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West Virginia public records: who holds what

In West Virginia, deeds are recorded by the County Clerk; birth and death certificates come from the Vital Registration Office, WV Health Statistics Center; and requests for other government records fall under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act (WV-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 West Virginia
  2. Public records law in West Virginia
  3. Probate records and wills in West Virginia
  4. How West Virginia organizes its records
  5. Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps
  6. Counties in West Virginia
  7. Warnings from official sources
  8. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  9. Official directories
  10. Sources

Who holds what in West Virginia

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
DeedsClerk of the county commission (County Clerk) in each of the 55 counties1$1.50 per copy of a writing/document (if not otherwise provided for) + $1 for each additional page when more than two pages; electronic copies: reasonable fee not to exceed search and duplication costs2
Property recordsCounty assessor values most property (residential, commercial, personal property incl. vehicles); Tax Commissioner values natural resource and industrial property; Board of Public Works values public service property; assessed value generally 60% of market value3—
Court recordsCircuit courts (general jurisdiction trial courts; 55 counties in 30 circuits with 80 circuit judges), family courts, magistrate courts; appeals to the Intermediate Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Appeals. The circuit clerk stores family court case files and collects family court fees4Circuit clerk: $1 per page for a transcript, copy or paper to go out of the office; $200 civil filing fee; $135 divorce filing5
Marriage recordsCounty clerk (clerk of the county commission) issues licenses and records marriages; state Vital Registration Office also issues certified marriage certificates6$5 for a certified copy of a marriage license from the county clerk2
Divorce recordsDivorce cases are heard in family court; all case files are filed with and stored by the circuit clerk of the county7Circuit clerk: $1 per page for copies going out of the office (certification fee not separately itemized in § 59-1-11)5
Birth certificatesWV Vital Registration Office (Health Statistics Center), 350 Capitol Street, Room 165, Charleston; county clerks also issue certified copies of county-held records8$12 per copy (includes non-refundable search fee); additional searches $12 per three-year period; 4% surcharge for debit/credit cards at the walk-up counter8
Death certificatesWV Vital Registration Office; county clerks for county-held records8$12 per copy at state; $5 certified copy from county clerk9
Probate and willsClerk of the county commission (County Clerk): wills are delivered to the clerk and probated by the county commission or its clerk10County clerk copy fees apply: $1.50 per document, $1 per page beyond two, $1 seal2

Public records law in West Virginia

West Virginia Freedom of Information Act (WV-FOIA) (W. Va. Code § 29B-1-1 et seq. (Chapter 29B, Article 1, 'Public Records')) Read the law11

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 or purpose requirement stated); request goes directly to the custodian and must state with reasonable specificity the information sought12
Response time
As soon as practicable but within a maximum of 5 days (not counting Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays): furnish copies, set a time and place to inspect, or deny in writing with reasons12
If a request is refused
A person denied access may sue for injunctive or declaratory relief in the circuit court of the county where the record is kept; de novo review, burden on the public body; a person who successfully brings the suit recovers attorney fees and court costs from the public body (§ 29B-1-7)13
What is exempt
Presumption of access; § 29B-1-4(a) lists specific exemptions incl. trade secrets; personal/medical files where disclosure is an unreasonable invasion of privacy; test questions; law-enforcement investigative/internal records; information exempted by other statutes; undeveloped archaeological site locations; financial-institution exam reports; internal memoranda; terrorism/security records; and more (e.g., concealed weapon license applications, anonymous lottery winners)14
Official guide
West Virginia Attorney General, Freedom of Information Act Handbook (PDF): ago.wv.gov/media/37745/download15
Fees: general
Fees reasonably calculated to reimburse actual cost of making reproductions; no search or retrieval fee and no man-hour charges12
More on the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act (WV-FOIA)
Fees: electronic
If records exist in electronic form, copies must be provided on electronic media on request12
FOIA registry
Secretary of State maintains a public online database of FOIA requests and outcomes (records themselves not hosted): erls.wvsos.gov/FOIA_Database/Search16

How to write a public records request

Probate records and wills in West Virginia

Who holds it
Clerk of the county commission (County Clerk): wills are delivered to the clerk and probated by the county commission or its clerk10
Copy fee
County clerk copy fees apply: $1.50 per document, $1 per page beyond two, $1 seal2

How this works in other states: probate records and wills by state.

