Start with the Clerk for the case, and the Sheriff for the booking
Pinellas County criminal information is spread across several official systems. The Clerk of the Circuit Court maintains felony, misdemeanor and other court records; the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office maintains county jail and recent booking information; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement provides statewide Florida criminal-history checks; and the Florida Department of Corrections maintains state correctional records. Choosing the correct source first is much faster than treating all of these records as one database.
Pinellas criminal records are kept by different agencies
The phrase “criminal record” can mean a court case, an arrest record, a jail booking, a statewide criminal-history record or a corrections record. Those records are not interchangeable.
Criminal court cases
Felony and misdemeanor case dockets, filed charges, hearings, dispositions and available court documents.
Arrest and booking data
Current jail custody, recent bookings, arresting agency, charges and bond-related information.
Statewide Florida history
Florida criminal-history information maintained by the state’s central criminal-history repository.
State corrections
Information concerning people in or associated with Florida’s state correctional system.
Appeals
Criminal appellate dockets and available documents through Florida’s ACIS system.
Federal cases
Federal prosecutions involving Pinellas County are separate from state court records and use PACER.
Use the Pinellas Clerk’s Court Records system for criminal cases
The Pinellas County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller maintains criminal court records. The Clerk’s public records system provides guest access to adult court dockets and other qualifying records.
Open Pinellas Court RecordsFrom the guest-access page, choose Court Records → Adult Name/Case Lookup. This is the useful route for most public felony and misdemeanor searches.
How to search a Pinellas criminal case step by step
Open Guest Access to Records
Start on the Clerk’s public records login page and use guest access unless you already have a subscription account.
Select Adult Name/Case Lookup
Adult criminal court dockets are included in the public court-record categories available to guests.
Search the defendant’s name
Use the most complete spelling you know. If the search is uncertain, try legitimate spelling variations rather than assuming a blank result means no case exists.
Use the case number when available
A case number is more precise than a common name and helps prevent mistaken matches.
Open the criminal docket
Review case appearance information, charge/disposition history, progress docket entries and related case information where publicly available.
Check the disposition
Determine how each charge ended before describing the person as convicted.
Request the underlying document when needed
If the docket is not enough, request the complaint, information, judgment, sentence, disposition or another available document from the Clerk.
What the Pinellas criminal docket can show
Pinellas County’s public-record system identifies a number of criminal justice fields and views. Depending on the case and access rules, users may encounter information such as:
Charge history
Filed or amended charges and available statutory information.
Disposition
Information showing how a criminal charge was resolved.
Sentencing history
Sentencing information when a qualifying sentence has been recorded.
Progress docket
Chronological docket activity and court events.
Related persons
Parties or other people associated with the court case where publicly releasable.
Custody / bond
Certain criminal justice system views may include jail or bond status information.
Felony and misdemeanor records use different court jurisdiction
Pinellas County criminal records are maintained through Florida’s circuit and county court structure.
Felony cases
Felony criminal prosecutions are generally handled in Circuit Court.
Misdemeanor cases
Misdemeanor criminal matters are generally handled in County Court.
The Pinellas Clerk’s Criminal Court Records department maintains felony, misdemeanor and other qualifying criminal-related files for the county.
Pinellas guest court-record access has a daily limit
Pinellas County’s public record system currently provides guest or non-subscriber access to adult court dockets and other public records.
Guest access is limited to 100 transactions per day per IP address. The county explains that public guest access operates at a lower system priority than government business systems and may occasionally be unavailable during maintenance or periods of high use.
The Clerk also offers subscription access intended for users who need faster or more extensive public-record searching.
If an old criminal case is missing online, contact Criminal Court Records
Remote access does not guarantee that every historical document is available online. Some old, confidential, redacted or otherwise restricted court records can require assistance from the Clerk’s office.
For a difficult historical search, gather:
- full defendant name
- former or alternate names
- approximate year
- date of birth if known
- case number if known
- charge or offense if known
- approximate arrest date
- court location if known
How to obtain copies or certified Pinellas criminal court records
When an online docket is not enough, the Clerk can provide available court documents and certification services subject to current access rules and statutory fees.
Examples of records users commonly request include:
- final disposition
- judgment and sentence
- charging document
- court order
- probation-related order
- dismissal document
- certified copy
- seal/expunge supporting document
Pinellas publishes a current fee schedule covering copying, certification, record searching and related Clerk services. Fees depend on the exact service requested.
