Start with the right El Paso County criminal-record system
El Paso County does not keep every criminal record in one office. Felony court records are primarily maintained by the District Clerk, adult misdemeanor records by the County Clerk, current jail and bond information through county jail systems, sheriff-issued warrant information through a separate warrant portal, Class C cases through Justice of the Peace or Municipal Court systems, and statewide criminal-history information through the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Which El Paso County criminal record do you actually need?
Before searching a person’s name, identify the type of record. This prevents one of the most common problems in El Paso: looking for a felony in the County Clerk’s misdemeanor records, looking for a city citation in the county criminal portal, or expecting a county search to function as a statewide background check.
Felony criminal cases
Adult felony filings, murder, capital murder, felony case pleadings, some nondisclosure matters, criminal appeals preparation and related district-court files.
Adult misdemeanor cases
Adult misdemeanor records handled by El Paso County Courts at Law and County Criminal Courts at Law.
Jail, arrest and warrant information
Current jailings, bond data, sheriff-issued warrants, sheriff-generated criminal reports and local arrest-background information.
County Class C cases
Citations issued in El Paso County by agencies other than the El Paso Police Department may belong to the appropriate Justice of the Peace precinct.
City of El Paso Class C cases
El Paso Municipal Court handles Class C misdemeanors and city citations issued within city jurisdiction.
Statewide criminal history
Use the Texas Crime Records Division when you need public Texas criminal-history information rather than only an El Paso County court file.
Search El Paso County criminal cases online
El Paso County provides a dedicated Criminal Case Search that covers criminal records maintained through the County Clerk and District Clerk systems.
Open the official county criminal search
Use the county-hosted Odyssey public search rather than starting with a commercial background-check website.
Choose your search method
The system supports case-number and defendant-based searching.
Enter defendant information carefully
Search fields include last name, first name, middle name and date of birth. A Soundex option can help locate similar-sounding name variations.
Use status and date filters when necessary
The portal also allows filtering by case status and date ranges, which can be useful for common names or someone with multiple cases.
Verify the case before relying on it
Check the defendant identifiers, court, case status, charges and final disposition. A matching name alone is not enough to establish identity.
El Paso County felony criminal records: District Clerk
The El Paso County District Clerk’s Criminal Division is the custodian of filed pleadings in felony criminal matters. The county specifically lists adult felony, murder and capital-murder matters among the criminal files maintained by this division.
Criminal Division
El Paso County Courthouse500 E. San Antonio Ave., Suite 103
El Paso, TX 79901
Phone:
915-273-3534
Email:
districtclerk@epcounty.com
Common criminal-record tasks
- felony case files
- pending felony case information
- background-check requests
- file and copy requests
- expunction filings
- criminal appeal records preparation
The District Clerk also works with the Jail Magistrate and pre-indictment pleadings, issues warrant numbers and coordinates criminal-file information with jail personnel.
El Paso County misdemeanor records: County Clerk
The El Paso County Clerk’s Criminal Division maintains records concerning adult misdemeanors and serves as clerk for County Courts at Law and County Criminal Courts at Law.
Criminal Division
El Paso County Courthouse500 E. San Antonio Ave., Suite 105
El Paso, TX 79901
Phone:
915-273-3532
Email:
countyclerk@epcounty.com
Criminal copy requests:
clkcrimmail@epcounty.com
Published hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
County-level criminal matters
El Paso County identifies criminal matters such as DWI, family violence, bond forfeitures and other misdemeanor-level matters within its County Courts at Law structure.
For copies or a County Clerk criminal-background letter, the office directs requesters to complete its criminal request form and email the request to the Criminal Division.
County Clerk Criminal DivisionEl Paso County misdemeanor copy and background-search fees
The County Clerk publishes a separate criminal miscellaneous-fee schedule. The amounts below are useful planning figures, but confirm the current fee before sending payment.
| County Clerk service | Published fee | Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal background search over the counter | $6 | Local County Clerk criminal-background search. |
| Criminal background search by email or mail | $7 | Use the Criminal Division request process. |
| Copy of instrument over the counter | $1 per page | Applies to qualifying criminal records under the published fee sheet. |
| Copy by email or mail | $2 per page | Confirm total before paying for a lengthy file. |
| Certification | $5 | Ask whether your receiving agency requires a certified disposition or certified copy. |
| Search when docket number is not provided | $5 | Providing the case/docket number can avoid unnecessary search work. |
Search current El Paso County jail records and bonds
Jail custody is different from a criminal court record. Someone may appear in custody before a case has reached the stage you expect in the clerk’s records.
