Frequently Asked Questions

Copies may be obtained from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office at 12400 Imperial Highway, Norwalk, CA 90650 Phone: (800) 201-8999

Record information for divorce filings is available at the Los Angeles Superior Court where the divorce was filed. If the Superior Court location is not known, information can be obtained at the County Courthouse by calling at (213) 830-0803 or going to 111 North Hill St., Los Angeles, CA, 90012.

To obtain a copy of a traffic incident report, please contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department – Lakewood Station at (562) 623-3500.

The City releases non-exempt, existing records in response to requests. The Public Records Act does not require that the City answer questions, perform research, or create new records or reports. See Govt Code 7922.580 et seq; Sander v. Superior Court (2018) 26 Cal.App.5th 651; Haynie v. Superior Court (2001) 26 Cal.4th 1061.

The volume of requests received by the City does not permit instant response to records requests. There is no public counter service for on-demand, same day public records inspections; nor does the law require such a public counter. Identification and collection of potentially responsive records are only some of the steps involved in responding to requests. The collected records must be reviewed to ensure that they are in fact responsive to the request and to assess whether they are subject to redaction to protect the privacy rights of others and consistent with applicable legal privileges & exemptions. Each of the steps in the process takes time. When records requests are available for release, we will contact you. If you prefer to inspect the records, we are happy to set up a mutually convenient time for such an inspection.

The City has 10 days to “determine whether the request…seeks copies of disclosable public records in the possession of the agency and shall promptly notify the person making the request of the determination and reasons therefore.” (Government Code 7922.535 et seq.) This means that agencies are supposed to notify the requester within 10 days if they have requested deliverable public records or exempt material or some combination of the two. The law, however, does not require production within 10 days. (Motorola v. Department of General Services (1997) 55 Cal. App. 4th 1340, 1349). The law requires that production be made in a “reasonable” amount of time, based upon the volume of the records requested and the necessary review process.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law that is not applicable to requests for records of local municipal agency. As a result, we construe requests made under FOIA as inquiries under the California Public Records Act, the law which is applicable to governmental agency records within the State of California. The Public Records Act is contained in Government Code section 7922.525 et seq.

Requests for copies of blueprints, building plans, site plans, drawings, architectural plans, and design plans fall outside the normal PRA process. Therefore, the City does not have the right to give/share their drawings without the Architect's consent in a written contract, written agreement, or written license explicitly authorizing the use. If you have any questions, please call the Building & Safety Division of the Planning Department at (562) 220-2036. See California Assembly Bill No. 630, Chapter 453 AB 630, Holden. Architect.

Real estate records are available through the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office at 12400 Imperial Highway, Norwalk, CA 90650 Phone: (800) 201-8999

Not all cameras seen at intersections or on certain stretches of road record video. Some cameras are utilized by Public Works for signal timing. Those that record typically have an auto-deletion cycle of 30-calendar days. To request traffic video footage within the last 30-days, please submit a PRA request.

Property owner information is available through the County Assessor’s Office. The local office is located at:
Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor – South District
1401 E Willow Street
Signal Hill, CA 90755
(562) 256-1701

The City of Paramount is committed to transparent and open government practices. The City responds to requests for public records pursuant to the California Public Records Act (CPRA), Government Code sections 7922.525 et seq. Per Government Code section 7922.535 et seq, the City will respond within 10 days from receipt of a public records request as to whether disclosable public records exist. In some cases, a 14-day extension to respond may be necessary. If the City determines non-exempt, disclosable public records exist, they will be made available within a reasonable timeframe and following the required payment, if applicable, for copies of such records.

After you submit a request, you will receive an acknowledgement email that contains a link to your request.

If you submitted your request as a guest, the link provided in the email is the only way you can access your request details, including the status of your request. Please make sure to retain your acknowledgement email for easy access.

If you created an account in our Public Records Request system, you can login to view your requests, see the status, view records uploaded in response to your request, and send and receive messages to/from our records staff.