The California Public Records Act (PRA) gives every person the right to access public records in the physical custody of the Secretary of State unless the records are exempt from disclosure by law. (Government Code section 7920.000 et seq.).
Public records are any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by the Secretary of State regardless of physical form or characteristics. (Government Code section 7920.530(a)).
The Secretary of State only is able to provide records related to our office and is not the contact for records held by other State agencies unless transferred to the State Archives due to applicable records retention criteria including age and State historical significance.
The Secretary of State is not required to compile data, gather information, perform research, or otherwise create a record that does not exist or that is not maintained in the normal course of business.
Are you searching for any of the following?
- Business Entity Records
- Oaths of Office
- Bond Information
- Historical Records located at the California State Archives
- Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Records
- Political Reform Division Records
- Domestic Partnership Records
- Voting System Records
- Election Records
- Contracts involving the Secretary of State
- Secretary of State Human Resources Records
- Other
Our Frequently Asked Questions webpage and Guidelines for Access to Public Records (PDF) provide additional questions and guidelines regarding the PRA and record requests. The guidelines are posted at the public counters located at the Secretary of State Office, 1500 11th Street, Sacramento, California, and the Secretary of State Office in Los Angeles, 300 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, California. A copy of these guidelines will be made available at no charge to any person upon request.
