Access Camas Public Records

Camas Records Access at a Glance

Washington law opens many existing government files, but it does not place every Camas record in one database. The keeper depends on who created the file. The Camas City Clerk handles council, ordinance, contract, permit, and general administrative material. Clark County offices in Vancouver keep deeds, assessments, taxes, and Superior Court files. State agencies run several license, custody, and historical databases.

“Public” often means a right to inspect or receive an existing record. It does not promise a browseable name index. Sealed and adoption cases, protected voter addresses, much juvenile material, recent vital data, and parts of investigative or confinement files remain closed or redacted. A court index also does not replace the official case file.

Camas Deeds in Landmark Records

The Clark County Auditor Recording Department records deeds, deeds of trust, liens, easements, plats, releases, marriage records, and military discharges. Its free Landmark Web search offers several ways to locate an entry. Public images are uncertified and intended for individual viewing. The official sources do not state the earliest complete online year, so older or missing material requires an office or archives check.

The result can show an indexed party, document category, recording date, Auditor filing number, book and page when used, parcel reference, legal description, and an image. A certified copy carries the custodian's authentication and must be purchased. Plain copies cost $1 per page. Certification costs $3 for the first page plus $1 for each added page.

The linked official recorded-document source opens the Landmark search screen shown here.

Its Document Search and Legal Search choices reflect why a parcel number, filing number, or legal description may work when a name spelling does not.

Note: Landmark images are useful for research, but only an Auditor-issued certified copy serves when official authentication is required.

Camas Property Records Need Two Doors

The Clark County Property Information Center, or PIC, accepts a nine-digit parcel account number or a partial street address. A parcel card can show its physical address, values, sales, building traits, taxes, permits, a printable fact sheet, and links to Auditor documents. MapsOnline adds parcel geometry, jurisdiction, permit, environmental, and code-enforcement map layers.

A key Camas fallback is not on the public form. Owner-name searching is available on self-service computers in the Clark County Joint Lobby. This makes the counter the best route when a person’s name is known but no address or parcel number is available. The lobby is at 1300 Franklin Street, second floor, Vancouver, and is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; it is closed Friday.

Camas Court Records Split by Level

Camas-Washougal Municipal Court handles city misdemeanor, infraction, and code matters. Clark County District Court handles other limited-jurisdiction cases. Superior Court holds felony, larger civil, probate, divorce, guardianship, and family cases. The free Washington Courts Case Search can identify a case, while the Clark Superior Court Odyssey Portal provides anonymous case information. Neither source guarantees access to each document.

For the actual public file or a certified copy, contact the court that holds it. Camas-Washougal Municipal Court uses its counter at 89 C Street in Washougal. Superior Court files come from the Clark County Clerk. Plain Clerk copies cost $0.50 per page; a certified document costs $5 for its first page and $1 for each added page. Sealed, adoption, juvenile, and other protected files do not appear merely because a name was searched.

Index

A locator that points to a filing or case, not the complete official record.

Image

A view of a document that may be uncertified.

Certified copy

A copy authenticated by the office that keeps the record.

Custodian

The agency or court responsible for the official file.

Exemption

A law that permits or requires withholding all or part of a record.

Camas Vital Records Follow Four Routes

Birth, death, marriage, and divorce records do not share one keeper. Clark County Public Health issues local birth and death certificates, while the Washington Department of Health provides statewide products. The Clark County Auditor handles marriage licensing and recorded marriage material. The Clark County Clerk keeps the divorce decree, while DOH offers a one-page marriage or divorce certificate for events from 1968 forward.

Washington does not treat all current vital certificates as open public records. Under RCW 70.58A.510, birth records transfer to Archives after 100 years; death, marriage, and divorce records transfer after 25 years. Before transfer, qualified-applicant rules limit certified birth and death copies. Anyone may order informational birth and death products, though an informational death omits cause and manner. Anyone may order marriage and divorce certificates. The base statutory charge is $25, and shipping or vendor costs may change a total.

The state ordering instructions explain product choice, identity proof, and delivery routes.

The ordering page helps separate a legal-use certified copy from an informational copy before an applicant sends payment and documents.

