Yes. NSOPW is federally funded and is available to public users without a fee or paid membership.

PACER is not always free. Federal electronic court access generally carries usage-based fees, although fee waivers and quarterly billing thresholds may apply.

How to Search Someone's Criminal Record in View Someones

Q: What is the best free place to start?

Start with the official court system for the state where the alleged offense occurred. If statewide court access is incomplete, identify the county and search the local court or clerk.

Q: Can I search every state from one free government website?

No. Criminal records are decentralized across state and local courts, state criminal-history repositories, corrections agencies and federal systems.

Q: Is the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate search free?

Yes. The Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator is free and includes information about federal inmates incarcerated from 1982 to the present.

Q: Can I get someone else's FBI criminal record for free?

No. The FBI does not provide another person's Identity History Summary to an unrelated private requester. Individuals can request their own fingerprint-based FBI record through the official process.

Q: Does an arrest record mean the person was convicted?

No. An arrest is not proof of guilt or conviction. The corresponding court case and final disposition should be reviewed.

Q: Why can I not find an old criminal case online?

Older files may not be digitized, may be stored in another jurisdiction, or may be sealed or expunged. Contact the court that handled the case when older records are important.

Free U.S. public-record search guide

Start with free government records before paying for a background search

You can often check whether someone has a publicly available criminal court case without paying a commercial people-search service. The trick is knowing where to look. State courts, county clerks, sheriffs, jail systems, departments of corrections and federal agencies all maintain different parts of the record. There is no single free government database containing every criminal record in the United States.

Coverage: United States Search type: Public government records Information checked: October 2026

Fastest free approach: identify the state and county connected with the person, search the official state or county court portal, check the relevant state Department of Corrections, look at the county jail or sheriff if the event was recent, and use the free federal BOP and NSOPW systems when applicable. PACER can be used for federal court cases, but it is not always free.

Search court cases Best place to confirm charges, disposition and conviction.

Start here →

Check recent custody County jail, sheriff and booking systems.

Jail search →

Check state prison Use the relevant state Department of Corrections.

DOC search →

Check federal records PACER for cases; BOP for federal custody.

Federal search →

Search registries NSOPW links public sex-offender registries nationwide.

NSOPW →

What can you really check for free?

“Free criminal record search” can be misleading because different agencies charge differently. Many official court, inmate and registry searches are free, while some formal criminal-history reports and federal court documents cost money.

Official source	Usually free to search?	What it can tell you	Main limitation
State judiciary portal	Often yes	Criminal case, charges, hearings, disposition	Coverage and document access vary by state.
County court / clerk	Often yes for basic search	Local criminal cases and court documents	Copies or certifications may cost money.
County jail / sheriff	Usually	Recent booking, custody and listed charges	Not a complete criminal history.
State Department of Corrections	Usually	State prison or supervision information	Does not cover all arrests or county-jail stays.
NSOPW	Yes	Public sex-offender registry information nationwide	Only qualifying registered offenders.
Federal BOP	Yes	Federal inmate information from 1982 onward	Federal custody only.
PACER	Not always	Federal court cases and documents	Usage fees can apply.
State criminal-history repository	Depends on state	Statewide criminal-history information	Some states charge or restrict third-party access.
FBI Identity History Summary	No	Your own fingerprint-based FBI record	You cannot order someone else’s private FBI summary.

Best free strategy: use free court and correctional searches to identify a case first. Only pay for a formal record, certified copy or specialized search when the free sources cannot answer the question.

Collect the right details before searching someone’s name

The less information you have, the more likely you are to match the wrong person. Before opening a government database, write down as many reliable details as possible.

full first and last name
middle name or middle initial
maiden or previous name
approximate date of birth
state where the person lived
county where an arrest or case may have occurred
approximate year of the event
known case or citation number

A name match alone is not enough. Two unrelated people can share the same name. Compare date of birth, middle name, location, case dates and other lawful identifiers before treating a criminal record as belonging to a particular person.

Search the person’s state court records first

For most searches, the state judiciary is the best free starting point because a court record can show whether criminal charges were actually filed and how the case ended.

USA.gov maintains an official directory covering federal, state, territory, county and municipal courts.

