Search official law enforcement sources & State Judiciary criminal cases filed in real-time as of the previous business day.
- Felonies and misdemeanors court cases are updated daily
- AOC, DPS, CJI, State Police, CBI
- Turnaround time is 24 hours or less in most States. Positive “hits” may have extended delay
How can I obtain updated criminal records from state police and courts?
You can now search state criminal records in real-time. Directly from the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), Department of Public Safety (DPS), State Police Agencies, Criminal Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Justice Division, and other state law enforcement sources. Obtain felonies, misdemeanors and in some cases, traffic citations.
Compliance Tips:
- Employers, landlords and others must verify identity before taking any adverse action against a person with a criminal record.
- Do not assume that a defendant was convicted just because a criminal case was filed. Always check the disposition of each charge.
- Do not assume that a defendant was convicted of a felony based on the case type that appears on the original arrest. The case type reflects the charges that appeared in the original charging document. If the original charging document included any felony charges, the case will be listed as a felony, even if all the charges were eventually reduced to misdemeanors or dismissed.
- CHECK the final charge disposition of the court case.
- In the event of a state search fee, it will be displayed prior to ordering state criminal search.
List of available States
Click individual States below for pricing, coverage description, sample report & applicable employment laws
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in a criminal history?
- identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests
- detentions
- complaints, indictments or information filed and any related dispositions
- sentences
- correctional status
- release
Where does criminal history record information come from?
Most criminal history information originates with local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies such as the courts. These local agencies forward qualifying criminal record information to the state central criminal history repository. This central repository is where criminal history record information is stored and disseminated.
What is the difference between a name-based search and a fingerprint-based search?
Name-based searches look for criminal history records that match a person’s name and numeric identifier, such as date of birth and/or Social Security number. Name-based searches have two weaknesses:
- False-positives – a record is returned on a person with the same name and numeric identifier provided in the request but who is not the subject of inquiry.
- False-negatives – no match is erroneously returned because the name or numeric identifier in the record does not match the name or numeric identifier used in the inquiry. This can happen when an individual has multiple names or aliases, such as a married, maiden, adopted or goes by an assumed name.
Fingerprint-based searches are more reliable than name-based searches because the criminal record is based on fingerprints cards taken from the individual upon arrest or court order. When fingerprint cards are submitted for a search, they are scanned into the Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS), which compares the fingerprint image from the request against a database of fingerprint images from known criminal offenders.
Why can I just save money and use your nationwide criminal database?
Nationwide criminal databases should be used as a supplementary guiding tool, but should not be relied upon to ultimately determine a hiring decision. Data may not be available from all states or all counties or all smaller subdivisions within. Some items of data may be available from some but not other jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions provide more recent data than others, and some jurisdictions have ceased to make records available to the public. Information provided through this service is from public court records which are data-mined, but does not comprise all information from the official court records available to the public. And finally, a nationwide criminal database search is not considered to be FCRA compliant.