Start with the San Diego Superior Court for cases — then use the Sheriff, police agency or California DOJ for the record you actually need
San Diego criminal records are spread across several agencies. The San Diego Superior Court maintains felony and misdemeanor court cases, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office maintains county jail, warrant and local Sheriff’s arrest information, city police departments maintain their own incident and arrest reports, and the California Department of Justice maintains the statewide fingerprint-based criminal-history repository.
San Diego County does not have one public database containing every criminal record
The fastest search depends on whether you are looking for a prosecution, a jail booking, an arrest report or a statewide criminal-history record.
Felony or misdemeanor case
Search court case indexes, identify the courthouse and obtain filed criminal court documents.
County jail record
Use Who’s in Jail for people currently held in San Diego County Sheriff’s custody.
Local criminal history
The Sheriff’s local criminal-history report covers arrests compiled by the Sheriff’s Office.
City police report
SDPD maintains arrest, crime and incident reports for matters investigated by San Diego Police.
Statewide RAP sheet
California DOJ maintains the state’s fingerprint-based Record of Arrest and Prosecution history.
Criminal appeal
San Diego trial-court appeals generally go to California’s Fourth Appellate District, Division One.
Search San Diego County criminal court cases online
The official San Diego Superior Court Online Case Search is the best starting point for locating a criminal case.
You can locate a case when you know one of the following:
- name of a party associated with the case
- Superior Court case number
- District Attorney case number for a criminal case
How to search a San Diego criminal case step by step
Open the Court Index
Use the Superior Court’s official case-search system rather than starting with a commercial background-search website.
Search by case number when possible
A case number is usually more precise than a name and makes later copy requests much easier.
If searching by name, compare several fields
Confirm the case type, date filed, parties and courthouse location before concluding that a result belongs to a specific person.
Save the courthouse location
San Diego criminal cases are distributed among Central, East County, North County and South County facilities.
Move from the index to the actual file
The online index identifies the case, but criminal court documents have stricter access rules than ordinary index information.
Request the exact disposition or filed document
If you need official proof of the outcome, obtain the relevant judgment, order, minutes or other court record rather than relying only on an index result.
What the San Diego Court Index actually tells you
When the case is filed in San Diego Superior Court, the public search can provide:
| Result field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Case title | Helps identify the matter and parties. |
| Case number | Primary identifier for viewing or ordering the court file. |
| Case location | Shows which court facility houses or handled the file. |
| Case type | Helps distinguish criminal, civil and other case categories. |
| Date filed | Helps distinguish people with similar names and locate older cases. |
| Parties | Shows people or entities associated with the proceeding. |
San Diego online criminal-record coverage has important date limits
The Superior Court currently warns that:
- some misdemeanor records may be available online for only about 10 years at certain court locations
- juvenile cases are not included in the Court Index
- traffic and minor-offense cases are not included in the Court Index
- cases from before 1974 are not included in the online Court Index
- older information may still exist on microfilm
For cases from approximately 1880 through 1964, the court specifically directs users to its Older Records resources when researching the index.
Can you view San Diego criminal court documents online?
San Diego treats criminal documents differently from many civil records.
For other criminal documents, use one of these routes:
- view the qualifying file in person
- request copies at the courthouse counter
- mail a copy request to the courthouse where the case was tried
- use the newer online purchase-and-mail option where the criminal document qualifies
How to get copies of a San Diego criminal court file
In person
Identify the case number and courthouse
Use the online case search before traveling to court.
Go to the criminal business office
Visit the facility where the criminal case was heard and provide the case number to the clerk.
Bring photo identification
San Diego Superior Court currently requires picture identification to view case files.
Select the documents you need
The Clerk currently pulls a maximum of 10 cases per request, customer and transaction.
Pay for copies or certification
Standard file or microfilm copies currently cost 50 cents per page. Additional fees can apply for certification, research and off-site retrieval.
By mail
Send a written request to the courthouse where the criminal case was tried and include:
- case number
- party names
- specific documents requested
- phone number
- mailing address
- email address
- self-addressed stamped envelope
- payment for applicable copy/research fees
Mail requests can take several weeks to process.
Official court-copy instructionsSan Diego criminal court record fees
| Service | Current guidance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Regular court copy | $0.50 per page | A “page” means one side of a document. |
| Clerk research over 10 minutes | Research fee may apply | Applies to qualifying non-party record searches under Government Code §70627(c). |
| Certification | Additional fee | Check the court’s current fee schedule immediately before ordering. |
| Off-site file retrieval | Additional fee | Applies when an older file must be retrieved from off-site storage. |
San Diego Superior Court revised its fee schedule in 2026. For certification and off-site retrieval, verify the amount on the court’s current fee page rather than relying on an older cached fee.
