Seattle City Clerk's Online Information Services

All Online Resources

Council Bills/ Ordinances - 1869-present: Ordinances are City legislation which have the force of law. They are called Council Bills before they are enacted, and become Ordinances if passed by the City Council and approved. The Council Bills and Ordinances index contains the full text of all legislation introduced since January 1996.
City Council Resolutions - 1890-present: Resolutions are City legislation of an advisory nature, which state policy, or which take certain actions without the force of law. The Resolution index contains the full text of all legislation introduced since January 1996.
Comptroller/ Clerk Files - 1895-present: Clerk and Comptroller Files are official filings of the City which include such items as land use case files before the City Council, appointment files, election campaign reporting files, agency rules, and reports. Selected recent documents contain full text in electronic form.
Summary lists of City of Seattle Ordinances: This document allows retrieval of lists of City of Seattle Ordinances by year of adoption.

Seattle Municipal Code: The Seattle Municipal Code is a classified compilation of the general and permanent ordinances of the City of Seattle. More on the SMC.
Seattle City Charter: The City Charter embodies the fundamental principles of the City, defines the City's powers and duties, and guarantees certain rights to the people.

City Council Minutes - 2002-present: Minutes of the full City Council meetings are searchable in full text. Minutes of Council Committee meetings are not included.
City Council Agendas - 2002-present: Agendas of full City Council Meeting and Council Committees are searchable in full text.
City Council Committee History Database: This database contains descriptions, membership information, and dates of existence for Seattle City Council committees from 1946 to the present.
Seattle City Council Rules and Procedures, as amended through Resolution No. 31171.
Rules governing Council procedures for quasi-judicial proceedings, adopted September 17, 2007
Rescinded Rules governing Council procedures for quasi-judicial proceedings, adopted March 18, 1996, and still relevant to some projects.
Citizen Initiative and Referenda Guides

Election Code Administration: Current administrative rules governing election code administration, including rules for production of voters' pamphlets.
Seattle Hearing Examiner Decisions - 1990-present: Full text of decisions of the Seattle Hearing Examiner are available online. Current cases are posted monthly (e.g., January decisions are posted in February, etc).
Business Tax Rules: Full text of current administrative rules implementing the Seattle business and occupation tax, SMC 5.45.
Taxicab and For-Hire Vehicles Rules: Full text of current administrative rules implementing the Seattle taxicab and for-hire vehicle regulations.
City of Seattle Public Corporation Reference: SMC Chapter 3.110 requires that public corporations file certain documents and reports with the Seattle City Clerk's Office. The following offers short-cuts to lists of such documents filed with the City Clerk, most recently filed document listed first.
Annexed Cities Reference (1890-1910)
What's New?

Municipal Archives Record Series Guide: The searchable version of the Guide contains record series level descriptions of material documenting the history and activities of City government.
Municipal Archives Subject Files: The Subject Files database indexes file folder titles and date spans for most of the collections in the Archives. A search in this database will bring together folder titles on similar subjects even though they may have originated in different City agencies.
Published Document Index: This database indexes government documents published by or for the City from the 1890s to the present, with the largest percentage of documents dating from the 1960s to the present.

Municipal Archives Map Index: This index includes catalog records and selected digital images for maps dating from the 1890s to the 1990s.
General Files Index (1870s-1905)
Annexed Cities Reference (1890-1910)
1999 World Trade Organization Accountability Review Committee Document Catalog
City Council Committee History Database: This database contains descriptions, membership information, and dates of existence for Seattle City Council committees from 1971 to the present.
Research Library Index: The Office of the City Clerk's Research Library holds more than 500 volumes which are available to the public for use.

Tips on Searching
Thesaurus
Neighborhood Atlas
Interactive Annexation Tool: This tool visually represents annexations though 1975.
Recent Legislation