Running a background check on tenants or looking up dates online is important to ensure your safety from potential criminal activity. Considering that 72% of murder-suicide cases involve an intimate partner, while the culprits in 3,462 murder cases were acquaintances or strangers.
Thanks to technology, doing a criminal background check and pulling out a person’s records online is possible. Discover how to find someone’s criminal record in this article.
Read on.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- Publicly accessible criminal court records can be obtained by visiting the court clerk’s office or the state’s agency website.
- Reliable services like TruthFinder offer a quick and accurate way to access nationwide criminal court records with minimal personal information.
- Explore free options like Arrests.org for arrest records and NSOPW for sex offender information, providing alternatives to paid services.
- Remember that knowing someone’s criminal records should not lead to discrimination or harassment. Always adhere to federal and state laws.
4 Methods to Discover a Person’s Criminal Records
Most criminal court records are publicly accessible. Depending on the document’s nature, you may get a copy by visiting the court’s clerk’s office or the state’s agency website.
One equally accurate and fastest way to check someone’s criminal record is through the best background check services, like TruthFinder. These sites have vast databases of criminal court records that cover nationwide cases.
You only need a few pieces of PII about the person to access detailed reports about them. Records are often easy-to-read and shareable, given that their use complies with federal and state laws.
| 📝Note Knowledge of someone else’s criminal records should not be a basis for discriminating against or harassing people. |
Method 1: Use TruthFinder
TruthFinder is a popular search tool that allows you to fetch background information on individuals and businesses. It retrieves over 350 million records from all 50 states.
This tool can acquire various information about a person, like their addresses, phone numbers, and even criminal history records. Follow the guide below to search for somebody’s criminal record with TruthFinder.
Setting Up a TruthFinder Account
Creating a TruthFinder account is necessary to make your search more seamless. Below are the steps to set it up:
Step 1: Set up an account to unlock the full view of TruthFinder reports.
Step 2: Subscribe to one of the membership packages. It’s a must, especially if you need unlimited reports. You can pay via Paypal or through a credit or debit card.
Step 3: Open your email account for login and verification instructions.
| ✅ Pro Tip Signing up for TruthFinder’s 5-day trial offer for $1.00 is suitable for one-time projects. However, make sure to cancel your membership within the 5-day trial, or you’ll be charged an entire month’s membership. |
Doing a Background Check with TruthFinder
After creating your own TruthFinder account, you can initiate a search to dig into someone’s criminal records. Here’s how:
Step 1: Log in to your TruthFinder account.
Step 2: On the dashboard’s search bar, enter the first name, last name, city, and state of the person. Click Search.
Step 3: Pick the closest profile match according to your ID description and view their report.
Step 4: Under Report Overview, check Key Information and Social Media Summary to verify the report’s accuracy.
Step 5: Scroll down and click the Criminal Records option. If the person has a criminal record, the report will look like this:
For only $3.99 per month, you can download reports for offline viewing through the PDF/Report Monitoring add-on. Once you’ve added it to your membership, you just need to click Download PDF in the Report Actions section to get a copy of the report.
| 📝 Note There are limits on how you use the information from TruthFinder. Using the collected information for consumer credit, employment, insurance, tenant screening, or other purposes requiring FCRA compliance is against the site’s Terms of Use. |
Method 2: Search Using Arrests.org
Arrests.org is a data broker that stores arrest records collected from all 50 states. The website allows free access to a person’s criminal record file—including mugshots, arrest records, court records, and booking information.
Follow the steps to learn how to navigate the website:
Step 1: Go to Arrests.org.
Step 2: Enter the full name and state of residence of the person you want to check. Click Search.
| ✅ Pro Tip You can search a person’s criminal file by clicking on the state’s map. It shows the recent arrests made in the area. |
Step 3: Click the mugshot of the person you’re looking for.
Step 4: Select More Information to get more details about the arrest.
If you do not have any ID information about the person you’re looking for, Arrests.org has a “Face Search” feature. You can upload a photo of anyone, and the site will reverse image search it for any existing criminal records.
| 👍 Helpful Article One in every three Americans has a criminal record. If your mugshot is on one of the sites, it can damage your reputation. Explore how to remove mugshots from arrests.org. |
Method 3: Utilize PACER
PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) is an online service managed by the Federal Administrative Office. Its goal is to help the public find federal court files.
The site’s services have a certain fee to access, download, and print public records. Here’s a summary of how much it usually charges:
- $2.40 per audio file (generated in mp3 format)
- $0.10 per page for documents, search results, and transcripts of court proceedings
| ✅ Pro Tip Limit incurred fees by searching using specific case numbers or using docket filters. You can also avail of payment exemptions if you are:a party in the caseaccessing court opinionsa part of indigents, pro bono attorneys, academic researchers, and non-profit organizations |
Read the step-by-step guide on creating your PACER account and searching for somebody’s criminal record below:
Step 1: Go to PACER’s official website.
Step 2: Click Register for an Account and choose the Register for an Account Overview option to get an overview of the different accounts you can sign up for.
Step 3: Select the account that best addresses your current need. If you will only use PACER to check for a person’s cases, select Case Search Only.
Step 5: Log in at the page’s upper right corner.
Step 6: Select the Find a Case option on PACER’s homepage. You can look for anybody’s criminal record through the National Index or the case’s specific court.
| 📝 NoteIf a docket report has no highlighted entry number link, the file is yet to be encoded in PACER. You must go to the court clerk’s office to see the copy. |
Method 4: Check NSOPW
There were more than 200,000 victims of sexual assault. 28.86% of them are children aged 11–15 years old. That is why websites like NSOPW were created to ensure public safety.
The National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) is an online federal database that stores information about sex offenders. It is a free online service that is also available as a mobile application.
Follow the steps below to use NSOPW to find someone’s criminal record:
Step 1: Go to NSOPW.
Step 2: Fill out the fields with the name and location of your target person.
Step 3: Utilize the Advanced Search feature if you have more details about the person’s ID. This feature lets you enter a zip code, city, and address radius.
Step 4: After you input the requested information, several matches will appear. Scour through the listings to find the person you are looking for.
| ✅ Pro Tip If a person’s sex offender record from NSOPW is unavailable, you can also check specific state registries. Examples of these are Maine’s and Missouri’s. |
Conclusion
Finding someone’s criminal record can be daunting, but the right source extracts an accurate and detailed rap sheet.
Not all free online criminal record checkers are outdated or inaccurate. State-governed sites are likewise free, and yet they give detailed and updated results. Paid criminal record checkers like TruthFinder ask for payment, as running a site and consolidating private records are not free.
FAQs on Finding Someone’s Criminal Records
How long are criminal records kept in the US?
Criminal records stay forever unless they’re expunged or sealed from public view. You must wait 3 years after a case concludes before you can petition to expunge or seal your criminal record.
Do felonies go away in New York?
Unfortunately, New York offers no option to expunge prior felony or misdemeanor convictions.
How can you get a copy of your criminal record online?
You can apply the same methods mentioned. If you need an official copy of your criminal record, contact your state’s Bureau of Criminal Identification.
Is there an FBI criminal record check?
No. The FBI does not provide any way to check an FBI criminal record online. The only way to get an FBI record is by submitting a request online by mail.
Timeline Of The Article
By Ritesh
With more than five years of experience in the background check industry, Ritesh Kumar founded LookupAPlate.com - a free tool to report bad drivers and look up license plates. Besides that, he has been in the SEO game for the last decade. So talk to him about Google algorithmic updates, and he can continue until the sheep come home. Here at techjury.net, he contributes mostly to the category - Background checks.