Irvine, CA

Property records for Irvine, California come from two Orange County offices. (1) **OC Clerk-Recorder** (Hugh Nguyen, County Clerk-Recorder) — Civic Center location at 12 Civic Center Plaza, Room 101, Santa Ana CA 92701, phone (714) 834-2500. Branch offices in Anaheim, Laguna Hills, and Old Orange County Courthouse (Santa Ana). https://www.ocrecorder.com. **Free document search** at **RecorderWorks**: https://cr.occlerkrecorder.gov/RecorderWorksInternet/ — search by name, document number, document type, recording date. **Recording fees** per the 2026 Fee Schedule (https://ocrecorder.com/sites/ocrecorder/files/2026-01/FeeSchedule.pdf): standard document fees + **$75 SB2 (Building Homes and Jobs Act) tax** per non-exempt instrument + Real Estate Fraud Fee. **Document copies**: $1.00 per page uncertified at any of the three locations; certified copies $6.00 first + $1.00 each additional. (2) **OC Assessor** (Claude Parrish, County Assessor) at https://www.ocassessor.gov — main office at 500 S Main St, 1st Floor Suite 103, Orange CA 92868, phone (714) 834-2727. **Free property search** by address, owner name, or APN. Returns parcel value, ownership of record, exemptions (homeowner's, veteran's), assessment history, parcel maps. (3) **OC Treasurer-Tax Collector** at https://ttc.ocgov.com for tax payment status. (4) **Independent search**: https://california.propertychecker.com/orange-county. **California recording rule**: a **Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR)** is required when filing most deeds (Form BOE-502-A available at https://www.ocassessor.gov/sites/assessor/files/2026-01/2026%20static%20BOE-502-A.pdf). Recording without a PCOR adds a $20 fee. **Irvine context**: large planned community with substantial Irvine Company holdings — many residential parcels have layered HOA covenants, design-review restrictions, and reciprocal easements. Title insurance strongly advisable. Sources: OC Clerk-Recorder Fee Schedule 2026, OC Assessor, RecorderWorks, Deeds.com Orange County.

Court cases for Orange County, California run through the **Superior Court of California, County of Orange**. The main hub for searches is https://www.occourts.org/online-services/case-access. **Free online search options**: - **Civil Case Access** — case summary and register of action for unlimited/complex civil actions back to 1996: https://www.occourts.org/online-services/case-access/civil-case-access. - **Criminal & Traffic Cases public search** at https://visionpublic.occourts.org/Search.do. - **Name Search** (full court-wide name index, free but requires enrollment): https://namesearch.occourts.org/. Enrollment is free. - **Family Law / Probate / Small Claims** are accessed via the same Case Access portal. **Courthouses in Orange County**: - Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701 — Civil, Criminal, Probate, Small Claims; (657) 622-6878. - North Justice Center, Fullerton. - West Justice Center, Westminster. - Lamoreaux Justice Center, Orange — Family Law and Juvenile. - Harbor Justice Center, Newport Beach. Full list and 92646-style jurisdiction lookup at https://courts.ca.gov/find-my-court. **Document copies** (per OC Court fee schedule): $0.50 per page; certified copies $40 for the first 5 pages + $0.50 each additional; archive retrieval $50; exemplification $25. **Federal court cases** (federal civil, federal criminal, bankruptcy) are not in the OC Superior Court system — those go to **PACER** at https://pacer.uscourts.gov/find-case. The OC bankruptcy court is in Santa Ana (https://www.cacb.uscourts.gov/); the U.S. District Court Central District of California has a Santa Ana division (https://pacer.uscourts.gov/file-case/court-cmecf-lookup/court/CACDC). **What's NOT available online**: sealed cases, juvenile cases (Welfare & Institutions Code § 827), confidential family-law filings, mental-health holds (LPS), and adoptions. For those, file a written request and show legal standing. **To pull a complete case file**, note the case number from the online search, then either visit the courthouse with that number, or order copies through https://www.occourts.org/. Phone the case-access info line if needed: (657) 622-6300.

