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For San Francisco public records, identify the custodian before searching. Use the County Clerk for Clerk-held certificates and filings, and the Assessor-Recorder for recorded property instruments such as deeds of trust, liens, reconveyances and maps.
San Francisco public records: start with the office that actually keeps the record split early between the County Clerk and Assessor-Recorder
A broad San Francisco public-records search becomes much easier once the record type is identified. The County Clerk is the practical starting point for public marriage-related filings, fictitious business names, environmental filings and several professional registrations. Those records answer questions about personal-status or business filings, but they are not the same collection as recorded real-estate instruments.
For a deed of trust, lien, reconveyance, map or similar recorded instrument, move to the Assessor-Recorder. Its office maintains the permanent recorded-document archive. That distinction matters because searching the wrong office can produce an empty result even when a record exists elsewhere in city government.
Match the San Francisco question to the record family
Business filing
Is the question about a DBA or professional registration?
Use the County Clerk collection and keep the filed name or registration type with the result.
Property instrument
Are you tracing a deed, lien or reconveyance?
Use the Recorder path and preserve the recording identifiers rather than relying on a property-address note alone.
Certificate
Are you looking for a marriage, birth or death certificate?
Start with the Clerk service that matches the certificate and follow that service’s eligibility rules instead of treating it like a general records request.
Build a San Francisco result that another researcher can repeat
1
Name the record before the personDecide whether the target is a Clerk filing, a recorded instrument, or a different city-department record.2
Open the office-specific searchUse the County Clerk service for Clerk-held filings or the Assessor-Recorder route for recorded instruments.3
Capture the filing identifiersKeep the document type, names, recording details or certificate category that tie the result to a specific repository.4
Request a copy only after the match is stableOnce the index result is specific enough, choose a regular or certified copy only if the downstream use actually requires it.What a San Francisco search result can establish
| Result | Reasonable use | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| County Clerk filing | Confirms an entry in a Clerk-maintained record family | That the Assessor-Recorder or another city department was searched |
| Recorder index hit | Locates a recorded property instrument for follow-up | That every fact about the property or parties appears in that instrument |
| Document copy | Provides the contents of the selected filing | That a certified copy was obtained unless certification was specifically ordered |