The toolkit. Free public-record searches for Washington.

Property and liens, Washington

• King County Recorder, Landmark Web Deeds, deeds of trust, liens, by name. Enter "Last, First."
• Recording Activity Notification (RANS) Free email alert when anything is recorded under a name.
• King County Assessor, eReal Property Value, taxpayer, sales history. Address or parcel only.
• King County Parcel Viewer Map to parcel to report.
• Snohomish County recorded documents Free account required since March 2026.
• Pierce County Auditor, ARMS Grantor and grantee search; images redacted online.
• Washington UCC search (Dept. of Licensing) Secured lenders and collateral; browse mode catches IRS liens.
• Washington State Digital Archives Recording indexes, vital records, old court files.
• NETR Public Records Online Directory (every county recorder and assessor in the U.S.) Assessor and recorder links for every county in the country.

Businesses and licenses, Washington

• Secretary of State, CCFS Search by governor or registered agent; filings download free.
• Dept. of Revenue business lookup Trade names and sole proprietors that CCFS never sees.
• Labor & Industries, Verify Contractors: bond, insurance, principals, violations.
• Dept. of Licensing, professional licenses Real estate, appraisers, investigators, notaries.
• Dept. of Health credential search Every licensed health provider, with discipline.
• Washington State Bar directory Lawyers, status and discipline.
• DFI license verification Lenders, money transmitters, crypto platforms, advisers.
• NMLS Consumer Access Mortgage originators and money-services firms.
• FINRA BrokerCheck and SEC IAPD Brokers and investment advisers, with complaint history.

Courts and judgments

• Washington Courts name search Statewide index, all court levels. Index only; outcomes are in the file.
• King County Superior Court Clerk, KC Script Dockets and documents from November 2004. Per-page fees; $10 request fee from October 2026.
• Odyssey Portal 37 counties including Snohomish, with a judgment search.
• PACER Federal civil, criminal and bankruptcy dockets. Ten cents a page; free under $30 a quarter.
• CourtListener RECAP Free copies of PACER documents others have bought.
• judyrecords Hundreds of millions of local jurisdiction U.S. cases, keyword-searchable. Freemium
• Federal Bureau of Prisons locator Anyone federally incarcerated since 1982.

Unclaimed property, estates, vehicles

• Washington unclaimed property Search and claim free; held in perpetuity.
• NAUPA / MissingMoney Every other state at once.
• King County probate files Via KC Script; search the decedent's name.
• FAA aircraft registry Owner name and address by tail number, public.
• Coast Guard documented vessels (PSIX) Vessel particulars; owner names withheld since 2018.

When the entity is out of state

• OpenCorporates Tick "officers," search the person's name, and see every company they sit on in any registry.
• NASS registry directory The official registry for each state. A Wyoming, Nevada, Delaware or New Mexico filing usually means someone paid for privacy.
• OCCRP registry index Company registers worldwide, by country.
• OCCRP Aleph Leaks, sanctions lists and registries in one search. Tiered access since December 2025.
• ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database Officers, intermediaries and shell companies from the Panama, Paradise and Pandora Papers, searchable by name.
• North Data European filings, officers and insolvencies. Freemium.
• SEC EDGAR full-text search If the debtor ran or sat on the board of a public company, the filings say what they were paid and what they sold.

Finding the person

• EnformionGO A data-broker report without the broker's paperwork. Free tier; the closest the public gets to what we use.
• Melissa Lookups Addresses, phones, property and a rough household income. Credits, after a one-time verification fee.
• Whoxy WHOIS history Who registered a website before they learned to hide it, and what else they own.
• Wayback Machine The company website as it read before the lawsuit.
• Washington Digital Newspapers A million pages of the state's press, searchable.
• Seattle Public Library databases Newspaper archives and business directories, free with a card, from home.
• OnlineSearches directory Links to the local record custodian in any county.

Report a fraud

• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center File within hours for a chance at a freeze.
• Washington DFI complaint Investments, lenders, money transmitters, crypto.
• Washington Attorney General Consumer complaints against Washington businesses.
• FTC ReportFraud Feeds the national database investigators and prosecutors use.
• SEC tips and complaints Securities; CFTC for commodities and crypto derivatives.

This page is general information, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for a lawyer or a title report. Statutes cited are Washington's unless noted. Last verified September 2026.