What are your sources?

Our information comes from: State corrections departments, state and county court disposed felony, misdemeanor, and traffic records; statewide registered offender registries; Department of Public Safety records; violent offender registries, Methamphetamine registries; State Medicaid exclusion lists; Casino exclusion lists; SEC enforcement actions; and State misconduct registries. Sources vary for each state. For a complete listing of all of our sources, click here and for details on each international, national, state, and county source.

How current is the information?

An online search is only as accurate as the agency reporting the data. In addition to coverage, our Criminal Records Data Sources page also lists the update frequency for each jurisdiction.

What information will I find?

Each jurisdiction provides a different amount of information and utilizes different sources. Results may include charges, case information, gender, race, and address. Court Records may include case information, charges, and/or case records.

How much does it cost to search the Premium Criminal Record Database?

Nationwide searches are $14.95 each and Statewide searches are $9.95 each.

Do I have to become a Member to use the database? Are there additional fees?

Use of our free public records directory does not require registration or fees. Use of our Premium database does require per-search fees and registration. There are no signup or membership fees - you pay only for your search.

Which of the two searches is right for me?

Personal searches are for personal use only, and do not need to adhere to FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) laws. The personal search cannot be used for purposes covered by the FCRA: employment purposes; tenant screening; by court order or subpoena; applications for insurance; business transactions; consumer evaluation; license eligibility; or to evaluate a potential investor, service, or insurer. If the purpose of your search is FCRA related you MUST use the Background Screening search form and select the legal reason for the search.

How is this different from your free criminal records directory?

Our Criminal Records Directory is simply the best resource for free criminal records on the Internet. Not only do we provide you with a list of available free resources in each state, but you also get access to or information on how to do an “Official” or “Certified” criminal history search in each state. The big advantage is that you can save money with direct access to federal, state, and county corrections, inmate, court, and registered offender databases.

However, criminals don't stop at state borders, so your search should cover the largest area. The advantage of our Premium criminal record database is that it will search over 400 million records across the nation at once and give you instant results. You get more information and save yourself a considerable amount of time. Even better is that once you have results from our Premium database you can then go to right to the source in our Directory and get additional information such as court dockets, appearances, fines, fines, and document copies on a criminal case.

I am an employer. May I use this criminal data to make a hiring decision?

Yes, provided you do two things: Make sure you use our Background Screening search form, rather than the Personal Search form; also, be sure you have notified the job applicant of your intent to perform the criminal background check. Per the FCRA, if a potential employer decides to make a hiring decision based on any information that has been provided to them, they must notify the consumer.

I know there is a criminal record for this person. Why isn't it appearing in my results?

If you believe that there is a criminal record for that person somewhere, but it doesn't appear in our databases, there are several reasons. Not every county and state makes its criminal record information available, and if we do cover that location, it is possible they did not provide the data to us due to an error or a regulation under state law. Or it's possible that the person may be under arrest or awaiting trial. Wants, warrants, and arrests technically aren't criminal records. Criminal records are those where there has been a disposition or conviction. To access arrests, warrants, and criminal court records not available through our Premium service, you can try using our criminal records directory and our wants and warrants directory.

Where do I find Wants, Warrants, and Arrests?

Most wants, warrants, and arrests aren't technically criminal records as there hasn't been a conviction or disposition yet, so you won't find those in our Premium Criminal Record Database. The place to find arrests is in our Criminal Records Directory. The place to find wants and warrants is in our wants and warrants directory. Browse by state for links to national, state, county, and city lists and databases.

Where do I find Federal Court Records?

Federal court records are available from the U.S. PACER system, which covers civil, criminal and bankruptcy filings in the U.S. District Courts. While PACER requires registration and fees, the amount charged is very reasonable at $0.08 per page (with a price increase to $0.10 per page on April 1, 2012). We have included the nationwide, statewide, and district PACER links within our Criminal Records Directory. For those of you interested in access to PACER information, register here: http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/register.html.

How do I find Federal Prisoners?

Go here to access the Federal Bureau of Prisons database directly.

What's the difference between Corrections Records and Court Records?

Corrections records come from the jails and prisons and provide information about convicted persons (usually current inmates), but some jurisdictions include former inmates, probationers, parolees, or even persons sentenced to house arrest. Court records provide information about pending criminal cases, or closed criminal cases resulting in a conviction. Usually both sources will include the date of the person's conviction and basic information about the charges.

Do you provide juvenile records?

Juvenile records are protected and are not part of our database.

What are the public record rules in my state?

Go to our home page and select your state. At the top of the page you'll find a description of your state's public record rules, how the state court system is organized, and helpful tips for you on how to find the information you need.