Jail Records Search
Search by defendant name and date of birth. The county also provides booking-date filters.
Search Jail RecordsJail Bond Search
Search bond information separately using defendant name, DOB, bond status and date filters.
Search Jail BondsEl Paso County warrant search
El Paso County provides a separate public portal for warrants issued through the Sheriff’s Office. The search accepts defendant last name, first name, middle name and date of birth.
Search El Paso County WarrantsThe District Clerk also states that its Criminal Division works with jail personnel, issues warrant numbers and maintains related criminal files. Search warrants may involve separate filing procedures and are not the same thing as arrest warrants.
El Paso County Sheriff arrest records, incident reports and local background checks
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Crime Records Section maintains records generated by the Sheriff’s Office, including criminal complaint reports, local criminal-background checks, incident records and expunction-related processing.
Records Section
3850 Justice St.El Paso, TX 79938
Phone:
915-273-3807
Published office hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Current Sheriff fees
Criminal reports: $0.10 per page
Crash reports: $6
Incident-report requests may be submitted in person, by mail or by email, depending on the request type.
For Sheriff-generated criminal or accident reports, the Sheriff’s Office lists: DG-SO-Records@epcountytx.gov for online requests and related open-records inquiries.
Sheriff background check / clearance letter
The Sheriff’s Records Section also offers a local background-check / clearance-letter process. The current county page lists a $13 fee.
- only the person being checked can directly authorize the check
- a second party needs notarized authorization
- the search covers arrest records generated by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
- it is not a statewide Texas criminal-history check
Requesting El Paso County law-enforcement records under the Texas Public Information Act
Texas Government Code Chapter 552, commonly called the Public Information Act, creates a process for requesting government records. El Paso County stresses that a request should be sent directly to the office that legally maintains the record.
El Paso County also notes that each elected official is the custodian of that office’s own records. Sending a request to the wrong department can delay the response.
El Paso County Open Records Texas PIA Request GuidanceClass C cases: El Paso Municipal Court vs. Justice of the Peace
Not every criminal-type citation in El Paso County will appear where you expect a felony or adult misdemeanor case to appear.
Municipal Court
El Paso Municipal Court is a court of record handling Class C misdemeanors and civil parking citations within city jurisdiction.
The municipal public portal allows searches by name, citation number and case number.
Municipal Court SearchJustice of the Peace
El Paso County tells people who received a citation from an agency other than the El Paso Police Department to contact the Justice of the Peace precinct identified on the citation.
Find Justice CourtImportant Municipal Court search limitations
The City of El Paso’s current public-access portal states that:
- recent tickets may take roughly 7–10 business days to appear
- juvenile citations are not displayed through the public portal
- records before January 1, 2006 were purged under the court’s retention policy
- recent court-office entries may not immediately appear online
Texas DPS statewide public criminal-history search
County court searches answer a local court question. For broader Texas criminal-history information, use the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Records Division.
Texas DPS makes public conviction and deferred-adjudication criminal-history information available through its public criminal-history service, subject to Texas law and access restrictions.
Create or use the required DPS public account
Follow the Crime Records public-site registration process before searching.
Purchase search credit
DPS currently lists name-search credits at $1 per search. Credit-card purchases can include additional transaction charges.
Enter the strongest identifiers available
First and last name are central search fields. Middle or maiden name and DOB improve accuracy.
Review match details carefully
Texas DPS warns that name-based searches can produce records for the wrong person. Fingerprints are the strongest way to establish identity.
Requesting Texas public criminal history by mail
Texas DPS also publishes Form CR-42 for requesting public criminal-history data by mail. The current form lists a $10 search fee and allows the requester to indicate whether a certified copy is needed.
The form directs requests to:
Texas Department of Public SafetyCrime Records Division
P.O. Box 15999
Austin, TX 78761
How to request your own fingerprint-based Texas criminal history
If you need to review your own Texas criminal-history record accurately, DPS recommends its personal criminal-history review process using fingerprints.