How West Virginia organizes its records

  • County commissions (not courts) handle probate: wills are delivered to and probated by the clerk of the county commission, so probate records are at the County Clerk, not the circuit clerk.17
  • Family court files (divorce, custody) are confidential except orders and indices; physical files are kept by the circuit clerk.7
  • Assumed/trade names are filed statewide with the Secretary of State; § 47-8-2 names no county DBA filing.18
  • Sheriffs are the county property tax collectors.19

Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps

Criminal history checks

State repository
West Virginia State Police, Criminal Identification Bureau (Criminal Records Section), under W. Va. Code § 15-2-2420
Who may order
Non-law-enforcement requests require a written authorization signed and acknowledged by the record subject20
How to request
All background checks go through IdentoGO (fingerprint vendor): www.identogo.com, 855-766-7746; no walk-in at WVSP headquarters20

Sex offender registry

Agency
West Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry under W. Va. Code § 15-12 (Sex Offender Registration Act); registry phone (304) 746-213321
Use restrictions
Information may not be used to threaten, intimidate or harass registrants21

Inmate and jail lookups

State prisons
WV Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Offender Search: prisons apps.wv.gov/ois/offendersearch/doc; jails apps.wv.gov/…; Daily Incarcerations apps.wv.gov/OIS/OffenderSearch/RJA/Daily22

Voter records

Access
Public: any person may examine voter registration records at the county clerk's office; lists available for noncommercial purposes at 1 cent per name from the county clerk; phone, email, SSN and DL numbers excluded; commercial or charitable solicitation, advertising and resale prohibited23
Statewide list
Secretary of State sells statewide lists: Statewide Voter Registration List $500; Election Cycle Subscription $1,000; Master Voter History $500; early voter/absentee lists $20024
Check your registration
Check your own registration: apps.sos.wv.gov/… (name and date of birth)25

Business names (DBA)

Assumed names (DBA)
Trade names (DBAs) of individuals, sole proprietorships and general partnerships are filed with the Secretary of State under § 47-8-2, which names no county filing; other entity types also file through the SOS; filed online at the WV One Stop Business Portal (business4.wv.gov)18
DBA filing fee
No filing fee for individuals, sole proprietorships and general partnerships; $25 for corporations, LLCs, LPs, LLPs, voluntary associations, business trusts; +$1 online processing fee26
Entity search
Business Organization Search: apps.sos.wv.gov/business/corporations; Business Entity Search with Certificates of Existence or Authorization ($10): apps.wv.gov/SOS/BusinessEntitySearch (trade names of individuals/sole props/general partnerships: contact State Tax Department)26
Copy fees
SOS plain copies $1.00 first page + $0.50 each additional page (search of 15 minutes or less, not retrieved from archives; search charges extra); certified copies $15 flat for formation documents + $5 per amendment/additional filing27

Liens and UCC filings

UCC filings
Secretary of State UCC Division; filings and searches only through UCC Online Services apps.wv.gov/sos/ucc28
Search fee
UCC search: $10 initial fee + $1 per page + $3 WV Portal fee; filings $20 + $3 portal fee28
County filings
Real-estate-related filings (fixture filings, trust deeds) are recorded with the county clerk; ch. 46 financing statements recorded at county cost $102

GIS and parcel maps

State GIS portal
MapWV.gov (WV GIS Technical Center) public mapping gateway; GIS Data Clearinghouse wvgis.wvu.edu/data/data.php29
Parcel data
WV Property Viewer mapwv.gov/Parcel and statewide surface/mineral tax maps updated yearly with the State Tax office30

