To find criminal records, search the court where the case was heard, the state’s criminal record repository, the FBI’s Identity History Summary for a fingerprint-based national check, and PACER for federal cases. No single database holds everything, so knowing how to find criminal records usually means using more than one source and knowing which records are off-limits to the public.
What You Need Before You Start
Every search begins with identifiers that separate your target from everyone who shares a name. At a minimum, gather the person’s full legal name, including middle names, suffixes, and any former names, plus a date of birth. Name-only searches produce too many false matches, and common names make it worse.
State repositories and the FBI ask for more than a courthouse search does. Their forms include fields for sex, race, and sometimes a driver’s license number. If you’re searching your own records through a state agency, expect to submit fingerprints rather than biographical data alone. Fingerprint-based searches are more accurate because they cut through shared names and identity theft, but they cost more and take longer.
State and County Court Records
The fastest free option is often a state or county court’s online case search. Most states now run some kind of public access portal where you can look up criminal cases by name, case number, or date. Quality varies a lot. Some portals return detailed dockets with charging documents and dispositions. Others show barely more than a case number and outcome. Older cases that were never digitized tend to be missing.
When the online portal falls short, go to the county clerk’s office at the courthouse where the case was heard. Public access terminals let you search records that aren’t online, and clerks can pull paper files for cases that predate electronic systems. Viewing records in person is usually free; copies typically run a few dollars per page.
State Repository Requests
Every state maintains a central criminal record repository, usually inside the state police or department of public safety. These offices compile arrest and conviction data reported by law enforcement and courts across the state, so one query covers the whole state instead of one county at a time.
Fees range widely, from under $20 to nearly $100 depending on the state. Some states accept online requests with a credit card and return results in a few business days. Others still require a mailed application with a money order or certified check, which can take several weeks. The level of detail you get back may depend on whether the request is for personal review, employment screening, or licensing.
State repositories only hold records from within that state. If the person lived in multiple states, run a search in each one, or move up to a national-level check.
FBI Identity History Summary Checks
The FBI holds the most comprehensive national criminal record data available to the public, built from fingerprint submissions by law enforcement agencies across the country. An Identity History Summary Check returns any criminal history the FBI has linked to a specific set of fingerprints. It’s the closest thing to a true national background check that an individual can request.
The fee is $18 per request, whether you submit by mail or electronically.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions For electronic submissions, you can have fingerprints captured at a participating U.S. Post Office location or through an FBI-approved channeler. The mail alternative is a completed fingerprint card (Form FD-258) sent directly to the FBI. Electronic submissions are processed faster, but all requests move in the order they arrive.
One limit worth understanding: the FBI database reflects what local agencies have reported. If an arrest or conviction was never submitted to the FBI with fingerprints, it won’t appear. That gap is more common with older records and minor offenses. The Identity History Summary is most reliable for serious offenses and any arrest where prints were taken and forwarded.
Federal Court Records Through PACER
Federal criminal cases run in a separate court system from state cases, and their records live on a different platform. Public Access to Court Electronic Records, known as PACER, is the gateway to filings from all federal district, appellate, and bankruptcy courts.2United States Courts. Find a Case (PACER) For federal charges such as tax fraud, drug trafficking across state lines, or immigration offenses, PACER is where the case file lives.
Anyone can register for a PACER account through the system’s website at no cost.3Public Access to Court Electronic Records. Register for an Account Once your account is active, you can search by name, case number, or date range across federal courts nationwide.
PACER charges $0.10 per page, capped at $3.00 per document. If your total charges for the quarter stay at $30 or less, the fees are waived entirely.4Public Access to Court Electronic Records. Why Does PACER Charge a Fee? For someone running a handful of name searches, the waiver usually covers everything. The system shows the estimated cost before you download a document, so there are no surprise charges.
Commercial Background Check Services
Commercial background check companies pull data from courts, state repositories, and other public sources into a single searchable platform. The appeal is convenience. Instead of checking each state and county on its own, you get a consolidated report in minutes for a one-time fee or a subscription.
The tradeoff is accuracy. Commercial databases pull from public records that may be outdated, incomplete, or mismatched. Name-based searches produce false positives for common names, and they miss records from jurisdictions that don’t share data electronically. They also can’t reach sealed, expunged, or juvenile records. Treat a commercial report as a starting point. If something appears on it, verify against the court record directly before acting on it.
