Private reference, not a records office. Suffolk Residents Directory cannot retrieve a file, issue a certified copy, verify someone’s current location, or change an entry in a public record. Send a record request to the agency or custodian that maintains it. For an emergency, call 911. If someone is stalking or harassing you, contact local law enforcement.
Match a Suffolk Request to Its Custodian
Use the record type to choose the first contact. Suffolk is an independent city, and court records, city administrative records, state records, and historical collections follow different access rules. A request that identifies the record, address or name, relevant dates, and jurisdiction gives the custodian a clearer starting point.
- Parcel, street, permit, and GIS context: use the Street Directory and then contact the City Assessor or GIS office for the record at issue.
- Historical directory, newspaper, and local-history research: use the Directory Book, Suffolk Public Library, the Library of Virginia, or the appropriate archive.
- A record concerning one named person: use the Resident Lookup to identify the correct court, state, property, voter, vital, or historical route.
- Existing City of Suffolk administrative records: send a reasonably specific request to the Suffolk FOIA Office through its public portal or the contact details below.
- Deeds, plats, probate, marriage, and court files: contact the Suffolk Circuit Court Clerk. Court records are not handled as Virginia FOIA requests.
Suffolk FOIA Office
For existing City of Suffolk municipal records, use the JustFOIA public portal or contact the office at 442 W Washington Street, Suite 1163, Suffolk, VA. Phone: 757-514-4100.
Suffolk Circuit Court Clerk
For land, probate, marriage, and court-file access, contact the Suffolk Circuit Court Clerk, Mills E. Godwin Courts Building, 150 N Main Street, Suffolk, VA 23434. Phone: 757-514-7800. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; monetary transactions end at 4:30 p.m.
Virginia FOIA, including Va. Code §2.2-3704, governs requests for existing public records held by the City of Suffolk. Describe the requested record with reasonable specificity. The city may charge actual search, redaction, duplication, or database-format costs and may require a deposit. The statute does not require a new analysis or open-ended answer, and it does not replace the separate rules for court files, vital records, protected voter information, sealed matters, or confidential addresses.