Access Orange County People Records

Orange County people search covers roughly 3.2 million residents in one of the most populated counties in California. The Orange County Superior Court, Clerk-Recorder, and Sheriff's Department all maintain public databases you can search by name. Court records, vital documents, inmate data, and civil case files are all open for lookup. Most Orange County people search tools run online and cost little or nothing to use. This guide covers every major source for finding people records in Orange County, California.

Orange County Court People Search

The Orange County Superior Court offers a Case Name Search portal at namesearch.occourts.org that is the best starting point for people search. Type in a first and last name to see if they have any court cases in Orange County. The results show case numbers, filing dates, and case types. This tool covers civil, criminal, family, probate, small claims, and traffic cases. It is one of the most complete court people search tools in California.

The Orange County court name search portal looks like this.

Beyond the name search, Orange County breaks its court records into several focused portals. Each one lets you dig deeper into specific case types for people search in Orange County.

• Civil cases at civilwebshopping.occourts.org
• Criminal and traffic at visionpublic.occourts.org
• Family law at fampub.occourts.org
• Probate at probatepublic.occourts.org
• Small claims at smallclaims.occourts.org

Call (657) 622-6878 if you need help with any of these Orange County people search court tools.

Find People Through Orange County Civil Records

The civil case portal is especially useful for people search in Orange County. Civil cases include lawsuits, landlord-tenant disputes, contract claims, and personal injury cases. You can search by party name to find anyone who has been a plaintiff or defendant in a civil case filed in Orange County. The records show case details, hearing dates, and document lists.

Here is the Orange County civil case search used for people records.

Civil case records in Orange County are public under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 7920.000). Some records may be sealed by court order, but most stay open for people search. The civil portal also lets you buy document copies online if you need the full filings.

Orange County Inmate People Search

The Orange County Sheriff runs an inmate locator at apps.ocsheriff.gov for people search. You can look up anyone currently held in Orange County jails. The tool shows booking dates, charges, bail amounts, and next court dates. It is free to use and updates regularly as people are booked in and out of Orange County custody.

The Orange County Sheriff inmate locator for people records is shown below.

The main Sheriff office is at 550 N. Flower Street, Santa Ana, CA 92703. The general line is 714-647-4666. For inmate booking questions, call (714) 584-6790. Bail info is at (714) 710-8884. These phone lines can help with people search when the online tool is down or if you need details not shown on the website. State inmates from Orange County can also be found through the California CDCR inmate search system.

Note: The inmate search only shows people currently in custody, not those who have been released from Orange County jails.

Search Orange County Vital Records

The Orange County Clerk-Recorder handles birth, death, and marriage records for people search. The office issued 25,688 marriage licenses in 2024 alone. That gives you an idea of how many records flow through this office each year. The Clerk-Recorder also claims to have some of the lowest real property recording fees in the state, which matters if you need to search deed records to find people in Orange County.

The Orange County vital records ordering portal is shown here for people search.

You can order vital records online through the portal at cr.occlerkrecorder.gov. As of January 2026, fees went up under AB 64. Birth certificates cost $34. Death certificates cost $26. Marriage certificates cost $19. Call (714) 834-2500 for questions about vital records people search in Orange County. Informational copies are available to anyone and are commonly used for people search since they show full names, dates, and locations.

Under Health and Safety Code Section 103526, certified birth certificates have access restrictions. But informational copies work for most people search needs in Orange County since they still show the key data.

Tips for Orange County People Records

Start with the court name search tool. It is the fastest way to find someone in Orange County public records. If the person has any court case at all, it will show up there. Then use the specific portals for civil, criminal, or family law to get the full case details. This two-step approach works well for most people search tasks in Orange County.

If you can't find someone through court records, try the Clerk-Recorder vital records search. Marriage records, in particular, list both parties by name and show the date and place of the event. Property records are another good people search tool in Orange County since they show who owns what and when they bought it. The assessor data is free to search online.

People Search in Orange County Cities

Orange County has 34 incorporated cities. All of them use the Orange County Superior Court and Clerk-Recorder for people records. The largest cities with search pages on this site are listed below.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Orange County. If the person you are searching for lives near a county line, their records may be filed in a neighboring county instead.