Check current San Diego court feesSan Diego criminal court record locations
Criminal matters are heard across four primary San Diego County divisions.
| Division | Address | Criminal office |
|---|---|---|
| Central | 1100 Union Street, San Diego, CA 92101 | Felony and misdemeanor records; older records also handled in the building. |
| East County | 250 East Main Street, El Cajon, CA 92020 | Criminal and traffic business office. |
| North County | 325 South Melrose Drive, Vista, CA 92081 | Criminal business office in the North Building. |
| South County | 500 Third Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91910 | Criminal and traffic business office on the second floor. |
Current public business-office hours for these criminal record locations are generally 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding court holidays.
San Diego County Sheriff’s “Who’s in Jail” search
For a recent arrest or current county-jail record, use the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and select Who’s in Jail.
Sheriff’s guidance says the custody system can provide:
- housing location
- current charges
- next court date
- projected release date when known
- basic custody information
San Diego County arrest warrant information
The Sheriff’s website also provides an Arrest Warrant lookup route. The Superior Court’s criminal resources link users to the Sheriff’s outstanding-warrant system.
If you believe a warrant may concern you personally, verify the information with the court or Sheriff’s Office rather than relying on a commercial warrant-search website.
Get your San Diego County Sheriff’s local criminal-history report
The Sheriff’s Records & ID Division provides a Local Criminal History report to the person whose record it is. It is sometimes called a local background check or “No Record” letter.
Current fee and processing
| Item | Current published information |
|---|---|
| Local criminal-history report | $14 |
| Processing target | 3–10 business days |
| Credit-card transaction fee | $3 |
| Debit-card transaction fee | $2.50, in person only |
How to request it
- email the Sheriff’s Service Request Form
- visit Records & ID in person
- mail the Service Request Form
- provide valid government photo identification
San Diego County Sheriff’s Office
9621 Ridgehaven Court
San Diego, CA 92123
Public hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Lunch closure: 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
San Diego Police Department arrest and crime reports
If the incident was investigated by the San Diego Police Department, request the police report from SDPD rather than the Sheriff or Superior Court.
Current SDPD report fees
| Report | Current fee | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Crime / incident report | $12 | Subject to access and redaction rules. |
| Arrest report | $0.50 | SDPD says only page 1 may be released through this public process. |
| Traffic collision report | $12 | Eligibility rules apply under California law. |
In-person SDPD Records Division
Records Division
1401 Broadway
San Diego, CA 92101
Published hours:
Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Report-request phone: 619-531-2846
San Diego Police public-record requests are different from criminal-history searches
SDPD also accepts California Public Records Act requests for qualifying agency records. A request should clearly identify:
- date or date range
- subject of the record
- specific description
- incident or report number when known
- information that helps identify the record
Any person can submit a public-record request. SDPD says a requester can remain anonymous, although the City cannot send updates or clarification requests to a person who supplies no contact information.
California DOJ criminal-history record: your statewide RAP sheet
California DOJ maintains the statewide criminal-history repository. Police departments, sheriffs, probation departments, prosecutors and courts submit arrest and disposition information that DOJ uses to compile Records of Arrest and Prosecution, commonly called RAP sheets.
California resident: request your own record
Use form BCIA 8016RR
Select “Record Review” as the application type and reason.
Go to an authorized Live Scan provider
California residents must submit fingerprints electronically through Live Scan.
Submit fingerprints and DOJ fee
The current California DOJ processing fee for personal Record Review is $25, plus the provider’s separate fingerprint rolling fee.
Review the mailed DOJ response
Compare every arrest and court disposition with the original court records.
Outside California or outside the United States
DOJ directs people living outside California to use a manual FD-258 fingerprint card with the appropriate Record Review application.
California DOJ — Request Your Own RecordNeed a California criminal record for visa, immigration or a foreign country?
Do not use the ordinary $25 DOJ Record Review transaction for this purpose. California DOJ specifically states that Record Review is not to be used for visa, immigration or foreign-nation transactions.
California provides a separate Visa/Immigration criminal-history request.
California residents generally submit through Live Scan using the DOJ Visa/Immigration form. Applicants outside California generally use a manual FD-258 fingerprint card.
