How to Access Criminal Court Records

Requesting Online Records from a State or County Court

Look in the right place. Your first impulse might be to look for a criminal record wherever the person you're researching lives. That's a good starting point, but courts file their records where the offense occurred. If you know where a specific crime took place, look for the record in that state or county. Many states don’t allow you to access juvenile records if they’re sealed.

Look for a criminal court records database on your state or county court’s website. While courts have begun going digital, the digital database may only include court records for recent cases. It will depend entirely on the county or state where you are conducting your research. Many courts have converted their paper records to digital, online records. Search your court's website for a database of criminal court records to find out if you can access a digital record.

Be aware of the different levels of state courts. A given state might separate their courts into tax courts, superior courts, appellate courts, supreme courts, and so on. You may have search the database specific to the record you're looking for. However, most states combine these records into a single searchable database online.

Provide the information you need to find your record. Criminal record databases can be quite large, so have as much information as possible to find the record you need: The offender's full name. You may know the person by a nickname or by his middle name, but the courts know him by his full legal name. Even then, there may be several "John Smith"s in the database, so have more information if possible. A business name if a business was involved. Case number. This is the most reliable way to find a criminal record.

View the record online. Once you locate a listing for the criminal record you want, click the link to see the record itself. Note that even if your state or county has digital records, they may still be in the middle of converting their files. The information in the database might be incomplete. If you don’t see the record you’re looking for, follow up by trying to find a hard copy.

Requesting Hard Copies from a Court

Search the court archives yourself. Visit the appropriate court (county, state, appellate, supreme, etc.) and ask an employee to show you to the court record archives. The archives might be organized by year, by case type, or by both. Ask the person who directs you to the archives how to find the record you need. You can view the record for free, but will need to pay a fee if you want to make copies. Depending on how much space they have, the court may have moved older records to a different location. If so, ask whether you should visit that location or submit a request for the clerk to have the file sent back to the court archives.

Search the court’s website for information on requesting criminal records. If you don’t want to search the archives yourself, you can fill out paperwork to have the clerk’s office do the work for you. The process may vary from court to court, so read through the instructions carefully. While some courts will ask you to send your request through the mail, others might ask you to visit the clerk in person.

Mail your request. The court’s website might say that you must mail your records request to them. Copy the address carefully to ensure your request reaches the right office. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope so they can mail the record back to you. Make sure it’s big enough to hold the entire document! The website might ask you to download and print off a request form, or just to write a letter asking for a criminal record. Look first for a form, but if you’re writing a letter, include the following information: The defendant's full, legal name His or her date of birth The specific documents you would like to see. For example: A trial docket (all the materials filed during a trial) The minutes for a specific court date The sentencing document

Deliver your request in person. If the court doesn’t allow mailed requests, visit the clerk’s office in person. You can either fill out the request form there or deliver your request letter. Bring as much information as possible with you, so you don't have to come back for a second trip with more information. The benefit of submitting your request in person is that you can ask questions to the person helping you out. Don't be shy! If you have any questions, ask them before you leave the office.

Pay the fee. Some courts are now allowing access to digital records, but these records are not free. You will most likely have to pay for downloads. The clerk’s office will likely charge you for every page they have to copy for you. Estimate how many pages the record will be, and include that amount with the request. If you are mailing your request, search the website for a "fee schedule" that tells you how much it costs to print each page. If you are submitting your request in person, ask the person at the desk to help you figure out how much you owe. Some offices only ask you to cover the costs up to a certain amount. They might ask you to write "Not to exceed $10" or "Not to exceed $35" on the check you write.

Wait to receive your records. If you provided a self-addressed, stamped envelope, the clerk's office will send you the records in the mail. If not, they will call you to let you know when you can pick the records up in person.

Obtaining Records from a Federal Court

Create an account with the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system. Through this website, you can search for and access federal court records 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Fill out the online registration form. Information with a red asterisk next to it is mandatory, but everything else is optional. You will need to provide the following information: Your first and last names Date of birth Home address, email address, and phone number Your “user type.” If you are directly involved in a case, mark “Plaintiff, Defendant or Debtor in a Case.” If you are a journalist, mark “Media,” and so on.

