Search San Diego County Phone Directory

San Diego County phone directory searches start with a handful of free public databases run by the county government. The Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk office, the Superior Court, and the Sheriff each provide search tools that help you find people, contact info, and public records in San Diego County. Whether you need a court case name, a property owner, or an inmate booking, these tools give you direct access to county data. San Diego County is the second most populated county in California. Its records cover more than 3.3 million residents and stretch back decades in most cases. This page walks through the main San Diego County phone directory sources and how to use them.

San Diego County Recorder Phone Directory

The San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk, known as the ARCC, is the main office for recorded documents and vital records in the county. This is a core stop for any San Diego County phone directory search. The office handles property recordings, fictitious business names, marriage licenses, and birth and death certificates. Fee changes took effect on January 1, 2026 under AB 64. The ARCC also runs a free Owner Alert service that sends you an email when someone files a document on your property. This tool helps stop real estate fraud. Call (619) 237-0502 for the Recorder-Clerk division. The Assessor line is (619) 236-3771. You can also email ARCCHELP@sdcounty.ca.gov.

The San Diego County ARCC portal is the main entry point for all recorded document and vital records services in the county.

From this site you can reach the official records search, the fictitious business name database, and vital records ordering. It covers all of San Diego County. The official records search lets you look up recorded documents by name. The fictitious business name search shows who owns a business in San Diego County. Both of these tools are useful for phone directory research because they connect names to addresses and business locations throughout the county.

Court Records in San Diego County

The San Diego Superior Court gives online access to case records. Civil limited and misdemeanor records may only go back 10 years. Juvenile cases, traffic matters, and cases from before 1974 are not part of the online system. Still, the court search is one of the stronger tools in the San Diego County phone directory for finding people who have been in the court system. You can search by name or case number through the court index. The Register of Actions gives more detail on specific cases once you have a case number.

Court records in San Diego County often list party names, addresses, and filing dates. This makes them a helpful secondary tool for phone directory searches when other sources come up short. The court system covers all of San Diego County, including the city of San Diego, Chula Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, and Carlsbad. If you need copies, the cost runs about $0.50 per page in most cases. Certifications are extra.

Note: Cases sealed by court order and juvenile matters will not appear in any San Diego County phone directory search through the court system.

San Diego Sheriff Phone Directory Tools

The San Diego County Sheriff has two online databases that fit into the San Diego County phone directory. The first is a jail lookup. The second is a warrant search.

The Who's In Jail tool lets you search for anyone currently in a San Diego County jail facility. You need at least two characters of the last name and two of the first name. The site goes offline each Wednesday at noon for maintenance, so plan around that if you need to search. This is a free San Diego County phone directory tool that shows current inmates and booking details.

Results show the person's name, booking number, and facility. This updates throughout the day as new bookings are processed in San Diego County.

The Warrant Search lets you check if someone has an active warrant in San Diego County. A written warrant check response costs $14. The online search is free to run, but if you need an official letter, you will pay that fee. This is a more specialized part of the San Diego County phone directory system.

The warrant search covers all active warrants in San Diego County courts. It helps verify if someone has legal matters pending in the county.

State Phone Directory Sources for San Diego

State level databases add more depth to any San Diego County phone directory search. The Department of Consumer Affairs license lookup lets you filter by county. Over 3.4 million licensed professionals are in the system. Search for a name and narrow results to San Diego County to find practice locations and contact info. The State Bar attorney search also lets you filter by county, which makes it easy to find lawyers practicing in San Diego.

The Megan's Law database covers registered sex offenders in San Diego County. You can search by name, city, or zip code. Results include names, aliases, ages, and physical descriptions. The Secretary of State business entity search is another strong tool. It shows the registered agent for any California business, and many agents are based in San Diego County. These state tools work alongside the local databases to give you a more complete San Diego County phone directory picture.

Under the California Public Records Act, you have the right to request records from San Diego County offices. The law says access to information about public business is a fundamental right. If a county office in San Diego turns down your request without a valid reason, you can push back under this statute.

San Diego County Cities Directory

These cities in San Diego County have their own phone directory pages with local clerk offices, police records contacts, and city databases.

Nearby County Phone Directories

These counties are near San Diego County. Each has its own phone directory search tools and public record databases.