State Resources
West Virginia
No statewide case search and 55 counties, but the county clerk holds an unusually wide set of records. And there’s one asset class here that people miss constantly — severed mineral interests.
At a glance
| Record | Held by | Cost | Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business and entity search | Secretary of State | Free to search | Yes |
| UCC filings | Secretary of State — UCC | Free to search | Yes |
| Property and land records | County clerk (records) and county assessor | Free online in some counties | By county |
| Court records | Circuit, family and magistrate clerks, by county | Varies by county | By county |
| Criminal records | State Police, Criminal Identification Bureau | Fee; consent required | Consent required |
| Vital records | DHHR, Vital Registration Office | Certified copies carry a fee | Yes |
| Unclaimed property | State Treasurer | Free | Yes |
| Voter and resident records | Secretary of State | Free | Yes |
Worth knowing about West Virginia
Mineral rights are the asset people miss
West Virginia sits on the Marcellus and Utica shale, and mineral ownership here is frequently severed from the surface and fragmented across dozens of heirs through generations of intestate succession.
A person who appears to own nothing may hold a fractional mineral interest producing royalty income. Those interests are recorded with the county clerk and they’re real, assignable, attachable assets.
Check the estate files too. West Virginia probate runs through the county commission and the clerk, and a succession file often lists mineral interests explicitly, because they had to be divided among heirs.
The unclaimed property search is unusually productive here for the same reason — the state holds a substantial amount of unclaimed royalty money for owners who could not be located. Run it even on subjects with no obvious West Virginia connection.
The county clerk holds more than you expect
West Virginia splits its records in a way that favors one office. The county clerk holds deeds, mortgages, liens, wills and estates, and marriage records. The circuit clerk holds the court files.
So for property, probate and marriage, one office covers it. Several counties publish free online index searches.
Court records are county by county with no statewide search, and there are three tiers. Circuit court for felonies and larger civil, family court for divorce and custody, and magistrate court for misdemeanors, small claims and evictions.
Kanawha, Berkeley, Monongalia and Cabell are the larger counties.
Record by record
Business and entity search
Open business search →- Held by
- Secretary of State
- Cost
- Free to search
Free entity search returning status, formation date, registered agent, officers and members, with filed documents viewable. Better disclosure than several much larger states.
An annual report is required, so an entity in good standing has been refreshed within the year.
UCC filings
Open Business Division →- Held by
- Secretary of State — UCC
- Cost
- Free to search
UCC financing statements filed centrally with the Secretary of State. A UCC-1 names the debtor, the secured party and the collateral.
Note that oil, gas and mineral interests are recorded at the county, not in the UCC index. Check both.
Property and land records
- Held by
- County clerk (records) and county assessor
- Cost
- Free online in some counties
The county clerk records deeds, mortgages, liens, wills and marriages. The county assessor holds ownership and value.
West Virginia publishes a statewide property tax lookup through the Department of Revenue that spans counties, which is a useful shortcut for confirming a parcel.
And check minerals — see above.
Court records
Open West Virginia Judiciary →- Held by
- Circuit, family and magistrate clerks, by county
- Cost
- Varies by county
No free statewide case search. Circuit, family and magistrate courts each hold different things — see above.
Supreme Court of Appeals opinions and dockets are published free.
Criminal records
Open West Virginia State Police →- Held by
- State Police, Criminal Identification Bureau
- Cost
- Fee; consent required
Criminal history checks require the subject’s consent and fingerprints. There’s no public name-based product.
The circuit and magistrate clerks are the practical route.
Vital records
Open DHHR →- Held by
- DHHR, Vital Registration Office
- Cost
- Certified copies carry a fee
Births, deaths and marriages from the state office, with county clerks also issuing. West Virginia restricts certified copies to people with a direct interest.
Unclaimed property
Open State Treasurer →- Held by
- State Treasurer
- Cost
- Free
Free name search. West Virginia holds a substantial amount of unclaimed mineral royalty money for owners who could not be located, which makes this search unusually productive here.
Voter and resident records
Open voter services →- Held by
- Secretary of State
- Cost
- Free
Individual registration lookup confirming status and county.
Public records requests in West Virginia
- Statute
- W. Va. Code §§ 29B-1-1 et seq. (Freedom of Information Act)
- Response deadline
- Five business days
- Appeal to
- Circuit court
- Appeal window
- No fixed deadline
Five business days to produce, deny in writing with the exemption cited, or advise that more time is needed.
There’s no ombudsman or administrative appeal. The remedy is circuit court, and a prevailing requester may recover costs and attorney fees.
West Virginia maintains a public FOIA database where agencies must log the requests they receive. That database is itself worth searching — it tells you what other people have already asked for, and what they got.
No residency requirement and no purpose requirement.
What West Virginia will not give you
- Name-based criminal history. Requires consent and fingerprints. No public product.
- Driver and vehicle records. Closed under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.
- Juvenile records. Not public.
- A statewide case search. Does not exist. 55 counties, three court tiers each.
Course
The Ultimate FOIA and Public Records Course
Every state page here tells you what the law says. The course shows you how to write the request, what to do when it comes back gutted, and how to appeal without a lawyer — the part that decides whether you actually get the records.
See the FOIA courseRelated
- Ohio — 88 county portals across the river
- Kentucky — the AOC sells a statewide record report
- Pennsylvania — free statewide UJS Portal
- Property records: finding the owner
- FOIA as a judgment enforcement tool
Fees and procedures verified August 2026. Clerks change their counter rules more often than the statutes change — call before you drive.