Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Washington Court House, Ohio, in Fayette County, has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In Ohio the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the Clerk of Courts; the statewide criminal history kept by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is released only to its subject and to the employers and agencies the law allows. This guide says where each record of a criminal case from Washington Court House is kept and how it is seen.
This guide covers the court file, the statewide record, local arrest records, the crimes behind the records, the prosecutor, sex offender registry, records requests and common questions.
Related guides: Washington Court House public records, Fayette County criminal records, Washington Court House arrest records, Washington Court House warrants, Washington Court House court records, Washington Court House traffic tickets, Ohio arrest records and Ohio inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas
A criminal case from Washington Court House is filed in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas or the Municipal and County Courts, which take misdemeanors, traffic cases, evictions and civil cases up to $15,000; mayor's courts handle some village tickets, and the court file, kept by the Clerk of Courts, is the record of it that the public may see.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at fayette-co-oh.com/264/Clerk-of-Courts (page title: Clerk of Courts | Fayette County, OH), phone 888-404-4674, 110 E Court Street 3rd Floor Court House Washington Court House, OH 43160, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Ohio has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The Ohio Criminal History and Your Own Copy
Ohio does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court file in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas is the public record.
To see your own record, the route is a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location. The state page SearchSystems verified for it is at ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Individuals-and-Families/Consumers/Requesti....
Arrest Records Kept Locally in Washington Court House
The Fayette County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Washington Court House (filed by the FBI as Washington Court House Police Department) keep the arrest records in and around Washington Court House: the report and the booking record of each arrest stay with the agency that made it, separate from the court file and from the state repository.
The New Holland Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Fayette County, so its arrests are not broken out for Fayette County here.
Together, the two agencies in Fayette County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 688 arrests to the FBI that year; how each case ended is in the court file, not in the arresting agency's.
The agencies and their counts, year by year, are in Washington Court House arrest records.
The Crimes Behind the Records: Washington Court House in 2024
The agency that reports for Washington Court House had 22 violent and 170 property crimes reported for 2024; each one is a report on file with it, and each arrest that follows is the start of a criminal record.
The Prosecuting Attorney for Fayette County
Charges in Fayette County are filed by the Prosecuting Attorney, which reviews the arrests of every agency in the county and brings the cases in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas or the Municipal and County Courts.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at fayette-co-oh.com/260/Prosecutor (page title: Prosecutor | Fayette County, OH), phone 740-335-0888, 119 E. Market Street Washington Court House, OH 43160, Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Washington Court House
Registered sex offenders living in Washington Court House are listed on eSORN, run by the Ohio Attorney General at icrimewatch.net/index.php?AgencyID=55149. The registry is public and can be searched online; the county sheriff registers them.
Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the sheriff's office, or the city police in a city with its own department.
Asking an Agency in Fayette County for a Record
An arrest report, a booking record or a local criminal history letter comes from the agency that holds it, not from the court.
Under the Ohio Public Records Act a county office must answer a request promptly, within a reasonable period of time, and it may charge the actual cost of copying. The county records request page SearchSystems verified is at faycoso.com/165/Public-Records-Request-a-Report (page title: Public Records | Request a Report | Fayette Sheriff's Office, OH).
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Washington Court House?
The court files of criminal cases in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Ohio Public Records Act.
Can I search Washington Court House criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at fayette-co-oh.com/264/Clerk-of-Courts (page title: Clerk of Courts | Fayette County, OH).
How do I get my own Ohio criminal history?
Through a fingerprint-based WebCheck at any WebCheck location.
Who prosecutes crimes in Washington Court House?
The Prosecuting Attorney, reached at 740-335-0888, which files its cases in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas or the Municipal and County Courts.
Is this the official Washington Court House website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.