Free Utah criminal-record access exists — but not as one statewide public background-check website
Utah uses different systems for court cases, personal criminal-history records, prison and probation information, offender registries and federal cases. The Utah Courts Xchange system provides statewide public district- and justice-court case information, while the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) maintains the state’s criminal-history repository. The important distinction is that BCI does not provide an unrestricted public name search of another person’s Utah criminal history.
What Utah criminal records can you actually search for free?
The word free needs some clarification in Utah. There is no public BCI website where anyone can type another person’s name and obtain a free statewide criminal-history report.
There are, however, several legitimate free government access routes.
Courthouse Xchange terminal
Utah Courts says free public Xchange access is available at most district courthouses and may also be available at some justice courts.
Utah State Law Library
The Utah State Law Library provides free public access to Xchange for public court-case research.
MyCase
If you are a party to an eligible Utah court case, MyCase allows you to view many case details without paying Xchange search fees.
Utah offender search
Utah Department of Corrections provides an online search for people currently incarcerated or on probation/parole with UDC.
Offender registry
Utah’s public offender registry can be searched when the user’s intent concerns a qualifying sex, kidnapping or child-abuse registrant.
Personal BCI record
BCI currently charges $20 when you request a copy of your own Utah criminal-history record.
Choose the Utah record source before searching a name
| What you need | Official source | Public access | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| District / justice court case | Utah Courts Xchange | Public records; free at qualifying public terminals, paid remotely | Charges, court events, judgments and case outcome |
| Your own case | Utah MyCase | Free for eligible case parties | View your own case history and filed documents |
| Your statewide Utah criminal history | Utah BCI | Available to the record subject | Your official Utah criminal-history record |
| Another person’s BCI history | Utah BCI | Not available as unrestricted public lookup | Requires lawful release / authorized procedure |
| State incarceration / probation / parole | Utah Department of Corrections | Public online search | Current UDC custody or supervision |
| Appeal | Utah appellate courts | Public docket / opinions | Court of Appeals or Supreme Court history |
| Federal criminal case | PACER | Public account; fees may apply | Federal prosecutions |
Use Utah Xchange for public district and justice court cases
Utah Courts Xchange is the statewide repository of public case information entered into the Courts Information System, commonly called CORIS.
Xchange includes public district court and justice court information. It is the most important official system for someone searching another person’s Utah criminal court history.
Open Utah XchangeWhat can appear in Xchange?
- party names
- case number
- county
- court location
- case type
- filing date
- criminal charges
- defendant date of birth when available
- law-enforcement agency
- prosecuting agency
- hearings and proceedings
- judgments and case outcome
Xchange can also provide public district-court documents that are available electronically. Utah Courts says public district-court documents filed electronically since July 1, 2010 are available through Xchange when otherwise publicly accessible.
Remote Xchange is not free
Utah Courts charges remote users to help cover the cost of the Xchange service.
| Access type | Current published fee | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| One-time use | $10 initial payment | Occasional searches |
| Individual search | $0.35 per search | Name, case number or other search parameter |
| Electronic document | $1 per document | Public documents available in Xchange |
| Monthly subscription setup | $25 | Frequent users |
| Monthly subscription | $40/month | Includes up to 500 searches per month |
Utah Courts can update fees. Check the official Xchange fee page before purchasing access.
How to search a Utah criminal court case step by step
Open Xchange
Choose guest / one-time access if you only need occasional research, or use a subscription if you routinely search Utah court records.
Start with the defendant’s last name
Utah Courts recommends using an asterisk wildcard after a surname when broader matching is useful.
Add the first name and DOB
A full name and available birth date can help separate people with common names.
Use location when you know it
If you know where the citation or criminal case originated, use the court location or county to narrow the result set.
Open the case number
The expanded case history contains chronological proceedings and additional case information.
Read every charge and disposition
Do not treat a filed charge as a conviction. Look at the later proceedings and final outcome.
How to understand a Utah Xchange criminal result
| Field | What it tells you | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| County | County where the case exists | Confirm this matches the person/event you are researching. |
| Court location | District or justice court that maintains the case | Use this court for copies or corrections. |
| Case number | Official court-case identifier | Save it before doing more research. |
| Case type | Category of case | Confirm it is criminal rather than an unrelated proceeding. |
| Defendant DOB | Birth date when available | Useful for identity matching. |
| Charge | Offense alleged in the case | A charge is not proof of conviction. |
| Proceedings | Chronological court events | Look for plea, dismissal, judgment and sentence. |
| Judgment/outcome | How the case or charge was resolved | This is more important than the initial allegation. |
District court or justice court? It changes where you should search
Felonies and Class A misdemeanors
Utah district courts are general-jurisdiction courts. All felony cases and Class A misdemeanor cases are filed in district court.
