Los Angeles County - Records Management and Archives Program

Mission Serving Los Angeles County by providing essential records management and election services in a fair, accessible and transparent manner. The Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk In January 1968, the Departments of Registrar of Voters and County Recorder were merged by the Board of Supervisors and further merged with the County Clerk in January 1991. During this time, the three operations and 700 employees were situated in separate facilities. In July 1993, the department was able to fulfill its long-term goal of merging all functions to one site, providing a permanent and secure headquarter for all operations, as well as its extensive volume of 160 million documents. Registrar's Office The Los Angeles County Registrar's Office is responsible for the registration of voters, maintenance of voter files, conduct of federal, state, local and special elections and the verification of initiative, referendum and recall petitions. Each year, the office participates in approximately 200 elections for schools, cities and special districts. There are approximately 4.8 million registered voters, as well as 5,000 voting precincts established for countywide elections. The Registrar's Office is in constant need of citizens willing to work at the precinct polling places on Election Day, and/or willing to provide homes or facilities as polling places. Payment is provided for pollworkers and rental of facilities. If you can help, call (562) 466-1373. Recorder's Office The Recorder's Office is responsible for recording legal documents that determine ownership of property, as well as maintaining files of birth, death, marriage and real estate records for Los Angeles County. All functions of the office are conducted under provisions of the State Constitution, State and County Codes. The recording operation in Los Angeles County is large and complex. It serves the public and other County departments, such as the Assessor, Health Services, Public Social Services and Regional Planning. Documents on file are vital to the real estate, legal and banking communities and the general economy of the County. County Clerk's Office On January 15, 1991, the Board of Supervisors approved the transfer of the County Clerk title and functions — which did not relate to judicial actions, procedures and records — to the Registrar-Recorder. Major functions transferred include: marriage license issuance, the performance of civil marriage ceremonies, fictitious business name filings and indexing, qualification and registration of notaries, as well as miscellaneous statutory issuance of oaths and filings. The office issues approximately 75,000 marriage licenses and processes 125,000 fictitious business name filings annually.