Lewis County Criminal Records Search
Lewis County criminal records are held at the county courthouse in Chehalis, in southwest Washington along the I-5 corridor. The Lewis County Superior Court Clerk maintains felony case files, and the District Court handles misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors. Anyone who needs to search Lewis County criminal records can use the statewide Washington Courts online portal or contact the county clerks' offices directly. Lewis County covers a wide area including Chehalis, Centralia, Morton, and many rural communities between the Cascade foothills and the Willapa Hills. All criminal cases filed in the county go through the Chehalis courthouse under the state court system.
Lewis County Overview
Lewis County Superior Court Criminal Records
The Lewis County Clerk of the Superior Court maintains all felony criminal case files. Felony cases in Lewis County include drug trafficking, robbery, assault, burglary, and serious sex offenses. When a felony charge is filed, the Clerk assigns a case number and keeps the file from initial charging through any appeal. The Clerk's office is at 351 NW North Street, Chehalis, WA 98532. Phone: (360) 740-1208. Website: lewiscountywa.gov/clerk.
You can request copies of Lewis County criminal court records in person or by mail. Having a case number speeds up the search significantly. If you do not have one, staff can search by party name. Standard copy fees apply for printed documents. Certified copies are available for an additional fee and are often required when the records will be used in legal proceedings elsewhere. Call ahead to confirm current fees and hours before making a trip to Chehalis.
| Office | Lewis County Clerk of Superior Court |
|---|---|
| Address | 351 NW North Street Chehalis, WA 98532 |
| Phone | (360) 740-1208 |
| Website | lewiscountywa.gov/clerk |
Lewis County District Court Records
Lewis County District Court handles misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, traffic violations, civil cases under $100,000, and small claims. Criminal matters at this level include DUI, simple assault, petty theft, criminal trespassing, and domestic violence misdemeanors. District Court records are public and kept separately from Superior Court felony files. The District Court address is 351 NW North Street, Chehalis, WA 98532. Phone: (360) 740-1203. Website: lewiscountywa.gov/district-court.
Lewis County District Court and Superior Court are both located at 351 NW North Street, which makes it simple to access both offices in one visit. If you need records from more than one court level, you can handle both requests in the same trip. The statewide Washington Courts search at dw.courts.wa.gov can help you identify which court level handled a case before you arrive, saving time at the counter.
Lewis County Sheriff's Office and Arrest Records
The Lewis County Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency for unincorporated Lewis County. The Sheriff makes arrests across the county and generates incident reports, booking records, and jail logs that are separate from court records. To request arrest records or incident reports from Lewis County, contact the Sheriff's Office at (360) 748-9286. The office is at 345 NW Pacific Avenue, Chehalis, WA 98532. Their website is at lewiscountywa.gov/sheriff.
Arrest records from the Sheriff show when someone was taken into custody and what they were booked for. They do not show the outcome of any court case. For conviction information, you need the court records from the Clerk's office or a search through the WSP WATCH system. It is common to need both types of records when trying to get a full picture of a person's criminal history in Lewis County.
Note: Not every arrest leads to charges being filed. Court records show what actually happened after an arrest.
Lewis County Criminal Records Online Search
The Washington Courts public access portal at dw.courts.wa.gov is the free online tool for searching Lewis County criminal records. You search by full name, partial name, or case number. The system covers all court levels statewide, so a name search returns Lewis County results along with any other Washington county where the person has a record. Results show case type, charges, filing dates, hearing schedules, and dispositions. This is a good way to confirm whether a case exists and to get basic details before requesting full court documents.
One limit of the online portal is that it does not show document images. You see case-level data only. For the actual court documents, you need to contact the Lewis County Clerk. The Washington Courts portal also has a court directory at courts.wa.gov/court_dir with contact details for every court in Washington. Court forms are available at courts.wa.gov/forms, including forms for public records requests if you want to submit one formally.
The Washington Courts portal provides free online access to Lewis County criminal cases at both the Superior Court and District Court level, searchable by name or case number.
Statewide Criminal History Records for Lewis County
The Washington State Patrol maintains the central criminal history database for all Washington counties, including Lewis County. When a conviction is entered in Lewis County, the courts report that data to WSP. It gets added to the statewide database. You can search it through WATCH at watch.wsp.wa.gov for $11 per search. Enter a name and date of birth, pay with a card, and get results right away. WATCH shows all Washington State conviction history linked to that name and DOB, plus sex offender registration status and DOC information where applicable.
WATCH does not include out-of-state records. It also does not show non-conviction data to public users. Dismissed charges, acquittals, and arrests with no charges filed do not show up in a public WATCH result. Those records are controlled under the Washington State Criminal Records Privacy Act at RCW Chapter 10.97, which limits public access to conviction data only. For Lewis County cases, you can combine a WATCH search with a look at the court portal to get a fuller picture of a person's history.
The WSP criminal history system at wsp.wa.gov/crime/criminal-history covers all 39 Washington counties, including Lewis County, in a single statewide database.
DOC Inmate Search for Lewis County Felony Sentences
When someone is convicted of a felony in Lewis County Superior Court and sentenced to state prison, the Washington Department of Corrections takes custody. The DOC publishes a free public inmate search at doc.wa.gov. You can search by name or DOC number and see current facility location and custody status. The DOC database only shows people currently in state custody. If a person has already been released, they will not appear in the search.
For information about people who have been released or for historical DOC records, contact the DOC Public Disclosure Unit. Email: publicdisclosureunit@doc1.wa.gov. Phone: (360) 725-8213. Mail: DOC Public Disclosure Unit, P.O. Box 41100, Olympia, WA 98504-1100. Standard copy fees apply as set by state law.
WATCH at watch.wsp.wa.gov provides the fastest online way to check Washington conviction records, including those from Lewis County cases.
Sex Offender Registry in Lewis County
Sex offenders who live in Lewis County must register with the Lewis County Sheriff's Office within three business days of establishing a residence. The registration requirement applies to people convicted of sex offenses under Washington law. Level II and Level III offenders appear on the public sex offender registry at waspc.org/sex-offender-information, which is managed statewide by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. You can search by name or by location to find registered offenders in Lewis County.
Level I offenders are considered lower risk. Their registration data is shared with law enforcement but is not posted on the public registry. Level III offenders are the highest risk and are subject to active community notification. Failure to register as required is a felony offense. Offenders must also report any address or employment changes within three business days.
The Washington sex offender registry at waspc.org allows searches by name or location to find Level II and Level III offenders registered in Lewis County.
Nearby Counties
Lewis County is in southwest Washington. Criminal cases are filed in the county where the offense occurred.