Historical and genealogy records

Archives
West Virginia Archives and History (Archives and History Section, under the Department of Tourism since July 1, 2025); Archives Library in the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex, Charleston; (304) 558-0230; holdings include county birth/death records, census, military, county court documents, naturalizations, newspapers31
Online vitals
Vital Research Records (searchable scans of birth, death and marriage records; not certified): wvculture.org/vital-records-interactive (older address archive.wvculture.org/vrr also still loads)32

Counties in West Virginia

4 counties with a full guide

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

All 55 counties

Names in bold open our guide. Names with an arrow go to the county's own website, where the US Census Bureau lists one and it opened when we checked.33

Warnings from official sources

  • WV Attorney General (2014) warned of official-looking 'Recorded Deed Notice' letters from Record Transfer Services selling deed copies for $83; homeowners are not obligated to pay and can get copies from the county clerk for much less. Consumer Protection hotline 1-800-368-8808.34
  • Vital records online orders: only through third-party vendors; the state receives $12 per copy regardless of vendor fees.8

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 West Virginia office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Official directories

Lists that name the office in every county.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 37 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. W. Va. Code § 39-1-2 Conditions under which county clerk shall admit deeds to recordWest Virginia Legislature
  2. W. Va. Code § 59-1-10 Fees to be charged by clerk of county commissionWest Virginia Legislature
  3. Ad Valorem Property TaxWest Virginia Tax Division
  4. Circuit CourtSupreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
  5. W. Va. Code § 59-1-11 Fees to be charged by clerk of circuit courtWest Virginia Legislature
  6. W. Va. Code § 48-2-101 Necessity of marriage licenseWest Virginia Legislature
  7. Rules of Practice and Procedure for Family CourtSupreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
  8. Certificate RequestsWV Health Statistics Center, Vital Registration Office
  9. Application for Copy of West Virginia Death CertificateWV Vital Registration
  10. W. Va. Code § 41-5-1 Custodian of will to deliver same to clerkWest Virginia Legislature
  11. Freedom of Information Act HandbookWest Virginia Office of the Attorney General
  12. W. Va. Code § 29B-1-3 Inspection and copying of public recordWest Virginia Legislature
  13. W. Va. Code § 29B-1-5 EnforcementWest Virginia Legislature
  14. W. Va. Code § 29B-1-4 ExemptionsWest Virginia Legislature
  15. Freedom of Information (FOIA)West Virginia Office of the Attorney General
  16. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) RequestWest Virginia Secretary of State
  17. W. Va. Code § 41-5-10 Ex parte procedure to probateWest Virginia Legislature
  18. W. Va. Code § 47-8-2 Business not to be conducted under assumed name without filingWest Virginia Legislature
  19. Property Tax Due DatesWest Virginia Tax Division
  20. Criminal RecordsWest Virginia State Police
  21. Sex Offender Registry disclaimerWest Virginia State Police
  22. Offender SearchWV Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation
  23. W. Va. Code § 3-2-30 Public inspection of voter registration recordsWest Virginia Legislature
  24. W. Va. Code § 59-1-2b Purchase of voter registration lists; feesWest Virginia Legislature
  25. Elections Frequently Asked QuestionsWest Virginia Secretary of State
  26. File a Trade Name (DBA) RegistrationWest Virginia Secretary of State
  27. Plain Copies of RecordsWest Virginia Secretary of State
  28. UCC Filing ProceduresWest Virginia Secretary of State
  29. MapWV - Mapping Gateway for West VirginiaWest Virginia GIS Technical Center
  30. WV Property Assessment portalWV Property Tax Division and WV GIS Technical Center
  31. W. Va. Code § 29-1-1 Department of Arts, Culture, and History abolished; sections moved under Department of TourismWest Virginia Legislature
  32. Vital Records (Interactive)West Virginia Culture Center
  33. Government Units List 2026US Census Bureau
  34. Attorney General Patrick Morrisey Says Deed Scam Has Returned To West Virginia (10/22/2014)West Virginia Office of the Attorney Generalarchived copy; the page is no longer on the office's site
  35. West Virginia County Clerk DirectoryWest Virginia Secretary of State
  36. County AssessorsWest Virginia Tax Division
  37. Information for the PublicSupreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia