Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest 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.
Roanoke County, Virginia, has about 97,000 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 Roanoke 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: Roanoke County public records, Roanoke County arrest records, Roanoke County warrants, Roanoke County inmate search, Roanoke County court records, Virginia arrest records and Virginia inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Roanoke Circuit Court
A criminal case from Roanoke County is filed in the Roanoke Circuit Court or the General District Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and smaller civil cases; the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court takes family and juvenile cases, and the court file, kept by the Circuit Court Clerk, is the record of it that the public may see.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at roanokecountyva.gov/447/Search-Court-Cases-Online (page title: Court Cases | Roanoke County, VA), 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
Virginia does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Virginia State Police goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court file in the Roanoke Circuit Court is the public record.
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 Roanoke County
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Roanoke County: the Roanoke County State Police (state police); it keeps the records of its own arrests.
The agencies and their counts, year by year, are in Roanoke County arrest records.
The Commonwealth's Attorney for Roanoke County
Charges in Roanoke County are filed by the Commonwealth's Attorney, which reviews the arrests of every agency in the county and brings the cases in the Roanoke Circuit Court or the General District Court.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at roanokecountyva.gov/2555/Commonwealths-Attorney (page title: Commonwealth's Attorney | Roanoke County, VA), phone 540-387-6174, 305 E. Main Street, Room 202 Salem, VA 24153, Monday-Friday 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Roanoke County
Registered sex offenders living in Roanoke 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 Roanoke 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. The county records request page SearchSystems verified is at roanokecountyva.gov/1712/Request-Public-Records (page title: Request Public Records | Roanoke County, VA).
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Roanoke County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Roanoke 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 Roanoke County criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at roanokecountyva.gov (page title: Court Cases | Roanoke County, VA). 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 Roanoke County?
The Commonwealth's Attorney, reached at 540-387-6174, which files its cases in the Roanoke Circuit Court or the General District Court.
Is this the official Roanoke 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.