How a Background Check Works in Minnesota

Minnesota draws its line at 15 years. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's Criminal History System holds the records of people arrested for felonies, gross misdemeanors and some misdemeanors, and the data on a conviction is public for 15 years after the sentence is completed: the offense and its date, the court and date of conviction, the sentence, the level of the offense and the probation agency or place of confinement. Arrest information, cases that ended without a conviction, convictions whose sentence ended more than 15 years ago and juvenile data are not public.

The public part is searched on the Minnesota Public Criminal History website. What is not public can reach an employer, landlord or licensing agency only through the background check process the statutes allow, which for most purposes means the subject signs a notarized form telling the BCA to release the record to them.

  • Public search: the Minnesota Public Criminal History site, linked from the BCA's criminal history information page, for convictions within the 15 year window.
  • Your own record: a data request to the BCA for personal use, $8.00 for a Minnesota only check; a record impacted by the Clean Slate Act or the Adult Use Cannabis Act can be requested complete with its sealed offenses.
  • For an employer, landlord or licensing board: the personal request form, returned to you, or the informed consent form, sent by the BCA to the other party, signed before a notary with your exact name and date of birth, by mail or in person at the BCA, $15.00 for a general Minnesota check.
  • With the FBI: only under a statutory authority approved by the United States Attorney General and with fingerprints: $35 general, $26 for charitable nonprofit volunteers, $28 for nonprofit employees, plus $10.00 fingerprinting per card.

Written by SearchSystems.net from Minnesota's own systems: the BCA criminal history information page, the BCA background checks page, the BCA background checks for the public page, the BCA background check fees page, the BCA Methamphetamine Offender Registry page, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.

What the Criminal History System holds and what is public

The system contains information on people arrested for felony, gross misdemeanor and some misdemeanor offenses, and the criminal justice community uses it for decisions on investigations, arrests, bail, charges, pleas, convictions, probation and placement in correctional facilities; it is also used for the background checks the law mandates for employment and licensing. The public portion is the conviction data for 15 years after the sentence is completed, listed above. Juvenile criminal history is private and released only as Minnesota Statutes section 299C.095 describes. The BCA adds that information that is not public may be available through the background check process, meaning a check with the subject's consent or a statutory authority can show what the public search cannot. The BCA also runs a separate Methamphetamine Offender Registry of people convicted of felony manufacture or intent to manufacture, searchable by name and county.

Who may run a Minnesota background check

State and federal statutes decide which agencies and organizations may conduct criminal history checks; the BCA's examples are school hiring authorities, agencies that employ private security personnel, organizations that work with children, the elderly or the disabled, and rental property owners who hire people to manage their properties. When a request arrives the BCA checks the Minnesota Criminal History System and, when authorized, FBI records, with different forms and fees for the public, employers, landlords and criminal justice agencies. Questions go to the BCA at 651-793-2400, option 7.

Your own record, and sending it to someone else

For personal use, a person obtains their own record by submitting a data request to the BCA, described on its data requests page. For housing, employment, licensing, a name change or international travel, the record can be returned to the person or sent by the BCA directly to whoever asked for it. The other party may supply its own form and instructions; otherwise the BCA's public page offers two: the personal request form, when the record comes back to you, and the informed consent form, when the BCA sends it to someone else. Either form is signed in the presence of a notary, must carry the correct spelling of the first, last and middle names and the date of birth, and is submitted by U.S. mail or in person at BCA headquarters with the fee. Requests go to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, CHA Unit, 1430 Maryland Ave. E., St. Paul, MN 55106. Payment is by check, money order or cash, or by credit card in person, where card service fees apply.

A record touched by the Adult Use Cannabis Act or the Clean Slate Act, whose sealed offenses no longer appear, can still be obtained in full by the person it belongs to through a data request. The BCA publishes a video and a document on reading a RAP sheet, and a Questioned Identity Information page for anyone who finds their name used in someone else's record.

The fees

The fee page separates Minnesota only checks from FBI checks. A Minnesota check costs $8.00 for the person themselves, $8.00 for a charitable nonprofit that supplies its 501(c)(3) letter, and $15.00 for a general or statutory check. An FBI check, which includes a fingerprint search of Minnesota and FBI histories and requires a statutory authority approved by the United States Attorney General, costs $35 in general, with security guards, child protection, cannabis business employees and apartment managers among the examples, $26 for a charitable nonprofit volunteer under the child protection or Serve America Act provisions, and $28 for a charitable nonprofit employee. Fingerprinting adds a $10.00 service fee per card. Credit card payments processed by the BCA carry a 2.15 percent service fee collected by U.S. Bank through Elavon, shown as a separate, non refundable transaction, and a dishonored check costs a $30.00 service charge plus the civil penalty Minnesota Statutes section 604.113 allows.

Reading a Minnesota result

A Minnesota public search is a conviction record with a clock on it: anything whose sentence ended more than 15 years ago has dropped out, and arrests and non convictions were never in it. A record obtained through consent or a statutory check can be wider, which is why the BCA says non public information may be available through the background check process. Sealed Clean Slate and cannabis offenses are visible only to the person themselves, and an FBI layer exists only where a federally approved statute authorizes it and fingerprints are taken.

Questions about background checks in Minnesota

What can the public see in a Minnesota criminal history?
Conviction data for 15 years after the sentence is completed: the offense, its date, the court and date of conviction, the sentence, the level of the offense and the probation agency or place of confinement. Arrests, non convictions, older convictions and juvenile data are not public.
How much does a Minnesota background check cost?
$8.00 for your own Minnesota record or a charitable nonprofit's check, $15.00 for a general Minnesota check, and $26 to $35 for a check that includes the FBI, plus $10.00 per fingerprint card. Credit cards carry a 2.15 percent service fee.
How does an employer or landlord get my Minnesota record?
Through the BCA's personal request form, which returns the record to you, or the informed consent form, which has the BCA send it to them, signed before a notary and submitted by mail or in person at 1430 Maryland Ave. E., St. Paul, with the fee.
Can an employer get an FBI check in Minnesota?
Only with a statutory authority approved by the United States Attorney General and with fingerprints; the general fee is $35.
Can I see convictions that were sealed under Clean Slate?
Yes, your own. A person whose record was affected by the Clean Slate Act or the Adult Use Cannabis Act may request the complete record, including sealed offenses, through a data request to the BCA.
Where do I search Minnesota criminal records online?
On the Minnesota Public Criminal History website linked from the BCA's criminal history information page, which returns the public conviction data within the 15 year window.

Related Minnesota records

The BCA record is one of the Minnesota records this site covers: the Minnesota court records guide explains the judicial branch's own case files behind each conviction, the arrest records guide covers what an arrest makes public, the inmate search guide finds people in Department of Corrections custody, and the Minnesota county pages list each sheriff and court administrator.