is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: WATCH lets anyone search conviction records by name online, for $12 a search, through the Washington State Patrol. The result is the repository record, what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it. The search is on the Washington State Patrol site.
Arrest Records Kept Locally in Whatcom County
The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Bellingham, Lynden, Ferndale, Blaine, Everson and Sumas keep the arrest records in Whatcom County: the report and the booking record of each arrest stay with the agency that made it, separate from the court file and from the state repository.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Whatcom County: Western Washington University (campus police); it keeps the records of its own arrests.
Together, the six agencies in Whatcom County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,498 arrests to the FBI that year; how each case ended is in the court file, not in the arresting agency's.
The agencies and their counts, year by year, are in Whatcom County arrest records.
The Crimes Behind the Records: Whatcom County in 2025
The six agencies in Whatcom County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 433 violent and 4,080 property crimes to the FBI that year; the same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 4,513 crimes in 2025 against 5,259 in 2024. Each reported crime is a report on file with the agency that took it, and each arrest that follows is the start of a criminal record.
The full crime section, agency by agency, is on the Whatcom County public records guide.
The Prosecuting Attorney for Whatcom County
Charges in Whatcom County are filed by the Prosecuting Attorney, which reviews the arrests of every agency in the county and brings the cases in the Whatcom County Superior Court or the District Court.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at whatcomcounty.us/304/Prosecuting-Attorney (page title: Prosecuting Attorney's Office | Whatcom County, WA), phone 360-410-6365, 311 Grand Ave., Ste. 201 Bellingham, WA 98225, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Whatcom County
Registered sex offenders living in Whatcom County are listed on the Washington Sex Offender Registry, run by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. Level 2 and Level 3 offenders are listed online; Level 1 offenders are not.
Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department.
Asking an Agency in Whatcom County for a Record
An arrest report, a booking record or a local criminal history letter comes from the agency that holds it, not from the court.
Under the Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) a county office must answer a request within 5 business days, and it may charge for copies at 15 cents a page, and set fees for electronic records. The county records request page SearchSystems verified is at whatcomcounty.us/3044/Public-Records-Request---Sheriffs-Office (page title: Records Request | Sheriff's Office | Whatcom County, WA).
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Whatcom County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Washington State Patrol: WATCH lets anyone search conviction records by name online, for $12. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Public Records Act (RCW 42.56).
Can I search Whatcom County criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at dw.courts.wa.gov (page title: Find My Court Date | WA.gov). Statewide, Washington Courts Search Case Records is the Administrative Office of the Courts' free statewide case search.
How do I get my own Washington criminal history?
Through the same WATCH search, run on yourself.
Who prosecutes crimes in Whatcom County?
The Prosecuting Attorney, reached at 360-410-6365, which files its cases in the Whatcom County Superior Court or the District Court.
Is this the official Whatcom County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.