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Connecticut public records: who holds what

In Connecticut, deeds are recorded by the Town Clerk, birth and death certificates come from the Town Registrar of Vital Statistics / DPH State Vital Records Office and requests for other government records fall under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Below: who holds every other record, what copies cost and the official link for each office.

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. Who holds what in Connecticut
  2. Public records law in Connecticut
  3. How Connecticut organizes its records
  4. Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps
  5. Towns and cities in Connecticut
  6. Warnings from official sources
  7. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  8. Official directories
  9. Sources

Who holds what in Connecticut

The office that keeps each record, and the fee the law or the office sets for a copy. Open a record type for the full rules, ordering steps and older records.

RecordWho holds itCopy fee
DeedsTown Clerk of each of the 169 towns/cities (land records are kept by town, not county; Connecticut has no county government)1$1 per page, in any format2
Property recordsEach town's assessor values all property as of October 1 and publishes the grand list by January 313—
Court recordsUnified state court system: the Superior Court is the sole trial court of general jurisdiction (civil, criminal, family, housing, small claims, juvenile), organized by judicial district and geographical area. Probate is a separate system of 54 Probate Courts.4Clerk copy fee $1 per page; certifying under seal $2; exemplification $20; copy of a judgment file $25 certified / $15 uncertified (copy and certification fees included). Civil entry fee $360 (Superior Court); small claims $95.5
Marriage recordsRegistrar of vital statistics (vital records office) of the town where the marriage took place; also the state Vital Records Office (DPH). Copies are also available from the town(s) where the parties lived at the time of the marriage.6$20 per certified copy (town or state)7
Divorce recordsClerk of the Superior Court where the divorce (dissolution) was granted; DPH Vital Records does not keep divorce decrees8Superior Court clerk statutory fees (sec. 52-259): copy of a judgment file $25 certified / $15 uncertified; other copies $1 per page; certifying under seal $2.5
Birth certificatesTown registrar of vital statistics (usually the town clerk, at the town vital records office) and the State Vital Records Office (DPH). Births since Jan. 1, 2003: any town or the state can issue copies. Earlier births: only the town of birth, the town where the mother lived at the time, or the state.9$30 from the State Vital Records Office9
Death certificatesTown vital records office where the death occurred (or where the decedent lived) and the State Vital Records Office10$20 per certified copy (town or state)10
Probate and willsConnecticut Probate Courts: 54 regional Probate Courts, a statewide system separate from the Superior Court11Fees are set by statute and the same statewide. Copies: $5 per document up to 5 pages + $1 per extra page. Certified copies: $5 per document for the first 2 pages + $2 per extra page. Recording: $3 per page after the first 5.12

Public records law in Connecticut

Connecticut Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (Conn. Gen. Stat. secs. 1-200 et seq. (Chapter 14)) Read the law13

This law covers records that agencies hold, such as a county office's correspondence or a property file. Recorded deeds, vital records and court files usually have their own rules, set out in each record section.

Who can ask
Every person; no residency requirement; no required form13
Response time
"Promptly" during regular office hours; any denial must be in writing within 4 business days of the request (10 business days for personnel/medical-file requests under 1-214); no response in that time = deemed denial13
Copy fees
Copies: max $0.25/page from state agencies (and judicial administrative functions); max $0.50/page from all other public agencies (towns, etc.), unless another statute sets a fee (e.g., town clerk land-record copies $1/page under 7-34a). Certification under FOIA: $1 first page, $0.50 each additional page. Prepayment may be required if fee is $10 or more. Hand-held scanner use: agency may charge up to $20 per visit. Computer-stored records: actual cost only. Fees waived for indigent requesters and in other listed cases.13
If a request is refused
Appeal (complaint) to the Freedom of Information Commission within 30 days of the denial; a letter is enough; no attorney needed. Commission decisions may be appealed to Superior Court under sec. 4-183.13
What is exempt
Sec. 1-210(b) lists exemptions, including preliminary drafts, personnel/medical files whose release would invade privacy, certain law-enforcement investigatory records, pending-litigation strategy, trade secrets, test questions, appraisals before acquisition, personal financial data filed for licenses, collective-bargaining strategy, records exempt under other federal or state law and privileged communications, and student names/addresses, among many others.14
Official guide
No Attorney General guide; the FOI Commission (an independent state agency) publishes a Citizen's Guide and FAQs15
More on the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
No answer in time
No compliance within the applicable business days = denial13
Fees certification
$1 first page, $0.50 each additional page, unless another law sets a fee13
Fees prepayment
Prepayment may be required if the fee is estimated at $10 or more13
Fees scanner
Anyone may copy records with a hand-held scanner; agency may charge up to $20 per visit13
Fee waiver
Fees must be waived for indigent requesters, exempt records, general-welfare requests, certain elected officials and public defenders13
Request format
Copies are given to any person "applying in writing" (sec. 1-212(a)); inspection is a right of every person during regular office hours (sec. 1-210(a)). No required form; an agency may ask you to complete its own form.16
Appeal body
Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, 18-20 Trinity Street, Hartford (hearings)17
Penalties
Civil penalty of $20 to $5,000 against a custodian who denied access without reasonable grounds13
Commission role
The Commission enforces the Act but does not hold or search for records16
Court records
FOIA covers the Judicial Branch only for its administrative functions; court case records are governed by court rules (Practice Book), not FOIA13