Records That Won’t Appear
A clean search doesn’t always mean a clean record. Several categories of criminal records are restricted or invisible to public searches, and knowing what’s excluded keeps you from drawing the wrong conclusion.
Sealed and Expunged Records
Most states allow certain records to be sealed or expunged. Expungement erases the record as if the arrest or conviction never happened. Sealing keeps the record intact but removes it from public view, accessible only through a court order or by authorized agencies. Either way, a standard public search won’t reveal them.
Eligibility varies by state and typically depends on the severity of the offense, how much time has passed, and whether the person has reoffended. A growing number of states have “clean slate” laws that automate removal for eligible records without requiring a petition. Once sealed, the person can generally deny the record’s existence on job applications, with limited exceptions for law enforcement positions and roles involving national security.
Juvenile Records
Federal law treats juvenile delinquency records as confidential. Under 18 U.S.C. ยง 5038, these records must be safeguarded from disclosure to unauthorized persons during and after the proceedings, and the statute specifically bars releasing them for employment, licensing, or other civil purposes.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 5038 – Use of Juvenile Records When someone asks about a juvenile record for those purposes, the response must be the same as it would be for a person with no record at all. Unless the juvenile was prosecuted as an adult, their name and photograph cannot be made public in connection with the proceedings. State laws add their own confidentiality protections, generally at least as strict. In practice, juvenile records almost never surface in public criminal record searches.
Law Enforcement Databases
The FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC), used by law enforcement for active warrants, stolen property, and missing persons, is off-limits to the public. No public request process exists. The methods above cover court records and reported criminal histories, not active law enforcement intelligence.
If You’re Using a Report to Make a Decision
Pulling records through a commercial background check company to decide whether to hire, rent to, or lend to someone triggers the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Most people learn about these rules only after they’ve broken them.
A consumer reporting agency can only furnish a report when the requester has a permissible purpose, such as evaluating someone for employment, credit, insurance, or a legitimate business transaction the consumer initiated.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports Curiosity doesn’t qualify. For employment screening, the employer must provide a clear written disclosure that a background check will be run, on its own standalone document, and the applicant must give written authorization before the report is pulled.7Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know
If you decide not to hire, deny a tenant, or take any negative action based even partly on information in a report, the FCRA requires a two-step notice. Before acting, give the person a copy of the report and a summary of their FCRA rights. After acting, notify them again with the name and contact information of the reporting company, a statement that the company didn’t make the decision, and notice of their right to dispute the report’s accuracy and get a free copy within 60 days.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681m – Duties of Users Taking Adverse Actions on the Basis of Information Contained in Consumer Reports Skipping either step exposes you to statutory damages.
The FCRA also limits what a commercial report can include. Arrests that didn’t result in a conviction can be reported for seven years from the arrest date. Other adverse information is similarly capped at seven years. Convictions have no federal time limit, so one from 30 years ago can still legally appear. The seven-year caps don’t apply to positions with an expected annual salary of $75,000 or more, or credit transactions of $150,000 or more.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
Fixing Errors You Find
Criminal records contain errors more often than most people expect, and the fix depends on where the error lives.
If your FBI Identity History Summary is wrong, you can challenge it by contacting the law enforcement agency that submitted the data, or by writing directly to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Include supporting documentation such as court records showing a case was dismissed or charges were dropped. The FBI will contact the agency with jurisdiction over the data, and once that agency confirms the correction, the FBI will update the record and notify you.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions
When the error appears on a commercial background check report, the FCRA gives you a separate dispute right. Once you notify the reporting agency that information in your file is inaccurate, it must reinvestigate and resolve the dispute within 30 days.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy If the furnisher of the disputed information fails to verify it within that window, the item must be deleted. File in writing and keep copies of what you send, including any court records supporting the correction.
Sometimes the underlying court record itself is wrong. In that case, contact the clerk of the court where the case was heard and ask about their process for correcting clerical errors. Courts can amend records to reflect accurate dispositions, correct misspelled names, or fix misattributed charges. Fixing the court record first makes downstream corrections at the FBI and with commercial reporting agencies much easier, since those systems ultimately pull from court data.