For a Scottsdale property, start with Property Information to identify the address or assessor’s parcel number, then use Document Search for the actual file. A permit-history entry and a downloadable document are different results. If you need old construction drawings, check the City’s retention guidance before assuming they will be in the document search.
Choose the record you need before choosing a search
Property Information connects a selected property to zoning, maps, permits and other records. Use it to establish which parcel you mean. Keep the APN and any known suite or unit with your notes, especially when a street address serves more than one space.
Document Search is the document-retrieval step. A useful research file keeps three things together: the property identifier, the permit or case identifier, and the document that answers the question. A matching address alone does not tell you whether a file describes the whole building, one tenant space or a particular alteration.
Use the fields for the identifier you actually have
- Address: the form has Street Number, Street Name, Type and Unit Number. The search page’s tips say an address search gives the best results; enter the street name without its type or direction.
- Identifiers: there are separate fields for Case Number, Plan Check Number, Building Permit Number, Civil Permit Number, Lot Number and Parcel Number. The page’s examples show the formats: a case number like 15-ZN-2015, a plan-check number like 123456-17 and an APN like 123-12-1234. Keep those identifiers distinct.
- Document Type offers four choices: Elevation Certificates, Certificate of Occupancy, Site Plans and Cases. Begin without a type, then narrow. A permit card or inspection record you need may sit outside those four labels.
- Full Text searches the OCR text of scanned documents. A missing word is not proof the original record never existed.
A site plan is not a retained set of building drawings
The City’s Planning and Development records page directs readers to Document Search for site plans, permits, certificates of occupancy and other documents. It separately says building plans are destroyed 180 days after completion or expiration, and directs people seeking copies to the architect or engineer, whose name may appear on the original building permit.
That distinction changes the next request. A site plan may help identify the layout of a lot; it does not supply every structural, electrical or interior sheet. If you need drawings for a renovation, first establish which plan set survives and whether it represents the relevant project. An old drawing also does not verify current physical conditions.
Scottsdale doesn’t publish an earliest year for complete online property history. The retention statement concerns building plans; it should not be extended to every permit, certificate, case file or site plan.
When the property or document is missing
If Property Information cannot find the address or APN, its own instructions say to contact Scottsdale Records at 480-312-2356. Confirm jurisdiction and property identity before treating an empty result as a missing permit. A Scottsdale mailing address alone should not settle which government issued the record.
If the property is identified but the needed document is absent, use the City’s public records request page and select Planning. It also provides a General Request route when the category is unclear. The City notes that records can be held in different locations and may need review or redaction.
- Provide the current address, unit, APN, and any old address already documented in your records.
- Identify the permit, plan-check or case number and approximate project date. Say whether you need the issued permit, final inspection record, occupancy certificate or a specific plan sheet.
- Explain which online system you checked and what was missing. Ask whether another record series or the original designer is the appropriate next source.
What Scottsdale charges for copies
The City Attorney’s public records page says viewing records in person is free, records sent by email are free, and paper requests under 25 pages are free. Above 25 pages, every page is charged at $0.20 per side for black-and-white copies; a CD or DVD is $5. Commercial requests use a separate form.
Older Planning files can carry their own charges. The Planning records fee schedule for fiscal year 2026–27 lists microfiche copies at $0.68 per sheet, conversion of a microfiche case to PDF at $5.57, and retrieval of an offsite box at $6.04. Ask for an estimate when your request reaches back to microfiche-era files. The Records office is at 7447 E. Indian School Road (480-312-2356).
Keep an issued permit, a passed inspection and an occupancy certificate as separate findings. The permit-versus-occupancy guide explains why one document does not substitute for another. An empty search does not prove that work was unpermitted, illegal or unsafe; it shows only that this attempt did not locate a record.
Sources: City of Scottsdale Planning and Development records page, Property Information and Document Search pages, City Attorney public records page and FY 2026–27 records fee schedule, checked October 20, 2026.