How to write a public records request

How Connecticut organizes its records

  • No county government. Connecticut abolished county government effective October 1, 1960. Towns (169) hold the records that counties hold elsewhere: land records, vital records, trade names, assessments, tax collection, and voter registration.18
  • Voter rolls kept by towns, not counties. SOTS confirms that elections are run by towns because there is no county government.19
  • Planning regions are county equivalents for Census statistics only. Since 2022 the Census Bureau uses Connecticut's nine Planning Regions as county equivalents for statistics. This did not restore county government. The eight historic counties still appear in older records (e.g., divorce files and court records at the State Archives).20
  • Town clerk = land records + vital records registrar + trade names. Town clerks are by law the registrars of vital statistics, unless special laws provide otherwise, and they also record land records and trade names.7
  • Separate Probate Court system. 54 regional Probate Courts (not the Superior Court) handle wills, estates, trusts, conservatorships, name changes and children's matters.11
  • Unified state prison/jail system. All jails are state-run by DOC (since 1968), so there are no county jail rosters.21
  • Genealogical society access. Members of Connecticut-authorized genealogical societies may inspect and buy copies of vital records, including restricted births, at town registrars.7

Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps

Criminal history checks

State repository
DESPP, State Police Bureau of Identification (SPBI), 1111 Country Club Road, Middletown, CT 06457; phone (860) 685-848022
Fee
Name/DOB search (yes/no only): $36. Full CT criminal history record search (name or fingerprint): $75. Personal record search: $75. Letter of Good Conduct: $75. Fingerprinting at a State Police location: $15. FBI federal check: $15 from Oct. 1, 2026 ($13 volunteers), only where a law authorizes it.23
Who may order
Anyone may request a Connecticut conviction-history search on any person by name and date of birth or by fingerprints. Results cover Connecticut convictions only.24
How to request
Online through the CT Criminal History Request System (CCHRS) portal, or by mail with Form DPS-0846-C and a check/money order payable to "Treasurer-State of CT". No e-mail or fax. Fingerprinting is by appointment.22
Payment
Checks payable to "Treasurer – State of CT"23
More about criminal history checks
Court conviction search
Free alternative: Judicial Branch online conviction search (about the last 10 years)25

Sex offender registry

Official registry
Connecticut Sex Offender Registry (DESPP), linked from CT.gov at sheriffalerts.com/… (vendor-hosted public search)26
What it contains
Last known address, physical descriptors, and the offense location, date and details26

Inmate and jail lookups

State prisons
Connecticut Department of Correction Inmate Information Search (www.ctinmateinfo.state.ct.us), linked from the DOC home page21
County jails
No county jails. All county jails and state prisons were merged into one state Department of Correction in 1968, so pretrial detainees are also in DOC custody.21

Voter records

Public or restricted
Voter registration lists are kept in the statewide Centralized Voter Registration System and maintained locally by each town's Registrars of Voters (at least two per town, one from each major party). The list is available for limited uses only.19
Statewide file
Statewide voter file from the Secretary of the State: $300, CSV only27
Use restriction
May be used only for election-related, scholarly, journalistic, political or governmental purposes; no commercial use (CGS 9-50d as amended by P.A. 26-1 sec. 96)27
Fee cap
Fee for electronic copies of registered-voter names may not exceed 3 cents per name or actual cost, whichever is less13
Check your registration
"Am I registered to vote in CT?" lookup: portaldir.ct.gov/sots/LookUp.aspx (also the polling-place locator), linked from the SOTS Voter Fact Sheet. MyVote.CT.gov now redirects to that fact sheet. Register or update online: voterregistration.ct.gov/OLVR/welcome.do28
More about voter records
State agency
Secretary of the State, Legislation and Elections Administration Division ([email protected], 860-509-6100)19