Find the official court system

What to look for after opening the state judiciary website

Case Search
Public Case Access
Criminal Case Lookup
Docket Search
Party Search
Court Records Search
Online Services
Clerk Records

Every state works differently. Some states provide one statewide trial-court search. Others require separate searches of county clerks, district courts, superior courts or municipal courts.

Choose the correct state

Search the state where the alleged offense happened, not only where the person currently lives.

Use the official judiciary website

Look for a government or official court domain rather than starting with a commercial people-search website.

Search the legal name

Use the full name and any available date or county filters.

Open the docket or case details

Look at charges, filing dates, hearing history and disposition.

Read the final outcome

Do not stop at the arrest or original charge. Determine whether the case resulted in conviction, dismissal, acquittal, diversion or another outcome.

How to find the right court when you only know the city or county

USA.gov explains that state and territory court systems can include many different court types, while county and municipal courts often handle local offenses, traffic matters and other violations.

1 Identify state Start with where the possible offense occurred.

2 Identify county Use the city or arrest location to determine the county.

3 Open judiciary site Find the trial court structure for that state.

4 Search local court Use county or municipal access if statewide search is incomplete.

5 Save case number The case number makes later verification much easier.

County court records can reveal cases missing from a broad search

County-level research is especially useful in states where the judiciary does not provide complete statewide public case searching.

Depending on the jurisdiction, criminal records may be maintained by:

Clerk of Court
District Clerk
County Clerk
Superior Court
Circuit Court
District Court
Justice Court
Municipal Court

Search tip: once you locate one case, record the exact court name and full case number. You can then request the actual judgment, disposition or certified copy directly from that court.

Check county jail and booking records for recent arrests

If the possible arrest happened recently, a county jail or sheriff website may provide information before the court docket becomes easy to find.

Look on the official local agency website for:

Inmate Search
Jail Roster
Booking Log
Current Inmates
Custody Search
Recent Arrests

A jail result may contain

Booking

Custody information

Booking date, custody facility, booking number or release information.

Charges

Listed allegations

Initial listed charges, although those can later change when prosecutors file the court case.

Court

Next appearance

Some jail systems display court date, bond or case information.

Booking information is not a conviction record. An arrest can result in no formal charge, a dismissed charge or a different filed offense. Always continue to the court docket.

Police arrest records are often separate from court records

An arrest report generally originates with the police department, sheriff or other agency that made the arrest or investigated the incident.

Search the agency’s official website for a section called:

Public Records
Records Division
Police Reports
Open Records
FOIA
Public Records Request

Use the agency that created the report. A county sheriff usually cannot supply a report written by a city police department, and a state police agency may not hold a local municipal police report.

Search the state Department of Corrections for prison records

If the person may have served a state prison sentence, look for the state’s official Department of Corrections inmate or offender locator.

Common search labels include:

Offender Search
Inmate Locator
Offender Lookup
Incarcerated Individual Search
Prisoner Search

County jail and state prison are different systems. Someone being held pretrial in a county jail may not appear in the state corrections database.

What a corrections search may show

Custody status

Whether the person is currently under the department’s jurisdiction.

Facility

Current institution or correctional location when publicly available.

Sentence information

Offense, sentence or release-related information where state law allows public access.

NSOPW provides a genuinely free nationwide public registry search

The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website is operated as a U.S. Department of Justice public-safety resource.

It searches participating public sex-offender registries from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and participating federally recognized tribes.

Search NSOPW free

Current NSOPW search options include

name
address where supported
ZIP code
county where supported
city or town
individual jurisdiction
national search

No payment or membership required: NSOPW states that the public website is federally funded and available at no cost.

NSOPW is not a general criminal-record database. It searches qualifying public sex-offender registry records. Someone not appearing there may still have another type of criminal record.

Federal criminal court records use PACER

Federal prosecutions are separate from state and county criminal cases. The official federal electronic-court service is PACER.

If you know the federal district court, search that court directly. If you do not know where the federal case was filed, PACER’s national Case Locator can help identify the court.

Find a federal court case

Is PACER free?

Not always. As of October 2026, PACER generally charges $0.10 per page for electronic public access. A search that returns no matches can still generate a one-page fee.

