top of page

How to Find Snohomish County Historical Property Information Online (in a few easy steps!)

Writer's picture: Joe FrankJoe Frank

If you’re looking to dig into the past of a property located within Snohomish County to determine the builder, look at the original plans, or just see a picture or two of how the home looked under construction or when just completed, then the Historic Property Information Portal is your go-to resource!



This portal lets you access historical records scanned from old paper field books maintained by the Assessor’s Office, covering the years 1970 to 1999.


You can find interesting details like historical pictures, plans and other records tied to a specific parcel – all online!


Here’s a simple guide to using the portal and tips on where to find parcel numbers you'll need to conduct your search.



Step 1: Start with the Parcel Number (or Find One!)


To look up information on a property, you’ll need its 14-digit Parcel Number.


Don’t have it? No problem! You can try Zillow.com, as parcel codes are often listed there alongside other property information. Or, you can use the Snohomish County ‘Parcel Number Lookup’ link located at the top right of the portal.



Snohomish County Portal Parcel Number Lookup, Step 1:


Click 'Parcel Number Lookup' (highlighted yellow in below image)




Snohomish County Portal Parcel Number Lookup, Step 2:


Enter your street address as indicated in the red highlighted box below. Sometimes less is more when conducting this parcel search.


If you're having problems, try using only your house number or house number and the street.


This should return the parcel number for the address you entered. Now return to the Historic Property Information Portal with your parcel number.




Option 2 - Zillow Parcel Number Lookup:

If you prefer, go zillow.com and enter the address of the property you'd like to conduct the historic search on. Zillow will return the standard information and photos.


On the right side, scroll down about half way to 'See more facts and data' and click - this will display additional information where you'll find your parcel number. See the following two images.


It's been my experience that not every property will have a parcel number listed on Zillow, but normally it feels easiest to check Zillow first, and if not there, use the above Snohomish County parcel look up method.






Step 2: Search Your Way


You have a few options for searching on the portal:


  • Exact Parcel Number: Enter the full 14-digit number if you have it.


  • Partial Parcel Number with Wildcard: Got just part of the number? Use an asterisk () as a wildcard. For example, entering “005095” will pull up all parcel numbers starting with those digits.


  • Advanced Search: If you have other identifiers, like a New Parcel Number, Old Parcel Number, or Box Number, you can use them in the Advanced Search.



Step 3: Check Out the Results


If records exist for your parcel, you’ll see it listed in the search results. Each listing offers three actions:


  1. View – Opens the document directly in your browser (PDF format).

  2. Download – Saves the document to your computer so you can keep it on file.

  3. Share – Opens a new email with the document linked, making it easy to share with others.



Quick Tips and Notes


  • If your search says “No Results,” it means historical records are NOT available for that parcel.

  • Heads up: These records may not show the complete historical picture – they only reflect what was scanned from the original paper documents.



Need Help?


If you hit a snag or can’t find what you need, feel free to contact me as I conduct this search quite often for current and past clients. Or you can contact the Assessor’s Office at Assessor@snoco.org (but I respond quicker :) )


I'm hoping this guide will make it easy and actually fun to explore the history of a property!


Happy searching and thanks for reading!


-Joe Frank

9 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page