General Information | Technical
Q: HOW DO I GET A COPY OF PUBLIC RECORDS, SPECIFICALLY BIRTH CERTIFICATES, MARRIAGE LICENSES, DEATH CERTIFICATES, AND DIVORCE RECORDS?
A: Birth, death and marriage records are maintained by the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office. For specific information on obtaining these records, please go to http://www.lavote.net/RECORDER/BDM_Records.cfm Divorce records are available at the Superior Court in which the matter was handled, or at the Los Angeles County Superior Court Archives if it is an older record. For more information, check under “court records” in the online Citizens Guide to Services at http://lacounty.info/citizen_guide_frame.htm
Q: HOW DO I FIND OUT THE NAME OF THE OWNER OF A PARTICULAR PROPERTY?
A: The Office of Assessor maintains the property assessment roll, which lists the assessee (normally the property owner). The roll may be inspected by the public at the main office or regional offices. For a list of the offices, go to the Assessor’s website at: http://www.lacountyassessor.com/extranet/contactus/districtOffice.aspx. You may also request this information by phone at (213) 974-3211 or by e-mail at assessor@co.la.ca.us
Q: I WANT TO OPEN A BUSINESS. HOW DO I FILE FOR A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT AND A BUSINESS LICENSE?
A: You must obtain a fictitious name statement (commonly known as a DBA) from the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office. For information, go to http://www.lavote.net/CLERK/Business_Name.cfm. If you live in an unincorporated area of the County, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Diamond Bar, Malibu, Santa Clarita or Westlake Village, you should check with the County’s Business License Office to see if you need a license. Information is available at (213) 974-2011 or on the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s website at http://ttax.co.la.ca.us/main.htm . Look under Services, Business License. If your business is in one of the other 88 cities in the County, you should check with the local city hall. For a list of city hall phone numbers, go to http://lacounty.info/cityoff.pdf
Q: HOW DO I FIND OUT WHY A LIEN WAS FILED ON MY PROPERTY?
A: Liens are created as a result of a lawsuit. Certified copies of judgments, which affect title to real property, may be recorded. The Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk serves notification by mail to debtors when an involuntary lien is recorded against them. If you have received a copy of a lien and have questions, you must contact the person or agency that filed the lien. For further information, phone (562)462-2125 or go to http://www.lavote.net/RECORDER/Document_Recording.cfm.
Q: WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO APPLY FOR A JOB WITH THE COUNTY?
A: Information about job openings and procedures is available on the Department of Human Resources website at http://easier.co.la.ca.us/jobs/cfscripts/search_body.cfm or by calling (800)970-5478.
Q: HOW DO I FIND OUT ABOUT SPECIFIC REGULATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ENACTED BY THE COUNTY?
A: Ordinances passed by the Board of Supervisors are available online at http://ordlink.com/codes/lacounty/index.htm There is a search feature that will assist in locating specific topics. For information, phone (213) 974-1426.
Q: HOW DO I FIND THE INFORMATION I NEED?
A: The Portal website has been organized and optimized to help residents, employees and visitors to Los Angeles County locate specific information. Click on About This Site for detailed information on How To Use, or see:
General Information for general, historical and statistical information about the County.
Services for a listing of available County services.
Business for information on purchasing and contracting opportunities with the County.
Index for an alphabetical view of County services.
Public Announcements for important news on County issues or services.
Featured Links for announcements of new information or County websites.
Quick Resources for a listing of the most commonly used resources.
Online Services for applications that allow you to request or submit information online.
Forms for a departmental listing of forms that can be downloaded or submitted online.
Publications for reports, manuals, brochures and other County publications.
Departments for an alphabetical listing of department websites.
Commissions for an alphabetical listing of commission and committee websites.
Search to enter key words to locate specific information.
Q: WHAT BROWSER SHOULD I USE?
A: The Portal website is best-viewed using Internet Explorer 5.x or Netscape Navigator 6.x. Lower versions or other commonly used browsers will work, but may not display information with optimal formatting. Refer to About This Site for detailed information on Technical Requirements.
Q: IF I AM VISUALLY IMPAIRED CAN I STILL VIEW INFORMATION ON THIS WEBSITE?
A: Absolutely. The Portal website is designed to ensure readability and usability by a widespread audience which includes those with vision, hearing or other impairments that would affect Internet access. The website has been tested using a popular screen reader to ensure pages can be appropriately viewed and navigated by the visually challenged. The INCREASE FONT SIZE option allows the size of print, as viewed on the web pages, to be enlarged. The TEXT ONLY option eliminates graphic images and the drop-down menu system to enhance viewing and navigation functions for the visually impaired. See About This Site for additional information on Accessibility.
Q: HOW CAN I GET MY SEARCH QUERY TO RETRIEVE MORE EXACT RESULTS?
A: The Portal website uses a Verity search engine to locate information in thousands of documents which reside in over 50 departmental and commission websites. These documents have been organized into six categories or indices. To retrieve fewer, more exact results, restrict your search to one or more of the following Portal indices:
All – searches the entire County Portal database of web pages.
Doing Business With Us – searches an index of documents related to doing business with Los Angeles County.
Forms – searches a special index of County forms.
Permits and Licenses – searches an index of documents related to County permits and licenses.
Property and Tax – searches an index of documents related to County property and tax issues.
Publications – searches an index of reports, brochures, handbooks and other County publications.
Using various operators and expressions in your query may also further refine your search. See Advanced Search HELP for a list of tips and examples.
Q: HOW DO I CONTACT THE WEBMASTER?
A: The County Portal encompasses over 50 department and commission websites, and there is potentially a different Webmaster for each website. The general rule-of-thumb is to click on the E-MAIL link in the navigation bar at the top of the page. This will ensure your comments or request for information will be delivered to the appropriate County Webmaster.
The E-MAIL link in the navigation bar at the top of the page will change as you move about the Portal, from page to page or from website to website. For example, if you are on the Portal Home Page or one of the supporting pages, using the E-MAIL link will send your comments to the Portal Webmaster. If you are on a page that is part of a department or commission website, clicking on the E-MAIL link will send your comments to the Webmaster for that specific department or commission.
Keep in mind that temporarily, the County Portal will provide access to existing department or commission websites that do not use the new Portal technology. On these websites, the familiar Portal navigation bar will not appear at the top of the page. However, all of these websites will have an E-MAIL or CONTACT US link visible on their Home Page or in their navigation bar that can be used to contact the Webmaster for that specific website.
Q: DOES THE COUNTY COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ME WHEN I VISIT THE PORTAL WEBSITE?
A: The Portal website does send a cookie or piece of text to your browser for the explicit purpose of maintaining a state of usability when either the Text Only Version or Increase Font Size capability are selected. This means that if you choose the Increase Font Size option, the font size will remain enlarged for the duration of your visit, and as you move from page to page. Without this interactivity, you would have to re-select the Increase Font Size option every time you moved to a different web page.
The County of Los Angeles does not use this process to collect and store or share any personal information about those who visit the Portal website. It is important to remember that cookies are simply pieces of information (text), not programs that can transmit viruses or extract information from your computer’s hard drive without your knowledge. Refer to Privacy for additional information on the County’s policy regarding the collection and use of personal information.