Offices Behind Camas Public Records

Camas is not the Clark County seat, so many in-person searches require a trip to Vancouver or Washougal. Calling the correct desk first can prevent a request from entering the wrong queue. County GovQA does not accept Superior or District Court requests, and the Auditor does not issue birth, death, or divorce-decree copies.

The City Clerk is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding holidays. Clark Vital Records has separate lobby and telephone schedules and does not accept orders by email. Municipal Court has telephone service on weekdays, but its public lobby is open only Tuesday and Thursday.

Camas Records Fees Depend on Product

Inspection is generally free. Camas and Clark County use the Public Records Act default schedule where it applies: $0.15 for a paper page, $0.10 for a scanned page, $0.05 per four electronic files, and $0.10 per gigabyte sent electronically. Actual media, container, and postage costs may be added. An agency may ask for a deposit of up to ten percent and may charge by installment.

Specialized products follow their own schedules. Auditor copies are $1 per page, with certification at $3 for the first page plus $1 for each added page. Clark County Clerk copies and certifications use the court fee schedule. Vital certificates have a $25 base fee. The cheapest sound method is often to inspect first, note the exact pages needed, and then order only those pages with certification if the intended personal or legal task calls for it.

Note: No fee is charged merely to locate a Camas city record, though copies, media, postage, or a supported custom service may cost money.

Limits on Camas Public Records

The Washington Public Records Act is only the general framework. A more specific law can close or redact a field. RCW 70.48.100 protects confinement records beyond the public jail roster. RCW 70.58A controls current vital certificates. Court records follow GR 31 and related court rules. Military discharges recorded on or after June 13, 2002 receive special protection. The Address Confidentiality Program can keep a participant's actual location out of specified agency and voter records.

The Clark County Jail Roster shows a current CFN, name, booking date, location, release date when scheduled, and charge text. A charge is not a conviction. The Washington DOC search returns selected current custody information by name or DOC number. Police incident requests go to the Camas Police records channel and may contain redactions for victims, investigations, health details, or protected people.

Camas Records Before the 1890 Fire

Clark County's second courthouse burned on November 24, 1890. The official sheriff history says six prisoners were saved, but virtually all county records kept in the building were destroyed. That loss explains real gaps in early local files. It does not mean all evidence from before the fire vanished.

Transferred copies and records held elsewhere can survive. The 1871 territorial census is one example, with 2,710 indexed records in Washington Digital Archives. The Clark Auditor Birth Register covers 1891 through 1907 plus one 1884 entry. For an early Camas person or parcel, search the Washington State Digital Archives, then ask the Southwest Regional Archives about selective Auditor, Clerk, Treasurer, municipal, and school transfers. A missing online hit is not proof that no record exists.

File a Camas Records Request

Chapter 42.56 RCW lets any person request an identifiable existing agency record without a Washington residency rule. The agency need not create a new list, answer questions, or perform research. Camas accepts general city requests through JustFOIA, by mail, or by hand delivery to the City Clerk. Police, fire, and municipal court files use their own channels.

1. Choose the custodian. Send city administrative material to the City Clerk, deeds to the Auditor, court files to the correct clerk, and certificates to the vital-record office.
2. Check the official index. A free portal may identify a document number, parcel, case, date, or exact title that narrows the request.
3. Describe existing records. Give the department, record type, date span, names, address, parcel, permit, case, or filing number when known.
4. Select delivery. The Camas form offers JustFOIA, email, mail, a $5 flash drive, inspection, or office pickup. Ask for inspection when only a few pages may be needed.
5. Review the response. Under RCW 42.56.520, the agency has five business days to produce records, give an exact link, acknowledge with a reasonable estimate, seek clarification, or deny in writing.
6. Challenge a withholding if needed. Seek agency review and examine the cited exemption. RCW 42.56.550 allows superior-court review where the record is maintained.

Five business days is the initial response deadline, not a promise of full production. If a request is broad, narrowing the dates or naming the specific file can reduce time and cost. Agencies should release nonexempt parts and identify the law used for each withholding or redaction.