PACER also has fee-waiver rules and quarterly billing thresholds, so low-volume use can sometimes result in no payment being owed. Check the current pricing rules before searching.

Check current PACER fees

Free alternative for some federal records: federal courthouses provide public access terminals, although printing or other services can still involve fees and travel.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate search is free

The Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator contains information about federal inmates incarcerated from 1982 to the present.

Search federal inmates

You can search by:

first, middle and last name
age
race
sex
BOP register number
FBI number
INS number
DCDC number

Do not assume BOP custody proves conviction. A person’s federal custody history can include circumstances other than serving a final prison sentence. If you need the criminal outcome, verify it through the federal court record.

For many federal inmate records before 1982, archival research may be required because the current BOP locator begins with 1982-era records.

State criminal-history repositories may provide broader statewide checks

Every state has a centralized criminal-history or identification agency, but public access differs dramatically from one state to another.

The FBI publishes an official State Identification Bureau Listing showing the central agency responsible for criminal-history records in each state.

Find the state’s criminal-history agency

Depending on the state, the agency may be called

State Police

Common in states where a police agency maintains the centralized repository.

Bureau of Investigation

Examples include state Bureaus of Investigation or Identification.

Department of Public Safety

Used in several states for statewide criminal-history services.

Department of Justice

Some states place the central repository within the Attorney General or DOJ structure.

Free access is not guaranteed. Some states offer a free name-based public conviction search. Others charge a fee, restrict public access, or provide full records only to the person who is the subject of the record or to authorized entities.

You cannot freely order someone else’s FBI rap sheet

The FBI’s Identity History Summary process is commonly misunderstood. A private citizen can request a copy of their own fingerprint-based FBI record, but the FBI does not provide another person’s arrest record to an unrelated private requester.

The FBI currently lists an $18 processing fee for an Identity History Summary. Fingerprints and identity verification are required.

This is not a free people-search tool. Do not tell users they can enter someone else’s name into an FBI website and retrieve that person’s complete national criminal record. That service does not exist for ordinary private users.

FBI Identity History Summary

Always check the outcome, not just the arrest or charge

A free search is useful only if the result is interpreted correctly. Criminal records often show multiple stages of the same event.

Record term	What it usually means	What to check next
Arrest	Law enforcement took the person into custody or otherwise processed an arrest.	Find out whether charges were actually filed.
Charge	A criminal accusation was filed or listed.	Look for the final disposition.
Pending	The matter has not reached its final outcome.	Review recent docket activity and future hearing dates.
Dismissed	The charge was ended without conviction on that count.	Check other counts in the same case.
Acquitted / Not Guilty	The defendant was not convicted of that charge after adjudication.	Do not describe the charge as a conviction.
Convicted / Guilty	A conviction was entered.	Review sentencing and later appellate activity.
Deferred / Diversion	The case followed a special disposition procedure.	Check that state’s law because the legal effect varies.
Sealed / Expunged	Public access has been restricted or the record received legal relief.	Do not assume the event never existed.

No results does not always mean no criminal record exists

If one free database returns nothing, do not automatically conclude that the person has never had a criminal case.

Try these next:

search a middle name or middle initial
try former or maiden names
search each relevant state
identify the county connected with the event
search county clerk records
check state corrections
check the local county jail for recent custody
use PACER if federal prosecution is possible

Common reasons a record does not appear

Older case

Older court files may never have been digitized.

Wrong jurisdiction

The case may have occurred in a different county or state.

Sealed record

Public access may be legally restricted.

Name variation

The record may use a maiden name, middle name or different spelling.

Juvenile matter

Juvenile records are often not searchable like ordinary adult court records.

No court filing

An arrest or police investigation does not always result in a criminal court case.

How to make sure the criminal record belongs to the right person

False matches are one of the biggest dangers of free name-based searching.

Compare as many of these as the official record legally provides:

full middle name
date or year of birth
age
county or city
known address
case date
physical description
case or inmate number

Never accuse someone based on a loose name match. A court search can return another person with the same or similar name. Verify the identity and final case outcome before relying on the information.

Older criminal records may exist only at the courthouse or archive

Many government search portals cover newer electronic files more completely than older paper cases.