Texas DPS explains that a fingerprint-based search is more accurate than a name-only search because fingerprints can positively associate the individual with a criminal-history record.
Current DPS fee
DPS currently lists the fingerprint-based criminal-history record-check fee as $15.
Additional fingerprint service fee
DPS currently states that using FAST adds a separate $10 fingerprinting fee.
Texas prison, conviction and parole-status records
If the person is or was under the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system, the county jail search is not the best tool.
The TDCJ Offender Search allows searching by name, SID number or current TDCJ number.
TDCJ indicates that its offender information can include housing, conviction and parole-related status. The newer search also supports wildcard searching when only part of a name or SID is known.
El Paso criminal appeals: Eighth Court of Appeals
Criminal records do not necessarily end when the trial court enters judgment. El Paso County is within the jurisdiction of the Eighth Court of Appeals.
Eighth Court of Appeals
500 E. San Antonio Ave.Room 1203
El Paso, TX 79901
Phone:
915-273-3142
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Appellate criminal records
The Eighth Court hears qualifying criminal appeals from district and county courts. Death-penalty appeals go directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
The El Paso County District Clerk’s Appeals Division also prepares clerk records for criminal felony appeals sent to the Eighth Court of Appeals and, where applicable, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Eighth Court of AppealsFederal criminal cases filed in El Paso
A federal criminal case is not an El Paso County court case and will not necessarily appear in the County Clerk or District Clerk systems.
El Paso County is within the El Paso Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The federal courthouse is:
Albert Armendariz, Sr. U.S. Courthouse525 Magoffin Avenue
El Paso, TX 79901
Federal case dockets and electronically available filings are generally accessed through PACER.
Search Federal Cases with PACER Western District of TexasEl Paso County expunction and orders of nondisclosure
Texas provides different mechanisms that can affect public access to criminal records. Expunction and an order of nondisclosure are not the same thing.
Potential record destruction/removal process
Texas criminal-record expunction is governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure. Eligibility depends on the facts and statutory requirements of the case.
Restriction on public disclosure
A nondisclosure order restricts public disclosure of qualifying criminal-history information, but authorized criminal-justice and other statutorily authorized entities may retain access.
The El Paso County District Clerk provides an expunction form and nondisclosure information through its official forms section. Its published expunction Form B currently lists a $350 petition filing amount, with separate service charges possible depending on the method used to notify agencies.
What to do if a Texas criminal-history record is wrong
If the problem is in Texas DPS criminal-history data rather than only a local court record, DPS maintains a Criminal History Error Resolution process.
DPS states that a person seeking correction of inaccurate criminal-history information may need to provide certified supporting documents. The Error Resolution Unit can evaluate information reported by law enforcement, courts and other criminal-justice agencies.
DPS Error Resolution email: error.resolution@dps.texas.gov
Texas DPS Error ResolutionIf someone else used your identity
Texas DPS treats identity misuse differently from a simple data-entry mistake. State law provides mechanisms for people whose identifying information was falsely used by another person during an arrest. This can involve additional procedures through law enforcement, the sheriff and DPS.
Where to go in person for El Paso County criminal records
El Paso County District Clerk
500 E. San Antonio Ave., Suite 103El Paso, TX 79901
Phone: 915-273-3534
El Paso County Clerk
500 E. San Antonio Ave., Suite 105El Paso, TX 79901
Phone: 915-273-3532
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
El Paso County Sheriff Crime Records
3850 Justice St.El Paso, TX 79938
Phone: 915-273-3807
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
El Paso Municipal Court
810 E. Overland Ave.El Paso, TX 79901
Phone: 915-212-0215
El Paso County Courthouse map
Both the District Clerk and County Clerk criminal-record operations are centered at the El Paso County Courthouse, making this the most useful single map for in-person court-record requests.
Confirm office hours and holiday closures with the specific office before making a special trip.
Practical El Paso County criminal-record search tips
Start with case number when you have it
It is faster and reduces mistaken-name matches. It may also avoid a paid clerk search when requesting copies.
Use DOB for common names
Both the county criminal search and jail systems provide DOB fields that can help distinguish defendants.
Try Soundex
The El Paso County criminal portal provides a Soundex option for similar-sounding name variations.
