Crime Numbers
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) provides the crime data for all counties in the state. Its latest annual crime reports show that Rowan County recorded 373 violent crimes and 2,895 property crimes in 2017. In comparison to the county’s 2013 crime data, both violent crime rate and property crime rate declined by 16.2% and 14.2% respectively.
A closer look at 2017 crimes reported in Rowan County shows 11 murders, 26 rapes, 104 robberies, and 232 aggravated assaults. The county also recorded 634 burglaries, 2,072 larceny-thefts, and 189 motor vehicle thefts in the same year.
Murder (57.1%), rape (8.3%), and robbery (11.8%) rates that jumped in the five-year period between 2013 and 2017. Rowan County five-year crime trend also indicates that aggravated assault (27.7%), burglary (36.2%), larceny (5.1%), and motor vehicle theft (5.5%) rates shrank in this period.
Criminal Records
Residents of Rowan County can obtain statewide criminal history records from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). This fingerprint-based record check is provided on the consent of the subject and costs $14 per check. Requests for criminal history record are only accepted by U.S Mail sent to:
NC State Bureau of Investigation
Attention: Applicant Unit-Right to Review
Criminal Information and Identification Section
P.O. Box 29500
Raleigh, NC 27626-0500
To make a request, submit a set of completed Right to Review form, a rolled FD-258 Fingerprint Card, and a certified check or money order for the required fee to the address above. Visit the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office or the local police department with a copy of a valid photo ID for fingerprinting. The agency may charge a fee for this service. Contact the SBI at (919) 582-8600 or via email at ciishelp@ncsbi.gov for further inquiries.
The Rowan County Clerk of Superior Court Office provides residents with local criminal history records on request. This county-level criminal history search costs $25 per check for a certified copy but it is free when requesting non-certified copies of criminal histories. Individuals can obtain non-certified criminal history reports from the computers provided to the public at the Clerk’s Office in the courthouse. To request certified copies from the Clerk’s Office, complete the Form AOC-CR-314 and submit it to the Clerk's Office in person or by mail at:
Rowan County Clerk of Superior Court
210 North Main Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
(704) 797-3001
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office provides incident reports for events that occurred in the county in areas under its jurisdiction. Visit the Police 2 Citizen page on the Sheriff's Office website to search reports of events investigated by the agency. To obtain a certified copy of an incident report, contact the Sheriff’s Office located at:
232 N Main Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
(704) 216-8700
For police reports for cities, boroughs, and towns in the county outside the jurisdiction of the Sheriff’s Office, contact the local police departments in those areas. For example, police reports for Salisbury City, the county seat, are provided by the Salisbury Police Department. This Police Department also has a Police 2 Citizen search page on its website for the public to view summaries of event reports. For paper copies contact the police department at:
130 East Liberty Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
(704) 638-5333
The SBI maintains the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry which contains identifying information of all registered sex offenders living in Rowan County. Search the online registry when looking for registered sex offenders living in specific neighborhoods of the county. The database can be queried by name, zip code, street address, or sex registration number.
Jail Information
Rowan County has two primary detention facilities operated by the Sheriff’s Office. These are the Rowan County Detention Center and the Rowan County Detention Center Annex facility. Listed below are their addresses and phone numbers:
Detention Center:
115 West Liberty Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
(704) 216-8770
Jail Annex:
400 Grace Church Road
Salisbury, NC 28145
(704) 216-7900
Friends and family can add funds to inmates’ accounts by mailing money orders to either of the jail addresses above. Make sure to indicate the inmate’s ID number along with their name on the money order. Visitors to the facilities can deposit funds at the kiosks at both jails or make an online deposit at JailATM.
Inmate Records
The Rowan County Sheriff's Office publishes a regularly updated list of inmates in custody on its website. Check this roster to find recent arrestees and jailed convicts incarcerated at both of the county’s detention facilities. For more information on an inmate, call any of the jail's telephone lines from the addresses above.
Court Records
Rowan County has a Superior Court and a District Court. The Superior Court has general jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters while the District Court exercises limited jurisdiction over certain types of civil and criminal cases. Cases of felonies, civil matters with claims over $25,000, and appealed cases of misdemeanors and infractions are heard in the Superior Court.