1 Search online Start with the state or county public case portal.

2 Find the court Identify the exact court that handled the case.

3 Call the clerk Ask whether older indexes or files are available.

4 Request a search Provide full name and approximate case year.

5 Order copies Pay only if you need a copy or certification.

Free first: ask whether the clerk allows free on-site inspection before ordering copies. Many public records can be inspected without purchasing certified documents.

Sealed and expunged records may not appear in a public search

Each state has its own laws governing sealing, expungement, set-asides, nondisclosure and other forms of criminal-record relief.

A record that previously appeared online can later disappear from public search because:

a court sealed the record
the case was expunged under state law
automatic record-clearing rules applied
the online system changed its public-access rules
a retention schedule removed older documents

Missing does not mean fabricated. If an old news report mentions a case that is no longer visible in a government search, legal sealing or record-retention rules may explain the difference.

A free public-record search is not automatically a legal employment or tenant background check

Searching public court records for general informational purposes is different from using criminal-history information to decide whether to hire someone, rent them housing, extend credit, issue insurance or make another regulated eligibility decision.

The Federal Trade Commission explains that employers using a background-check company must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, including disclosure, authorization and adverse-action requirements.

FTC background-check guidance

Purpose matters. State and local laws can impose additional restrictions on criminal-record use. A free court lookup should not automatically be treated as a compliant employment or tenant-screening report.

Free criminal-record search tips that save the most time

Tip 01

Start with location

Knowing the state and county is often more useful than searching the person’s name across the web.

Tip 02

Use government domains

Verify that the court, sheriff or agency is official before entering personal details.

Tip 03

Save the case number

Once found, it makes repeat searches and clerk requests much easier.

Tip 04

Recent arrest? Check jail first

Booking data can appear before a newly filed court case becomes easy to find.

Tip 05

Prison history? Use DOC

State corrections is better than a general court search for current state custody.

Tip 06

Federal case? Switch systems

State court searches will not replace PACER for a federal prosecution.

Tip 07

Check each count

One charge can be dismissed while another results in conviction.

Tip 08

Older case? Call the clerk

Missing online records may still exist in local archives.

Tip 09

Don’t pay too early

Free official records often provide enough information to identify the case before you need a paid copy.

Common questions about viewing someone’s criminal record for free

1. Can I search someone’s criminal record for free?

Often, yes. Many state courts, county courts, sheriff offices, jail systems and departments of corrections provide free public searches. There is no single free government database that contains every criminal record in the United States.

2. What is the best free place to start?

Start with the official state court website for the state where the alleged offense occurred. If statewide court access is incomplete, identify the county and search the local court or clerk.

3. Can I search every state from one free government website?

No. U.S. criminal records are decentralized. State courts, local courts, state criminal-history repositories, corrections agencies and federal systems maintain different records.

4. Is NSOPW free?

Yes. The U.S. Department of Justice states that NSOPW is federally funded, free to public users and requires no paid membership. It searches participating public sex-offender registries nationwide.

5. Is the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate search free?

Yes. The BOP Inmate Locator can be searched without a fee and contains information about federal inmates incarcerated from 1982 to the present.

6. Is PACER free?

Not always. PACER generally charges for federal electronic court access, currently at a per-page rate. Low quarterly usage may fall within applicable fee-waiver rules, and courthouse public terminals can provide another access route.

7. Can I get someone else’s FBI criminal record for free?

No. The FBI does not provide an unrelated private requester with another person’s Identity History Summary. Individuals can request their own fingerprint-based FBI record through the official process, which currently carries a processing fee.

8. Does an arrest record mean the person was convicted?

No. An arrest is not proof of guilt. Search the corresponding court case and read the final disposition to determine whether the person was convicted, acquitted, had the charge dismissed or received another outcome.

9. Why can I not find an old criminal case online?

The case may predate online records, be located in another jurisdiction, be sealed or expunged, or require an archive or clerk search. Contact the court that handled the case when older records matter.

10. Can I use a free criminal-record search to screen an employee or tenant?

Employment and tenant screening can involve federal, state and local legal requirements. A basic public-record lookup is not automatically a legally compliant consumer background report.