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Johnston County North Carolina Johnston County North Carolina

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Public Records Requests

Marriage, Birth, Death, and Real Estate Records
Tax Records
Divorce Records, Traffic Violation Records, and Criminal and Civil Disputes
Johnston County Sheriff's Office
Johnston County Public Schools
Municipalities
State Agencies
Public Records Disclaimer and Request Portal

Johnston County is committed to transparency and accountability and accepts public records requests via the Public Records Requests Portal.

Below is a list of common public records requests that cannot be filled by submitting an online request through this portal. If your records request falls into any of these categories, please contact the office or agency listed and do not submit a public records request through the online portal on this page.

Marriage, Birth, Death, and Real Estate Records

To obtain marriage, birth, and death records or real estate and deed records, please visit the Johnston County Register of Deeds website or contact the office using the information below:

Johnston County Register of Deeds Office
(919) 989-5160
rodinfo@johnstonnc.gov

Tax Records

To obtain information regarding property tax records, please visit the Johnston County Tax Office website or contact the office using the information below:

Johnston County Tax Office
(919) 989-5130
taxoffice@johnstonnc.gov

Divorce Records, Traffic Violation Records, and Criminal and Civil Disputes

To obtain information regarding a divorce, traffic violation, or other court-related records, such as criminal and civil disputes, please visit the North Carolina Courts website or contact the Johnston County Clerk of Superior Court at (919) 209-5400.

Johnston County Sheriff’s Office

The Sheriff’s Office is the record holder for Sheriff's Office reports and records.  The Sheriff’s Office is located at 2875 US-70 Bus E, Smithfield, NC. Please visit the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office website or contact the Sheriff’s Office at (919) 989-5010.

Johnston County Public Schools

Johnston County Government is not the record holder for records related to Johnston County Public Schools.  For more information, visit the Johnston County Public Schools website.

Municipalities

Johnston County Government is not the record holder for municipalities that are located within or outside of the County. Please visit the websites for the municipalities from which you are seeking records.

State Agencies

Johnston County Government is not the record holder for state agencies, such as the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles or the Department of Health and Human Services.  A listing of state agencies and their websites and contact information can be found at https://www.nc.gov/your-government/state-organizations.  

Public Records Request Portal

Johnston County is committed to fulfilling public records requests as promptly as possible. Because of the large volume of requests received by the County and our legal obligation to protect confidential information contained within responsive records, it often takes time to identify the responsive records and conduct an appropriate review for confidential information and exempt records.

To avoid unnecessary delay in the processing of your request, please be as specific as possible about the records you are requesting. If a request is vague or overly broad, (e.g., "all documents" on a topic, "all emails" for multiple people or not including a specific timeframe), it will take longer to identify and collect potentially responsive records.  Records requests submitted to Johnston County are subject to the North Carolina Public Records laws, subject to certain statutory exceptions, and may be disclosed to third parties.

Public Records Disclaimer

Under N.C.G.S. § 132, most records created or received by Johnston County while conducting public business are considered public records and may be inspected or copied unless a specific legal exemption applies. Johnston County is not required to create new records to fulfill a request, and access may be limited when requested records are confidential or exempt by law. North Carolina’s Public Records Law does not set a specific deadline for responses. Records are provided as promptly as possible, based on the nature of the request and the available staff resources. Johnston County is not governed by the federal Freedom of Information Act, commonly referred to as FOIA.


 

Tips

  • A valid email address is required in order to access your request.
  • Don’t include personal information, like your social security number, in your request.
  • If you don’t know the name of the record, describe the information you believe is contained in it.
  • Be specific about what you need. Including names, dates, keywords, or other details can help expedite the processing of your request.
  • Understand that requests are processed in the order they are received.
  • Let us know if you have any questions.