Criminal Records in Klickitat County
Klickitat County criminal records are kept at the county courthouse in Goldendale, a small community in south-central Washington along the Columbia River Gorge. The Klickitat County Superior Court Clerk handles felony cases, and the District Court maintains misdemeanor records. If you need to search criminal records in Klickitat County, you can start with the statewide Washington Courts online portal or call the clerks' offices directly. Klickitat County covers a mostly rural area including Goldendale, White Salmon, and Bingen. All criminal cases from across the county are filed at the Goldendale courthouse under Washington State court rules.
Klickitat County Overview
Klickitat County Superior Court Criminal Records
The Klickitat County Clerk of the Superior Court maintains all felony criminal case files. When a felony charge is filed in Klickitat County, it goes to the Superior Court in Goldendale. The Clerk stores every document, from the initial charging papers through the judgment and sentence. Felony cases include serious drug offenses, assault, burglary, arson, and sex crimes. The Clerk's office is at 205 S Columbus Avenue, Room 204, Goldendale, WA 98620. Phone: (509) 773-5744. Website: klickitatcounty.org/Clerk.
To get records from Klickitat County Superior Court, you can visit in person or request by mail. Bring a case number or the full name of a party to the case. The Clerk can look up cases by both. Copy fees apply for printed documents, and certified copies cost more. If you are submitting a mail request, call ahead to confirm what information you need to provide and how to pay. The Clerk's office can walk you through the process.
| Office | Klickitat County Clerk of Superior Court |
|---|---|
| Address | 205 S Columbus Avenue, Room 204 Goldendale, WA 98620 |
| Phone | (509) 773-5744 |
| Website | klickitatcounty.org/Clerk |
Klickitat County District Court Misdemeanor Records
Klickitat County District Court handles misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, and traffic infractions. That covers things like DUI, simple assault, domestic violence misdemeanors, trespassing, and minor theft charges. These records are public and accessible through the District Court in Goldendale. The District Court is at 205 S Columbus Avenue, Goldendale, WA 98620. Phone: (509) 773-5745. Visit klickitatcounty.org/District-Court for more details.
District Court records are filed separately from Superior Court records. If you need records from both levels, you may need to contact both offices. The statewide Washington Courts online portal at dw.courts.wa.gov is a good first step because it covers both court levels in the same search, letting you identify which court filed a particular case before you reach out for copies.
Klickitat County Sheriff Arrest Records
The Klickitat County Sheriff's Office is the main law enforcement agency in the county. The Sheriff makes arrests, responds to crimes, and maintains jail records and incident reports. These records are separate from the court records kept by the Clerk. To request arrest records, incident reports, or jail records from Klickitat County, contact the Sheriff at (509) 773-4455 or visit in person at 155 S Columbus Avenue, Goldendale, WA 98620. Their website is at klickitatcounty.org/Sheriff.
The Sheriff's Office also handles sex offender registration for Klickitat County. Registered offenders must check in with the Sheriff within three business days of establishing residence. The Sheriff reports that information to the statewide registry. Public records requests for arrest and incident reports are subject to any exemptions under Washington's Public Records Act at RCW Chapter 42.56.
The Klickitat County Sheriff's Office handles arrest records and public safety for the county.
The Sheriff at klickitatcounty.org/Sheriff accepts public records requests for Klickitat County arrest records and incident reports.
Klickitat County Criminal Records Online
You can search Klickitat County criminal records for free through the Washington Courts name and case search at dw.courts.wa.gov. Enter a full name or case number. The portal searches statewide, so results cover both Klickitat County Superior Court felonies and District Court misdemeanors in one pass. You will see case type, charges, filing dates, hearing dates, and case status. Document images are not available through this portal, but the case-level data is enough to confirm whether a case exists and to get a case number for a more detailed request.
The statewide courts portal also links to a full directory of court contacts at courts.wa.gov/court_dir. That directory lists phone numbers and addresses for every court in Washington, including Klickitat County. Court forms for public records requests and other matters are at courts.wa.gov/forms. If you plan to request records by mail, having the right form ready can speed up the process.
The Washington Courts portal provides free online access to Klickitat County criminal case records at both the Superior Court and District Court level.
Statewide Background Checks Including Klickitat County
The Washington State Patrol's WATCH system covers all 39 Washington counties, including Klickitat. When a conviction is entered in Klickitat County, courts report that disposition to WSP, and it gets added to the statewide criminal history database. To search that database, go to watch.wsp.wa.gov. Enter a name and date of birth and pay $11. You get results in seconds. A positive result shows a full RAP sheet with all Washington State convictions linked to that name and date of birth combination.
The WATCH system does not show out-of-state records. It does not show non-conviction data for public users. That means dismissed charges, acquittals, and charges that were never prosecuted do not appear in a public WATCH result. Non-conviction records are restricted to criminal justice agencies under the Washington Criminal Records Privacy Act at RCW Chapter 10.97. For Klickitat County cases specifically, the county clerk or the court portal may show more detail about the outcome of a specific case than WATCH alone.
The WSP criminal history section at wsp.wa.gov captures Klickitat County conviction data as part of the statewide fingerprint-based records system.
DOC Inmate Search and Sex Offender Registry
People convicted of felonies in Klickitat County and sent to state prison can be found in the Washington DOC inmate database at doc.wa.gov. The search is free and covers people currently in state custody. You can search by name or DOC number. For records on people who have been released, contact the DOC Public Disclosure Unit by phone at (360) 725-8213 or by email at publicdisclosureunit@doc1.wa.gov. Their mailing address is P.O. Box 41100, Olympia, WA 98504-1100.
Sex offenders living in Klickitat County must register with the Klickitat County Sheriff's Office within three business days of moving into the area. Level II and Level III offenders appear on the Washington Sex Offender Public Registry at waspc.org/sex-offender-information. Level I offenders are lower risk and their data goes only to law enforcement. The registry is maintained by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and is searchable by name or location.
WATCH at watch.wsp.wa.gov gives fast online access to Washington conviction records, including those from Klickitat County courts.
Nearby Counties
Klickitat County sits in south-central Washington, bordered by Skamania County to the west, Yakima County to the north, and Benton County to the east.