San Diego Phone Directory Lookup

San Diego phone directory searches start with a mix of city and county databases that give you access to names, phone numbers, and contact details for people and businesses in the area. The city runs its own public records portal and an open data site that holds a wide range of data sets. San Diego County adds more tools through the court system, the assessor, the recorder, and the sheriff. Together these resources form one of the most complete phone directory systems for any city in California. Most searches cost nothing. A few need small fees for copies or downloads.

San Diego County Phone Directory Resources

San Diego sits in San Diego County, which handles most public records for the city. The county runs the court system, the recorder, and the assessor. If you need to find a person through property records, court filings, or vital records in San Diego, the county is where those files live. The San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk office is at the core of this system. Call the Assessor at (619) 236-3771 or the Recorder at (619) 237-0502. You can email ARCCHELP@sdcounty.ca.gov for general help with any San Diego phone directory question that falls under county records.

The San Diego County ARCC portal offers free alerts and search tools. They run an Owner Alert program that sends you an email if someone files a document against your property. This helps stop real estate fraud. Fee changes took effect on January 1, 2026 under AB 64, so vital record costs went up. If you need a birth, death, or marriage record as part of a San Diego phone directory search, check the new prices on the ARCC site before you go.

San Diego City Clerk Phone Directory

The San Diego City Clerk is at 202 C Street, Second Floor, San Diego, CA 92101. Call 619-533-4000. Email cityclerk@sandiego.gov. The clerk handles public records requests, city council records, and other official documents for the City of San Diego. If you need a record from the city itself rather than the county, this is where to go. The office keeps minutes, resolutions, ordinances, and other documents that can help with a San Diego phone directory search when you need to find someone connected to city business or a city contract.

For police records in San Diego, call 619-531-2846. The police department handles its own records separate from the city clerk. Incident reports, arrest records, and other law enforcement files go through that number. These records often have names, addresses, and other details that tie into your San Diego phone directory research.

San Diego Phone Directory Databases

San Diego runs two main online tools for public records. The first is the NextRequest portal. It lets you submit and track public records requests with the city. You can search past requests too. Many of those past requests have documents attached that are free to view. If someone already asked for the record you need, you might find it there right away. This saves time for anyone doing a San Diego phone directory search because you skip the wait for a new request to be processed.

The San Diego NextRequest portal handles all public records requests for the city.

Past requests are searchable and many have documents you can view for free. This is one of the strongest tools in the San Diego phone directory system for city-level records.

The second tool is the San Diego Open Data portal. It holds data sets on topics like business tax certificates, code enforcement, permits, and city employee compensation. You can download full data sets or search online. The data covers everything from parking citations to construction permits. Business data often has names and addresses. For anyone doing a broad San Diego phone directory search, the open data site can turn up leads that other tools miss.

The San Diego Open Data portal has dozens of searchable data sets from city departments.

Data sets update on different schedules. Some are live. Others update weekly or monthly.

Note: Open data sets may not include personal phone numbers, but they connect names to addresses, businesses, and permits across San Diego.

Court Records for San Diego Phone Directory

The San Diego Superior Court has an online case search that covers civil and criminal cases. The court index at courtindex.sdcourt.ca.gov lets you look up cases by name or case number. Civil limited and misdemeanor records may only go back 10 years. Juvenile cases, traffic and minor offense cases, and anything filed before 1974 are not in the system. Court records often list names and addresses of people involved in the case. This makes the San Diego court index a useful part of any San Diego phone directory search for people who have been in the court system.

The San Diego County Sheriff runs two online search tools that help with phone directory lookups. The Who's In Jail database lets you find people currently held in county jails. Search by last name and first name, with at least two characters each. The site goes down for maintenance every Wednesday at noon. The Warrant Search tool shows active warrants. A written warrant check costs $14.00. Both tools are free to search online and add depth to the San Diego phone directory system for law enforcement records.

Note: The Who's In Jail site updates through the day but may take a few hours to show new bookings.

State Tools for San Diego Phone Searches

State databases add another layer to the San Diego phone directory. The Department of Consumer Affairs license search covers more than 3.4 million professionals in California. Filter results to San Diego to find licensed workers in the city. Each listing shows the person's name, license status, and practice location. The Secretary of State business search lets you look up any company registered in California. Results show the agent for service of process, which is the contact person for legal matters. These state tools fill gaps in the local San Diego phone directory when city and county databases don't have what you need.

Under the California Public Records Act, you have the right to access government records in San Diego. The law calls access to public information a fundamental right. If a city or county office turns down your request, you can cite this law. Keep in mind that Public Utilities Code Section 2891.1 protects unlisted phone numbers. No phone company can release an unlisted number in San Diego or anywhere else in California.

Nearby San Diego County Cities

These cities are also in San Diego County. Each has its own phone directory page with local clerk info and search resources.