Business names (DBA)

DBA at county
Trade names (DBAs) are filed with the town clerk of the town where the business is mainly carried on, not with the Secretary of the State. Filing fee is $20, and the certificate is good for 5 years.29
DBA filing fee
$202
DBA term
5 years per renewal30
DBA statewide search
Secretary of the State Trade Name Search (sots.service.ct.gov/tradename), linked from Business.CT.gov; the law requires a statewide public search system, and town clerks may be required to use it on and after Jan. 1, 202630
Entities at state
Corporations, LLCs and LPs: Secretary of the State business records search on Business.CT.gov (free PDFs of most filings)31
More about business names (dba)
Copy fees
SOTS copies requested from the office: $40 plain, $55 certified31

Liens and UCC filings

UCC central
Secretary of the State (Business Services Division) via Business.CT.gov33
UCC search
Free online UCC search; UCC active lien data and business database online at $034
UCC fee
UCC-1 and UCC-3 filing $50 each; request for information $50; plain copy of a lien $40; certified copy $5534
Liens at the county
Real-estate liens (mortgages, attachments, judgment liens, tax liens, mechanic's liens) are recorded in the town clerk's land records1
Judgments
Court judgments are in Superior Court files; judgment liens on land are recorded with the town clerk1

GIS and parcel maps

State GIS portal
CT Geodata Portal (geodata.ct.gov) and the Connecticut GIS Office (OPM)35
Parcel data
Statewide parcel + CAMA (assessment) layer built from town data collected by the Councils of Governments; also on data.ct.gov and an online Parcel Viewer35
Accuracy
OPM does not edit town data; accuracy varies by town35
Owner suppression
Owners protected under CGS 1-217 appear as "Current Owner"35

Historical and genealogy records

State archives
Connecticut State Library / State Archives, 231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford (History & Genealogy Unit, 860-757-6580)36
Vital holdings
Original vital records stay with each town; DPH holds a state copy from July 189737
Indexes
Barbour Collection (pre-1850 vital records index); state indexes of deaths and marriages 1897-2001; Connecticut Death Index 1949-2001; Marriage Index 1959-200138
Probate
Probate record volumes were microfilmed and are digitized on FamilySearch; the State Library has finding aids and a Probate Districts by Town guide39
Divorce
Historical divorce files by county at the State Archives36
More about historical and genealogy records
Access
Archival records are requested and viewed under State Archives procedures40
Old births open
Births 100+ years old are open to anyone 18+7

Towns and cities in Connecticut

Connecticut has no county government. Land records and vital records are kept by the clerk of each of its 169 towns, and the Census Bureau's nine planning regions hold no records.

33 towns with a full guide

Each guide lists the office for every record type, the official online searches, copy fees, phones and hours.

All 169 towns

Names in bold open our guide.

Warnings from official sources

  • Paid "Grant Deed" copy mailers. Companies mailed homeowners offers to sell deed copies for about $80-$83. DCP says to ignore them: town clerks charge $1/page plus $2 for certification. (Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection)41
  • "Certificate of legal existence" mailers to businesses. Mailers (e.g., $112.50 from "CT Certificate Service") ask businesses to pay for an unnecessary certificate. The certificate is optional and can be ordered directly from SOTS. (Attorney General, Secretary of the State and DCP)42
  • Only VitalChek is approved for online vital records. Other online sellers of birth, death and marriage certificates are not approved by DPH (Department of Public Health)10

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any Connecticut office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Official directories

