Grant County Police Records Search

Grant County police records including criminal offense reports, auto collision reports, traffic citations, arrest records, and missing persons reports are maintained by the Grant County Sheriff's Office Records Unit in Ephrata, Washington. The Records Unit stores all reports on a computerized system for fast access, and residents can submit public records requests through the county's online portal or by contacting the Sheriff's Office directly. All requests are processed under the Washington Public Records Act.

Grant County Sheriff's Office Records Unit

The Grant County Sheriff's Office is located at 35 C St NW, Ephrata, WA 98823. You can reach the office at (509) 754-2011. The Records Unit within the Sheriff's Office maintains and files all reports taken by the department. This includes criminal offense reports, auto collision reports, traffic citations, records of arrest, missing persons reports, and other types of law enforcement documents. Reports are stored on a computerized system that provides fast access to records when requests come in.

The Records Unit is the main point of contact for anyone who wants Grant County police records from unincorporated areas of the county. The Sheriff's Office covers law enforcement for the county outside of incorporated city limits. If you need records from an incident inside Moses Lake city limits, that would go to the Moses Lake Police Department rather than the Sheriff's Office. The Grant County Sheriff's Office page has current contact information and directions for submitting records requests through the proper channel.

How to Request Grant County Police Records

The Grant County Public Records page lays out the process for submitting a records request. Your request must identify the specific record you want. The county gives a good example of what a proper request looks like: "Requesting a copy of the Grant County Sheriff's Office police report for case number 24GS01234." That level of specificity helps the office locate the right document quickly. If you don't have a case number, include the name of the person involved, the date of the incident, and the location.

Requests must also clearly state which agency and which specific records you are asking for. The Public Records Officer serves as the point of contact for all requests and oversees compliance with RCW 42.56. Under the Public Records Act, the office has five business days to respond. The response can be the records themselves, an estimate of when they will be ready, a request for more information, or a denial with the reason stated. Fees for records in Grant County are set by Resolution 23-103-CC. You can check the resolution or ask the Public Records Officer for a current fee schedule before your request is processed.

Grant County Arrest Records and Jail Roster

Arrest records from the Grant County Sheriff's Office document when someone was taken into custody, the charges listed, the date and location of the arrest, and the arresting deputy. These records are part of the broader set of law enforcement records maintained by the Records Unit. The Grant County Jail holds both pre-trial detainees and sentenced misdemeanor offenders, and jail roster information is available to the public under Washington's Public Records Act.

To get current inmate information or recent arrest records, contact the Records Unit directly or submit a formal public records request through the county portal. As with all public records in Washington, some details may be withheld if they fall under a recognized exemption. Records tied to active investigations, information about minors, and data protected under RCW 10.97, the Criminal Records Privacy Act, may be redacted or withheld in whole or in part.

Moses Lake Police Records

Moses Lake is the largest city in Grant County and has its own police department. If you need records from an incident that happened inside Moses Lake, contact the Moses Lake Police Department rather than the Grant County Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff covers unincorporated county areas outside the city limits. For more details on accessing records from Moses Lake, visit the Moses Lake police records page.

Other cities in Grant County, such as Ephrata and Quincy, also have their own local police departments. If you are not sure which agency handled an incident, the best approach is to call the Sheriff's Office at (509) 754-2011 and they can direct you to the right office.

Grant County Criminal History Records

For a full statewide criminal history check, you should contact the Washington State Patrol rather than the Grant County Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Records Unit handles county-level records, but a statewide background check requires going through WSP. The WSP operates the WATCH system (Washington Access to Criminal History), which allows the public to search criminal history records across all Washington counties for $11. Results come back instantly online after you submit the form and pay the fee. Grant County's own guidance notes that you should contact WSP at 360-534-2000 for criminal history background checks.

The WSP Criminal History Records page explains what the WATCH database covers. Local records held only at the Grant County level may not always appear in a WATCH search. Submit separate requests to the Sheriff's Office and to WSP if you need both local and statewide data.

Washington Public Records Act in Grant County

Washington's Public Records Act, RCW 42.56, is the legal framework that gives the public the right to access government records, including Grant County police records. The act requires the Sheriff's Office to respond to requests within five business days and to specify which exemption applies if any records are withheld. Grant County also uses Resolution 23-103-CC to set its fee schedule for records copies. If you think a denial was not justified, you can appeal internally and seek judicial review under RCW 42.56.550 if needed.

The MRSC arrest records guide provides a good overview of how Washington law enforcement agencies manage public records requests. The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs also maintains guidance on public records for sheriff's offices and police departments statewide.

Grant County Collision Reports

The Grant County Sheriff's Office Records Unit does maintain auto collision reports for crashes that deputies responded to in unincorporated areas. However, the official Washington State Patrol report for a crash is separate. The WSP handles crash reports for all roadways under its jurisdiction through the WSP collision records page for $10.50 per report. The governing law for collision reports is RCW 46.52.085. If you need the full picture, you may want to request both the Sheriff's Office incident report and the WSP collision report, as they may contain different information about the same crash.

Cities in Grant County

Moses Lake is the largest city in Grant County and has its own dedicated police records page.

Nearby Counties

Grant County shares borders with Adams, Douglas, Kittitas, Lincoln, and Franklin counties. Find police records information for neighboring counties below.