Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Martinsville County, Virginia, has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In Virginia the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the Circuit Court Clerk; the statewide criminal history kept by the Virginia State Police 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 Martinsville County is kept and how it is seen.
This guide covers the court file, the statewide record, local arrest records, the prosecutor, sex offender registry, records requests and common questions.
Related guides: Martinsville County public records, Martinsville County arrest records, Martinsville County inmate search, Martinsville County court records, Martinsville County DUI, Virginia arrest records and Virginia inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Martinsville Circuit Court
In Virginia the public criminal record is the court file. Criminal cases from Martinsville County are heard by the Martinsville Circuit Court, which hears felonies, divorces, the larger civil cases and appeals from the district courts; the General District Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and smaller civil cases; the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court takes family and juvenile cases, and the file of each case is kept by the Circuit Court Clerk.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at vacourts.gov/courts/circuit/martinsville/home (page title: Martinsville Circuit Court | Virginia Court System), phone (276) 403-5106, 5232 ADDRESS P. O. Box 1206 55 W. Church Street Martinsville, VA 24114-1206, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, Online Case Information System is the Virginia courts' free statewide case search.
The Virginia Criminal History and Your Own Copy
The statewide criminal history kept by the Virginia State Police is closed to the public in Virginia: it is released to its subject and to authorized employers and licensing agencies, and a member of the public uses the court's own case index instead.
To see your own record, the route is a request to the State Police Central Criminal Records Exchange; a check on someone else needs their signed consent.
Arrest Records Kept Locally in Martinsville County
The Sheriff Directory Archive - Virginia Sheriffs’ Association keeps the arrest records in Martinsville County: 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 agencies and their counts, year by year, are in Martinsville County arrest records.
The Commonwealth's Attorney for Martinsville County
The Commonwealth's Attorney decides which arrests in Martinsville County become charges and files them in the Martinsville Circuit Court or the General District Court; the office answers questions about pending prosecutions, and the case files themselves are court records.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at wdbj7.com/2026/03/13/commonwealths-attorney-asks-attorney-general-g... (page title: Commonwealth’s Attorney asks Attorney General to get involved with Martinsville investigation), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Martinsville County
Registered sex offenders living in Martinsville County are listed on the Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry, run by the Virginia State Police. The registry is public and can be searched online.
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 Martinsville 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 Virginia Freedom of Information Act a county office must answer a request within 5 working days, and it may charge the actual cost of searching and copying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Martinsville County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Martinsville Circuit Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Virginia State Police is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Can I search Martinsville County criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at vacourts.gov/courts/circuit/martinsville/home (page title: Martinsville Circuit Court | Virginia Court System). Statewide, Online Case Information System is the Virginia courts' free statewide case search.
How do I get my own Virginia criminal history?
Through a request to the State Police Central Criminal Records Exchange; a check on someone else needs their signed consent.
Who prosecutes crimes in Martinsville County?
The Commonwealth's Attorney, which files its cases in the Martinsville Circuit Court or the General District Court.
Is this the official Martinsville County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.