Separate jail from court status
A jail record tells you about custody. The court record tells you about filed charges and disposition.
Do not send every request to County Clerk
Felony records belong with District Clerk; adult misdemeanors with County Clerk.
Check city court for El Paso Police citations
Class C matters issued within the city can belong to El Paso Municipal Court instead of county criminal courts.
Check the JP precinct for other county citations
El Paso County says citations from agencies other than El Paso Police may belong to the Justice of the Peace listed on the citation.
Use DPS for a broader Texas search
A Sheriff’s clearance or county clerk search does not equal a statewide Texas criminal-history search.
Read the final disposition
Do not stop at the charge. Look for dismissal, conviction, deferred adjudication, acquittal or another final outcome.
What an El Paso County criminal search may not show
Even a thorough search of El Paso County’s online systems has limits.
- federal criminal cases
- criminal cases filed in another Texas county
- out-of-state criminal records
- records sealed by law or court order
- qualifying nondisclosed records
- confidential juvenile information
- law-enforcement investigative material not subject to public release
- very recent municipal citations not yet entered online
Using criminal-record information for employment, housing or other screening
Public criminal-record information and a legally compliant consumer background report are not necessarily the same thing. Employment, housing, credit, licensing and other eligibility decisions can involve federal and state requirements that go beyond simply locating a public court record.
El Paso County criminal records: frequently asked questions
1. Where can I search El Paso County criminal cases online?
Use El Paso County’s official Criminal Case Search at apps.epcountytx.gov. The portal supports case-number and defendant searches, including name, date of birth, Soundex, case-status and date filters.
2. Who keeps felony criminal records in El Paso County?
The El Paso County District Clerk’s Criminal Division is the custodian for filed felony criminal matters, including adult felony, murder and capital-murder case records.
3. Who keeps misdemeanor criminal records in El Paso County?
The El Paso County Clerk’s Criminal Division maintains adult misdemeanor records for the County Courts at Law and County Criminal Courts at Law.
4. How can I see if someone is currently in El Paso County Jail?
Use the county’s official Jail Records Search. It is separate from the criminal case portal and is described by the county as a search of current jailings.
5. Is there an El Paso County warrant search?
Yes. El Paso County provides a separate Warrant Search for warrants issued through the Sheriff’s Office. The portal supports defendant name and date-of-birth searching.
6. Can I request an El Paso County Sheriff’s background check?
Yes. The Sheriff’s Records Section provides background checks and clearance letters. The current page lists a $13 fee, but the check covers arrest records generated by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and should not be confused with a statewide Texas DPS criminal-history search.
7. Where do I look for a Class C misdemeanor in El Paso?
El Paso Police Department citations within city jurisdiction may be handled by El Paso Municipal Court. County citations issued by another agency may belong to the Justice of the Peace precinct identified on the citation.
8. How do I obtain statewide Texas criminal-history information?
Use the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Records Division public criminal-history service. DPS currently charges search credits for online name-based searches and also provides procedures for requesting a fingerprint-based personal record review.
9. Can an El Paso criminal record be expunged or hidden from public access?
Some Texas records may qualify for expunction or an order of nondisclosure, but eligibility depends on the specific statutory requirements and case history. The El Paso County District Clerk provides expunction and nondisclosure filing resources but cannot give legal advice.
10. Will El Paso County’s search show federal criminal cases?
No. Federal cases are separate from El Paso County trial-court records. Federal criminal cases for the area are handled through the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, and federal electronic case records are generally accessed through PACER.
Official sources and record portals
Government portals, fees and office procedures can change. Verify time-sensitive information with the agency maintaining the original record.
- El Paso County Criminal Case Search
- El Paso County District Clerk
- El Paso County Clerk Criminal Division
- El Paso County Jail Records Search
- El Paso County Jail Bond Search
- El Paso County Warrant Search
- El Paso County Sheriff Criminal / Accident Reports
- El Paso County Sheriff Background Checks
- El Paso Municipal Court
- El Paso County Justices of the Peace
- Texas DPS Crime Records Division
- Texas Department of Criminal Justice Offender Search
- Eighth Court of Appeals
- PACER Federal Case Search
- Texas Attorney General — Public Information Act