San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo County is located on the central coast of California. It was founded on February 18, 1850, and is named after Saint Louis, the bishop of Toulouse in 1297. Its administration center is in San Luis Obispo City. As of 2020, the county was recorded to be home to at least 282,424 inhabitants, and its total land area was 3,616 square miles.
Like many other counties in California, San Luis Obispo County's judicial system consists only of Superior Courts. These courts, located in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles cities, hear all legal disputes within the county. They are divided into several divisions, including Criminal, Civil, Family, Juvenile, Small Claims, Probate, and Traffic Law Divisions. While the Civil Division has the authority to handle civil cases without financial limits, the Small Claims Division can only hear cases where the amount in dispute is below $7,500. The Criminal Division handles cases related to individuals who have been accused of committing crimes against the state. Both the Family and Juvenile divisions have overlapping jurisdiction over domestic-related cases. However, they typically handle distinct types of cases according to their specific legal mandates. The Probate Division handles cases related to the interpretation of wills, and the Traffic Division handles cases bordering on traffic offenses.
Public court records are legal documents that provide information about court proceedings within the county. These records typically include details about the case, such as case transcripts, names of the parties involved, filing dates, motions filed, evidence submitted, judgments, sentencing details, and court orders. The office that processes, updates, and manages these court records is the Superior Court Clerk-Recorder of San Luis Obispo County. This office provides access to the following records:
- Criminal records
- Civil records
- Family records
- Probate records
To obtain these records, interested individuals can do a search online via the California Record Search Portal. Alternatively, requests can be made in person at the courthouse.
The costs associated with obtaining court records vary based on the format of the copy requested. Uncertified copies of court documents cost $0.50 per page, while certified copies cost $15 each, in addition to the original cost per page. Furthermore, if a search for documents takes longer than ten minutes, a research fee of $15 applies.