Check current Clerk fee schedulePinellas County Justice Center criminal-record office
Pinellas County Justice Center
14250 49th Street NorthClearwater, FL 33762
Clerk Customer Information Center:
(727) 464-7000
The Clerk identifies this location for Criminal Court Records, Criminal Court Customer Service and jury services.
Clerk of the Circuit Court
315 Court StreetClearwater, FL 33756
General hours:
Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., excluding holidays.
Public Records Liaison:
(727) 464-3341
Map to Criminal Court Records at the Pinellas County Justice Center
This is the most relevant physical location for Pinellas criminal court record assistance. Confirm current hours and the service you need before traveling.
Search recent Pinellas arrests and county jail bookings
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office operates an official Arrest Inquiry / Who’s In Jail system.
The Sheriff’s current public system covers:
- people currently incarcerated in the Pinellas County Jail
- people released within the previous 30 days
- booking date
- arresting agency
- listed charges
- aliases when available
- bond-related information
- court case number when available
Search fields available
The current Sheriff inquiry supports searches using information such as:
- last name
- first name
- race
- sex
- docket number
- booking date
- address
- aliases
What if the person was released more than 30 days ago?
The Sheriff’s online Arrest Inquiry currently provides records for people in custody and people released within the previous 30 days.
For an older arrest or booking, the Sheriff directs users to its Records Request process.
Request Sheriff reports from the agency that created them
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Records Section receives and processes public-record requests for Sheriff’s Office records.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Records Section
Public records phone:
(727) 582-5865
Non-emergency / general information:
(727) 582-6200
Warrant information should be checked through official local sources
Warrant information can involve the court that issued the warrant and the law-enforcement agency responsible for execution. Public availability can depend on the warrant and the status of the case.
If you know the criminal case number, begin with the Pinellas Clerk’s court record. For a current custody or arrest issue, contact the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office directly.
Use FDLE when you need a statewide Florida criminal-history search
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Division of Criminal Justice Information Services is the central repository for Florida criminal-history information.
A Pinellas Clerk search covers Pinellas court cases. An FDLE search is different because it is designed to search qualifying Florida criminal-history information statewide.
| FDLE option | Current cost | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Instant Search | $24 + $1 card processing fee | Immediate online name-based search; result is not certified. |
| Certified / Non-Certified Search | $24 | FDLE staff conducts the demographic search and returns results by mail. |
| ORI Search | Varies | Used for an authorized agency or entity with a valid ORI number. |
FDLE currently states that non-certified staff-processed searches generally take about 5 business days, while certified searches generally take 6–7 business days, excluding mail delivery.
FDLE Florida Criminal History ChecksYou can review your own Florida criminal history for free through FDLE
Florida law allows an individual to request a copy of their own Florida criminal-history record for personal review so they can confirm that it is accurate and complete.
FDLE currently charges no fee for this Personal Review service.
Only the individual or the individual’s designated attorney can request the Personal Review. It cannot be used to obtain another person’s Florida record.
Complete the FDLE Personal Review form
Use the official Personal Review of Florida Criminal History Record application.
Obtain fingerprints
Personal Review uses fingerprint identification to match the subject to the correct record.
Mail the request to FDLE
Follow the mailing instructions on the current FDLE form.
Challenge inaccurate information if necessary
FDLE permits the record subject to challenge inaccurate or incomplete information.
State prison and corrections records are separate from Pinellas jail records
Pinellas County Jail is a county facility. Florida state-prison records are maintained through the Florida Department of Corrections.
Use the Florida Department of Corrections offender-search tools when the person may have entered state custody or supervision.
Search Florida appellate records when a Pinellas criminal case was appealed
Florida’s Appellate Case Information System (ACIS) provides public access to dockets and available documents from the Florida Supreme Court and all six District Courts of Appeal.
Public users do not need to register simply to search public appellate records.
ACIS supports searches by:
- case number
- case title
- party name
- case category
- filed date
- originating trial-court case number
- documents
- oral argument information
Federal criminal cases involving Pinellas County use PACER
A federal prosecution is not filed in Pinellas County Circuit or County Court. Pinellas County falls within the Tampa Division of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
The federal court identifies the Tampa Division as serving Pinellas along with Hardee, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Polk and Sarasota counties.
Middle District of Florida PACER AccessPACER requires an account and provides electronic access to federal docket and case information.
Florida sealing or expungement can change what appears publicly
Pinellas County publishes a local checklist for people petitioning to seal or expunge qualifying criminal-history records.
The process generally begins with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement because an applicant may need an FDLE Certificate of Eligibility before filing the court petition.