Yorba Linda, California sits in Orange County, so deeds and property records are handled by the **Orange County Clerk-Recorder** (12 Civic Center Plaza, Room 101, Santa Ana, CA 92701; (714) 834-2887; https://www.ocrecorder.com/). **Free online search**: RecorderWorks Grantor/Grantee Index covers documents recorded since 1982 — https://cr.occlerkrecorder.gov/RecorderWorksInternet/. Search by name (last, first), date range, or document type (Deed, Deed of Trust, Reconveyance, Lien, Notice of Default). **Copies**: View free in office; $1.00 per page printed; certified copies $4.00 first page + $1.00 each additional. Mail orders take a self-addressed stamped envelope; details at https://www.ocrecorder.com/recorder-services/obtaining-official-record-copies. **Recording fees effective 01/01/2026** (https://ocrecorder.com/sites/ocrecorder/files/2026-01/FeeSchedule.pdf): - Standard first page $12 (raised from $7 on 01/01/2025) - Each additional page $3 - SB2 fee $75 per non-exempt instrument - Real estate fraud fee $3 per title - Base per-title fee $6 - Documentary transfer tax $1.10 per $1,000 **Assessor data** (assessed value, current owner, exemptions): Orange County Assessor at https://www.ocassessor.gov/ — free parcel search by address or APN. Office at 625 N. Ross St., Santa Ana, CA 92701; phone (714) 834-2727. **Tax payment status** for a Yorba Linda parcel: OC Treasurer-Tax Collector at https://octreasurer.com/ — searchable by APN, shows current and delinquent installments. **City-level records**: Yorba Linda City Hall keeps building permits, code-enforcement complaints, and zoning. Documents portal at https://www.yorbalindaca.gov/332/Documents-Public-Records. **Property fraud alert**: Orange County offers a free courtesy notice to owners whenever a document affecting title is recorded — sign-up at https://www.ocrecorder.com/recorder-services/property-documentsdocument-recording-services. Under California's 2025 law, all counties must run a notification program by January 2027 (https://www.ocregister.com/2026/01/29/a-new-california-law-requires-deed-notifications-to-combat-property-fraud/).

Bankruptcy filings are federal, not state. For Santa Ana, California (Orange County), the right court is the **U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California, Santa Ana Division** at 411 W. Fourth St., Suite 2030, Santa Ana, CA 92701-4593; phone (714) 338-5300; site https://www.cacb.uscourts.gov/. To search filings, use **PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records)**: - Sign up at https://pacer.uscourts.gov/ (free account; charges only when you pull documents). - Use the **Case Locator** to search by debtor name nationally: https://pacer.uscourts.gov/find-case. - For Central District of California specifically: https://pacer.uscourts.gov/file-case/court-cmecf-lookup/court/CACBK. - Court CM/ECF: https://www.cacb.uscourts.gov/pacer. **PACER fees (2026)**: $0.10 per page, capped at $3.00 per document; fees waived if your quarterly bill is under $30. Audio recordings $2.40. Name searches return docket lists for free at the search-result level. **What you'll see** on a bankruptcy docket: case number (chapter 7 / 11 / 13 indicator), filing date, debtor name and address, attorney, schedules of assets and liabilities, creditors, meeting-of-creditors notice (341 meeting), and the discharge order. **No-cost alternatives**: - Visit the Santa Ana courthouse public terminal — viewing costs nothing, printing is $0.10 per page. - The U.S. Trustee Program (https://www.justice.gov/ust) lists 341 meeting calendars, which are public. - News index searches (Orange County Register, LA Times) can surface big filings without PACER. **Discharged-debtor lookup**: closed bankruptcies stay in PACER; the discharge order is the document confirming the bankruptcy was completed. A bankruptcy stays on a credit report 7 (chapter 13) or 10 (chapter 7) years. **For business bankruptcies** filed elsewhere, check the registered agent on the California Secretary of State Bizfile portal (https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search) to find the entity's principal office, then PACER-search that district. Statewide bankruptcy court list is at https://www.uscourts.gov/court-locator.