Search PACER by court. If you know where the case you're looking for was tried, look for the specific court that houses the record. Limiting your search to a single court will make it much easier to find the record you're looking for. For example, you might search the records for the Middle District of Georgia or the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Search by case number or party name. If you don't know the specific court that houses the record, you have to search the entire database of federal courts. This database holds an enormous amount of records, so provide as much information as possible. If the person you're researching has a common name (Jane Smith), searching by case number might be easier and faster.

Pay the fee. Though creating a PACER account is free, you do have to pay a small fee to view individual records. The fee is 10 cents per page of a document, up to $3.00. Even if the document is a thousand pages long, you won't have to pay more than the $3.00 max.

Requesting Records from an Attorney

Know whether you can obtain the records. Attorneys only share records with their clients. In fact, an attorney who didn't represent you likely cannot ethically give you records related to a case. This is true even if the records are part of the public record. However, you have the right to see all documents that your attorney prepared for your own case.

Contact the right attorney. If you have more than one case in the works, you might be working with different defense attorneys or public defenders. Reach out to the attorney who is working on the specific case you're looking at.

Be as specific as possible. Attorneys handle huge amounts of paperwork, and their records can be quite complicated. Tell your lawyer exactly which records you want to see. This will cut down the time the staff will have to spend looking for them.

Pay any associated fees. Your attorney will likely charge you for time spent looking for the document either in criminal court records or their own files. They also have to gather and package the files for you. You may have to pay an hourly or flat fee to pay them for their work. Being as specific as possible will save you money if your attorney charges an hourly fee.

Obtaining Records From Other Agencies

Figure out which agency you need to contact. Run an online search with the keywords "[Your State"] and "criminal records" to find the right agency. The court record you need might be with the state police, the state courts, or another agency.

Do not contact third party organizations. Be on the safe side and get your court records directly from the government. A non-official agency may not be as accurate, and also may charge a fee for a record that the state will provide either cheaper or for free. Make sure that you're looking at an official website by checking the end of the site's address. It should end in “.gov” instead of “.com.”

Submit a records request for your own record. The process for record requests varies from agency to agency. Be sure to follow the official instructions on the correct agency’s website. Some states will ask you to get your request notarized by a notary public. A notary public is a person who has the license to administer oaths and serve as a witness. Find a notary public in your area by searching online. You can usually find one at the bank, and often at UPS stores.

Fill out a different form to request a record for someone else. Most agencies have different forms for people looking for their own records and those requesting someone else's. Check with the specific agency to make sure. Keep the following in mind when requesting records for someone else: You may not be able to access someone's entire criminal history. For example, Oregon's Open Records Unit only provides records for the past year. The agency might tell the person who committed the crime that someone requested his or her court record.

Be aware of special considerations if you are an employer. Records requests are common for people hiring new employees. The Fair Credit Reporting Act regulates a person's consumer report, which includes criminal records. If employers want to hire someone to access these records they do so through a Consumer Credit Reporting Agency or a CRA. If you’re an employer, you may need to register with the state agency before submitting a request. Know the rules about which types of convictions you're allowed to take into consideration. Many states allow consideration only for crimes related to the job in question. For example, an accounting firm can refuse to hire a convicted embezzler. However, embezzlement only has a connection to jobs in which the person would be handling money.

Double-check the instructions before submitting the request. The instructions can get complicated, and the forms sometimes ask for a large amount of information. This might range from simple contact information and fees to notarizations and fingerprints. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row so your request isn't delayed or rejected.

Pay the fee and submit your form. Again, the process for submission might vary from agency to agency, so follow the instructions carefully. Some states might ask you to send them in via postal mail. Others might let you fill out an online request form. You might even have to submit the request in person. Search the website for the fee amount. Include it with the form if you're mailing your request. Send it separately or pay online if you're submitting the request on a website. Bring a check or money order with you if you submit the form in person.