Small claims, family, domestic relations and juvenile cases are handled by the Rowan County District Court along with cases of misdemeanors, infractions, and municipal ordinance violations. Both courts sit for hearing at the same location in the county at:
210 North Main Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
(704) 797-3001 (Rowan County Superior Court)
(704) 797-3011 (Rowan County District Court)
The Clerk of the Superior Court is the repository for all court records in the county. These records are accessible to the general public from the computer terminals provided for this purpose at the Office of the Clerk in the courthouse. To find a case file, search the database by defendant's name, case number, or victim or witness name. Certified copies of court records are also provided at the same office on request for a fee. The Clerk of Court office is open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at the address provided above.
Vital Records
The North Carolina Vital Records Office of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) provides copies of all Rowan County’s vital records. Records of divorces that occurred in the county from 1958 to the present are available on request. Each certified copy costs $24 for a standard request. To make this type of request, complete the application form, enclose a money order or a certified/business check for the fee, and include a valid photo ID in a mail sent to:
North Carolina Vital Records
1903 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1900
The requester may choose to make an expedited request in person for an additional cost of $15. To make this request, go along with the appropriate fee and a valid photo ID to:
N.C. Vital Records
(Cooper Memorial Health Building)
225 North McDowell Street
Raleigh, NC 27603-1382
The office’s business hours are between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. from Monday through Friday. It is also possible to make a rush request by mail. Send the expedited request to the physical address listed above. Include a $20 postage surcharge along with the cost of copies requested and the fee for a rush request. Indicate “Expedite” on the front of the application envelope. To obtain copies of Rowan County divorce records prior to 1958, contact the county’s Clerk of Superior Court at the Rowan County courthouse.
Requesting copies of Rowan County marriage, birth, and death records from the Vital Records Office requires the same process and fees as described for ordering divorce records. While the same application form provided above is needed to request a marriage or death record, to apply for a copy of birth record use the birth certificate application form. Note that available marriage records at the Vital Records Office are from 1962 to the present and death records from 1930 to the present. Available birth records are from 1913 to the present.
Residents of Rowan County can also obtain copies of birth, death, and marriage certificates from the county’s Register of Deeds. Certified copies cost $10 each while non-certified records cost 50 cents per copy. To apply for a copy, stop by the Register of Deeds office or send a request by mail to:
402 North Main Street
P.O. Box 2568
Salisbury, NC 28144
(704) 216-8626
When making a walk-in request, come along with a government-issued photo ID and cash for the appropriate fee. The office is open for business from Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For mail-in request, call the Register of Deeds office for information to include in the written application. The mail-in application must be accompanied by a copy of a valid ID and a money order for the fee. Vital record requests to Rowan County Register of Deeds are also accepted online.
Are Property Records Open to the Public in Rowan County
Rowan County property records are open records. Under the North Carolina Freedom of Information Act, every county resident and non-resident has the right to view, inspect, and copy a public record. Interested members of the public can access copies of Rowan County property records from record custodians in charge of the public documents.
Where and How to Find Property Records in Rowan County
Interested public members can find, view, and obtain copies of Rowan County property records from the Rowan County Register of Deeds’ Office. As required by the North Carolina Freedom of Information Law, the Register of Deeds maintains and issues copies of property records to interested public members. Through the Register of Deeds, interested public members may access Rowan County property records via an online searchable portal or in-person.
To obtain copies of public records in-person, record seekers must make a request at the Register of Deeds Office,which is located at:
402 North Main Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: (704) 216-8626
The Office of the Register of Deeds attends to in-person requests for property records on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
How to Look Up Rowan County Property Records
The Register of Deeds maintains and regularly updates a searchable online database for all property records generated within the county. Through the online database, record seekers can access historical indexes for property records from 1753 to 1921. Whereas historical indexes for property images are only available from 1753 to 1875.
Record seekers must use the "certified date search" option to obtain documented information from 1921 to the present. In addition to this, record seekers may create an account or sign-in as a guest to obtain Rowan County property records. There are different search criteria for obtaining property records via the guest option. These search criteria includes:
- The quick name search
- Advanced name search
- Property description search
- Property book/page search
- Date range search
- Parcel ID
- Historical records search
- Certified date search.
Location of Rowan County Property Assessors
Rowan County Property Tax Assessor
402 North Main Street
Suite 201
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: (704) 216-8558
Fax: (704) 216-7984