Most Class B and C misdemeanors
Justice courts generally handle Class B and Class C misdemeanors, infractions, local ordinance violations and many traffic matters.
Both court levels feed public case information into Xchange, but historical coverage can differ because individual justice courts began using CORIS at different times.
Find a Utah courtUse MyCase when the court case is your own
If you are a party to a Utah court case, do not automatically pay for an Xchange name search. Utah Courts provides MyCase for many eligible cases.
MyCase can allow eligible users to:
- view their own case history
- see filed court documents
- access case information online
- file certain documents electronically
How to search Utah criminal court records for free at a courthouse
Utah Courts specifically states that free public Xchange access is available at most district courthouses. Some justice courts may also provide public terminals.
What to do when an old Utah criminal case does not appear online
An absent Xchange result does not automatically mean there was never a case.
Justice courts began using CORIS at different times and did not all convert older case information. Converted older cases can also contain less detail than modern electronic cases.
Utah’s court system directs researchers toward the Utah State Archives for many judicial records that are more than 50 years old.
Practical search order for older records
- Search Xchange.
- Identify the district or justice court that would have handled the case.
- Contact the court clerk.
- Ask whether older records remain with the court or have been archived.
- For historical material, check the Utah State Archives.
How to request Utah criminal court copies
If you need a document rather than a search result, request it from the court that maintains the case.
Utah Courts currently lists the following general record-copy charges:
| Service | Current published fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paper copy | $0.25 per sheet | Standard court-record paper copy. |
| Xchange document | $1 per document | For documents available through Xchange. |
| Email/fax, up to 10 pages | $5 | Court generally will not email records already available through Xchange. |
| Email/fax after first 10 pages | $0.50 per page | Additional pages. |
| Electronic storage medium | $15 per unit | For qualifying records delivered on physical media. |
Court staff time can also be charged when unusually extensive work is required. Utah Courts currently provides the first 15 minutes of staff time without charge before applicable staff-time fees begin.
Request a Utah court recordHow to obtain your own Utah BCI criminal-history record
The Utah Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Identification allows individuals to request a copy of their own Utah criminal history.
This is different from searching public Utah court cases.
| Requirement | Current BCI guidance |
|---|---|
| Who may request? | The subject of the Utah criminal-history record. |
| Current fee | $20 |
| In-person access | Available at BCI’s Taylorsville office. |
| Mail access | Available using BCI’s criminal-history application. |
| ID | Government-issued photo ID required. |
| Office hours | Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., excluding state holidays. |
Can you get another person’s Utah BCI criminal history?
Utah BCI does not operate an unrestricted public name-based criminal-history lookup for another person.
BCI does publish a Third Party Release form for circumstances in which the record subject authorizes their Utah criminal-history information to be released to another party.
If you are simply conducting public-record research on another person, use the Utah Courts Xchange system rather than assuming you can obtain their confidential BCI record.
Utah BCI criminal-history formsWhat to do if your Utah criminal-history record is wrong
BCI provides a Record Challenge process for individuals who believe their Utah criminal-history information is inaccurate or incomplete.
The current Record Challenge fee is $20.
Utah GRAMA requests are different from BCI criminal-history access
Utah’s Government Records Access and Management Act—commonly called GRAMA—provides a process for requesting qualifying government records.
BCI provides a GRAMA request route on its criminal-record forms page, but a GRAMA request does not automatically make protected criminal-history information public.
Search Utah prison, probation and parole records
The Utah Department of Corrections provides an official public Offender Search.
UDC says the search can show whether someone is currently:
- incarcerated by the Utah Department of Corrections
- on probation with UDC
- on parole with UDC
Searches can be performed by name or UDC identification number.
Utah offender registry search
Utah provides public access to qualifying information concerning people who are required to appear in the state’s sex, kidnapping and child-abuse offender registry.
This is a specialized public-safety database and should not be treated as a full Utah criminal-history search.
Search Utah criminal appeals separately
If a criminal case was appealed, the Utah appellate courts provide separate docket and opinion resources.
The Utah Supreme Court is the state’s highest court, while the Utah Court of Appeals hears many appeals from lower courts.
Utah Courts provides an Appellate Docket Search for cases and separate access to published appellate opinions.
Utah appellate records Search appellate opinionsWarrants require a different search strategy
A criminal case search and a warrant search are related but not identical.
Utah Courts maintains warrant-related information and rules governing arrest warrants and search warrants. Public case information may also show warrant activity as part of the court history.
Search warrants
Search warrants are judicial orders allowing law enforcement to search specified people, places or property for evidence.
Historical Utah court guidance explains that qualifying search warrants become public after the applicable confidentiality period unless sealed by a judge, and public search-warrant information can be accessed through the court system.
Utah Clean Slate and automatic expungement changed in 2026
Utah’s expungement rules can directly