Property records in Santa Ana, California are kept by Orange County. Two offices handle them, and you'll usually need both. The **Orange County Clerk-Recorder** (12 Civic Center Plaza, Room 101, Santa Ana, CA 92701; phone 714-834-2887) keeps deeds, mortgages, deeds of trust, liens, and any document affecting title. Free online grantor/grantee index search since 1982 at https://cr.occlerkrecorder.gov/RecorderWorksInternet/. Documents may be viewed free of charge; copies are $1.00 per page in office, or you can order certified copies by mail (self-addressed stamped envelope required) at https://www.ocrecorder.com/recorder-services/obtaining-official-record-copies. **Recording fees, effective 01/01/2026** (per the official fee schedule at https://ocrecorder.com/sites/ocrecorder/files/2026-01/FeeSchedule.pdf): standard first page is $12 (up from $7 — change took effect 01/01/2025), each additional page $3, $75 SB2 building-homes-and-jobs fee on most non-exempt instruments, real estate fraud fee $3 per title, documentary transfer tax $1.10 per $1,000 of consideration. Base fee per title is $6. The **Orange County Assessor** (625 N. Ross St., Santa Ana, CA 92701; (714) 834-2727) keeps the parcel-level record: assessed value, owner of record, exemptions, tax roll. Free property search at https://www.ocassessor.gov/. The **OC Treasurer-Tax Collector** (https://octreasurer.com/) tracks property tax payments, delinquencies, and tax sales — useful when you want to know if taxes are current. **To pull a chain of title** for a Santa Ana property: start at RecorderWorks, search by current owner name, note each prior grantor, then walk back through the index. For documents pre-1982 you need to visit the office in person. **A new property fraud notification program** is rolling out — under a 2025 California law all county recorders must establish notification programs by January 2027. Orange County already offers a free courtesy notice to property owners when a document affecting title is recorded; sign-up at https://www.ocrecorder.com/recorder-services/property-documentsdocument-recording-services. Read the OC Register coverage at https://www.ocregister.com/2026/01/29/a-new-california-law-requires-deed-notifications-to-combat-property-fraud/.

Locating someone in Laguna Hills, California (Orange County) through public records depends on what you're allowed to access. **Free public sources**: (1) **OC Assessor property search** at https://www.ocassessor.gov — search by name; returns properties owned, mailing address on file (often current), parcel value, tax history. Best single source for homeowners. (2) **OC Clerk-Recorder RecorderWorks** at https://cr.occlerkrecorder.gov/RecorderWorksInternet/ — search recorded deeds, mortgages, releases by grantor/grantee name. (3) **OC Superior Court case search** at https://www.occourts.org/online-services — any civil, criminal, family, probate, or small-claims filing surfaces a name, often with a current address. (4) **California Secretary of State bizfile** at https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search — useful if the person is an LLC owner, registered agent, or corporate officer. (5) **OC Fictitious Business Name (FBN/DBA)** statements at https://www.ocrecorder.com — search at the Clerk-Recorder for sole proprietors operating under a business name. (6) **OCSD Inmate Information System** at https://www.ocsheriff.gov/inmate_information_system if currently in custody. (7) **CDCR Inmate Locator** at https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov for state prison inmates. (8) **Voter registration**: California SOS at https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov lets the registrant confirm own status; voter rolls are NOT publicly searchable but are released to political committees, journalists, and certain researchers under California Elections Code § 2188 — request from the OC Registrar of Voters at (714) 567-7600. **What's restricted**: Driving records (DPPA-protected — Vehicle Code § 1808.45), most personal-info portals require permissible use under federal law. **For missing persons**: California DOJ Missing Persons at https://oag.ca.gov/missing or OCSD Missing Persons Unit. **Laguna Hills note**: served by the **OCSD Lake Forest Substation** since Laguna Hills contracts with OCSD for police services. Sources: OC Assessor, OC Clerk-Recorder, OC Superior Court, California SOS, OCSD, CDCR.