The Clerk’s checklist directs seal/expunge filings to:
Criminal Court Records
14250 49th Street North
Clearwater, FL 33762
Phone: (727) 464-7000
Juvenile criminal records have stricter access rules
Juvenile records are not treated like ordinary adult criminal records. Florida law restricts access to many juvenile records, and Pinellas public guest access does not provide the same remote access available for ordinary adult criminal court dockets.
FDLE also explains that juvenile criminal-history information is generally confidential, although Florida law authorizes limited release for specified felony-level juvenile events.
What to do if your Florida criminal-history record is inaccurate
If the error appears in your statewide FDLE criminal-history record, begin by obtaining your own Personal Review so you can see exactly what Florida has associated with your fingerprints.
Common record problems include:
- wrong identity
- missing disposition
- incorrect charge information
- case dismissed but statewide record not updated
- sealed or expunged record still appearing unexpectedly
- data submitted by an agency incorrectly
If the error concerns a Pinellas court disposition, obtain the official disposition from the Clerk before challenging the statewide criminal-history entry.
A public Pinellas search is not automatically a compliant employment background check
Court dockets and public arrest information are useful for public-record research, but employment, housing and other eligibility decisions can involve additional federal and Florida requirements.
FDLE also provides ORI-based searches for authorized organizations. Those searches are different from an ordinary consumer searching a person’s Pinellas court record.
Pinellas search tips that solve common problems
Use Adult Name/Case Lookup
The Clerk’s court-record system—not its separate Official Records database—is the better route for criminal cases.
Save the case number
It prevents mistaken-name matches and helps conserve the 100 daily guest transactions.
Try spelling variations
The Clerk advises users to search reasonable variations of proper names to maximize results.
Recent arrest?
Use the Sheriff’s booking search first, then move to the Clerk once the court case is filed.
Older than 30 days?
Sheriff’s online arrest inquiry may no longer display the booking. Use its Records Request process.
Booking charge ≠ final charge
The State Attorney may file a different charge or decline prosecution altogether.
Need statewide history?
Use FDLE instead of repeatedly searching individual Florida counties.
Your own Florida history?
Use FDLE Personal Review, which is fingerprint-based and currently free through FDLE.
Federal case?
Search the Middle District of Florida through PACER rather than the Pinellas Clerk.
Common questions about Pinellas criminal records
1. Can I search Pinellas County criminal records online for free?
Yes. The Pinellas Clerk provides guest access to qualifying adult court dockets through its public-record system. Guest access is currently limited to 100 transactions per day per IP address.
2. What should I use to find a felony case?
Use the Pinellas Clerk Court Records system and select Adult Name/Case Lookup. Felony cases are generally handled in Circuit Court.
3. Where can I find a recent Pinellas arrest?
Use the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Arrest Inquiry. It currently provides information for people in custody and people released during the previous 30 days.
4. Does the Sheriff’s booking search show the final criminal record?
No. The Sheriff specifically warns that booking information may not reflect the State Attorney’s charging decision or the outcome of the criminal case. Use the Clerk for the final disposition.
5. How can I find a Pinellas arrest older than 30 days?
The Sheriff’s public booking search is limited to current inmates and releases within approximately the previous 30 days. Older information can be requested through the Sheriff’s public-record process.
6. Does a Pinellas Clerk search cover all of Florida?
No. It covers Pinellas court records. Use the Florida Department of Law Enforcement when you need a statewide Florida criminal-history search.
7. How much does an FDLE criminal-history search cost?
FDLE currently charges $24 for a public Florida criminal-history search. The instant online search also currently includes a $1 credit-card processing fee.
8. Can I review my own Florida criminal history for free?
Yes. FDLE states that it does not charge for its fingerprint-based Personal Review service, which allows an individual to inspect their own Florida criminal-history record for accuracy.
9. Where do I request a certified Pinellas criminal court disposition?
Request it from the Pinellas Clerk of the Circuit Court. Criminal Court Records is located at the Pinellas County Justice Center, 14250 49th Street North, Clearwater.
10. Do Pinellas criminal records include federal cases?
No. Federal cases are separate. Pinellas County falls within the Tampa Division of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and federal case access is provided through PACER.
Official sources and search tools
- Pinellas Clerk — Guest Court Records Access
- Pinellas Clerk — Records Available Online
- Pinellas County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller
- Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office — Arrest Inquiry
- Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office — Records and Contact Information
- FDLE — Florida Criminal History Record Checks
- FDLE — Personal Review of Florida Criminal History
- Florida Appellate Case Information System
- Florida Second District Court of Appeal
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida — PACER
- Pinellas Clerk — Seal / Expunge Criminal History Checklist