Lists that name the office in every town.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 46 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Land RecordsCity of Norwalk Town Clerk
  2. 2026 Supplement, Chapter 92 - Town Clerks (sec. 7-34a as amended by P.A. 25-168)Connecticut General Assembly (Legislative Commissioners' Office)
  3. Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 203 - Property Tax AssessmentConnecticut General Assembly (Legislative Commissioners' Office)
  4. Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 882 - Superior Court (sec. 51-164s)Connecticut General Assembly (Legislative Commissioners' Office)
  5. Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 901 - Costs (sec. 52-259 court fees)Connecticut General Assembly (Legislative Commissioners' Office)
  6. Marriage and Civil Union CertificatesConnecticut Department of Public Health, State Vital Records Office
  7. Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 93 - Registrars of Vital Statistics (secs. 7-36 to 7-74)Connecticut General Assembly (Legislative Commissioners' Office)
  8. DivorceConnecticut Department of Public Health, State Vital Records Office
  9. Birth CertificatesConnecticut Department of Public Health, State Vital Records Office
  10. How to Obtain a RecordConnecticut Department of Public Health, State Vital Records Office
  11. Frequently Asked QuestionsConnecticut Probate Courts (Office of the Probate Court Administrator)
  12. Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 801b - Probate Court fees and procedure (secs. 45a-105 to 45a-112 etc.)Connecticut General Assembly (Legislative Commissioners' Office)
  13. Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 14 - Freedom of Information Act (secs. 1-200 to 1-259)Connecticut General Assembly (Legislative Commissioners' Office)
  14. 2026 Supplement, Chapter 14 (amended sec. 1-210 only)Connecticut General Assembly (Legislative Commissioners' Office)
  15. Freedom of Information Commission homeConnecticut Freedom of Information Commission
  16. FOI Commission Frequently Asked QuestionsConnecticut Freedom of Information Commission
  17. FOI Commission Citizen's GuideConnecticut Freedom of Information Commission
  18. OLR Research Report 98-R-0086: County Government AbolishmentConnecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research
  19. Connecticut's Voter RollsConnecticut Secretary of the State
  20. Census Bureau County Equivalency Status For Connecticut's Planning Regions (FAQ)Connecticut Office of Policy and Management
  21. Department of Correction homeConnecticut Department of Correction
  22. State Police Bureau of IdentificationConnecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (State Police)
  23. Rate Change Effective October 1, 2026 (SPBI fee notice)Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (State Police)
  24. Form DPS-0846-C Criminal History Record Request FormConnecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (State Police)
  25. Criminal / Motor Vehicle Case Look-up (crim.htm)State of Connecticut Judicial Branch
  26. Sex Offender Registry (CT.gov Public Safety services page)CT.gov - State of Connecticut
  27. Voter Registration Data File Request (form)Connecticut Secretary of the State
  28. Voter Fact Sheet (MyVote.CT.gov landing page)Connecticut Secretary of the State
  29. Trade Names (Business.CT.gov knowledge base)Business.CT.gov (State of Connecticut / Secretary of the State)
  30. Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 620 - Trade Names (secs. 35-1a to 35-1e, P.A. 24-111)Connecticut General Assembly (Legislative Commissioners' Office)
  31. Get Plain or Certified Copies of My Business RecordsBusiness.CT.gov (State of Connecticut / Secretary of the State)
  32. Secretary of the State homeConnecticut Secretary of the State
  33. Business ServicesConnecticut Secretary of the State
  34. Uniform Commercial Code Forms and FeesBusiness.CT.gov (State of Connecticut / Secretary of the State)
  35. Statewide Parcel and CAMAConnecticut Office of Policy and Management, GIS Office
  36. Divorce Records for Genealogy ResearchConnecticut State Library / State Archives
  37. Vital Records for Connecticut: OverviewConnecticut State Library / State Archives
  38. Vital Records for Connecticut: Vital Records IndexesConnecticut State Library / State Archives
  39. Probate Court Records guideConnecticut State Library / State Archives
  40. Access Archives & Secured CollectionsConnecticut State Library / State Archives
  41. Misleading Grant Deed Offers Resurface in ConnecticutConnecticut Department of Consumer Protection
  42. AG, SOTS, DCP and BBB Warn Businesses: Don't Fall Victim to Fraudulent MailingsConnecticut Office of the Attorney General
  43. Contact Us (State Vital Records Office and town vital records directory)Connecticut Department of Public Health, State Vital Records Office
  44. Court LocatorConnecticut Probate Courts (Office of the Probate Court Administrator)
  45. History & Genealogy research guidesConnecticut State Library / State Archives
  46. Find Your Town Clerk, Registrar of Voters and Elected OfficialsConnecticut Secretary of the State