If an apostille or additional foreign-government certification is required, DOJ notes that the criminal-history response itself is not the apostille.
California DOJ Visa / Immigration CheckWhat to do if your California RAP sheet is wrong
California DOJ provides a formal challenge process for inaccurate or incomplete information.
Obtain your own Record Review
You need to see the actual DOJ record before challenging an entry.
Compare it with San Diego court records
Look for missing dismissals, incorrect dispositions, identity problems or incomplete court updates.
Obtain supporting documents
A court disposition, dismissal, sealing order or amended judgment can support the correction.
Submit DOJ’s inaccuracy challenge
DOJ includes form BCIA 8706 with a Record Review response when criminal information appears on the record.
Sealing a San Diego arrest that did not result in conviction
California Penal Code §851.91 provides a court process for sealing qualifying arrest records when the arrest did not result in a conviction.
Potential qualifying situations include:
- arrest with no charges filed
- charges filed and later dismissed
- successful diversion followed by dismissal
- successful deferred entry of judgment followed by dismissal
- trial ending in not guilty
California Courts publishes Form CR-409 for a Petition to Seal Arrest and Related Records.
San Diego conviction dismissal / “expungement”
California’s commonly used “expungement” process is often technically a petition for dismissal under Penal Code §§1203.4 or 1203.4a.
San Diego Superior Court publishes separate misdemeanor and felony dismissal packets and requires qualifying petitions to be filed in the court where the case was adjudicated.
San Diego packet PKT-026
Used for qualifying misdemeanor dismissal requests under Penal Code §§1203.4 and 1203.4a.
San Diego packet PKT-027
Used for qualifying felony dismissal requests under Penal Code §1203.4.
San Diego criminal appeals: Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One
San Diego Superior Court felony and other qualifying appeals generally proceed to the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One.
Fourth District Court of Appeal — Division One
750 B Street, Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92101
Telephone: 619-744-0760
California’s public appellate case-information system uses case numbers beginning with D for Fourth District, Division One cases.
Public online case information for Division One is currently available for cases beginning with case number D035601, dating from approximately May 2000. The appellate case database is updated throughout the business day.
Search California appellate casesFederal criminal cases in San Diego are separate
San Diego Superior Court does not maintain federal criminal prosecutions. Federal matters arising in San Diego are generally filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
Use PACER to search federal criminal dockets and available federal court documents.
Map: San Diego Central Courthouse criminal records office
The Central Courthouse handles felony and misdemeanor criminal matters for the Central Division and is also the key San Diego location for older criminal records.
San Diego Central Courthouse
1100 Union Street
San Diego, CA 92101
Criminal office: 619-844-2400
Published office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Felony service is on the first floor, misdemeanor service on the second floor, and Older Records is on the 14th floor.
San Diego criminal-record search tips that save time
Find the case number first
The online Court Index is most useful for identifying the case and courthouse before ordering records.
Save the court location
Central, East, North and South criminal files are handled at different facilities.
Recent arrest? Check jail first
Sheriff’s custody data can appear before you have located the related court file.
Pre-1974? Stop relying on the web index
Older cases are outside the Court Index and may require Older Records or microfilm research.
Misdemeanor not found?
Some locations provide only about ten years of misdemeanor information online.
Police report ≠ court disposition
Use the Superior Court to determine what happened after arrest and charging.
Sheriff local history is not statewide
The $14 local report covers Sheriff’s compiled arrests rather than all California jurisdictions.
Use fingerprints for your state RAP sheet
DOJ’s Record Review is fingerprint-based and is the stronger identity match for your own statewide record.
Visa request has its own DOJ process
Do not submit an ordinary Record Review when California criminal-history certification is needed for visa or immigration purposes.
Using San Diego criminal records for employment, housing or screening
A public San Diego court-case search is not automatically a legally compliant consumer report for employment, housing, credit, insurance or another regulated decision.
California has extensive restrictions on criminal-history access and employment use, and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act can apply when a consumer reporting agency prepares a background report.
San Diego criminal records: frequently asked questions
1. How do I search San Diego County criminal court records?
Use the official San Diego Superior Court Online Case Search. You can locate a case by party name, case number or District Attorney case number for criminal cases.
2. What information does the San Diego online criminal case search show?
Results can show the case title, case number, court location, case type, filing date and parties associated with the case.
3. Can I download San Diego criminal court documents online?
Criminal documents are not available for direct online viewing or download. For criminal cases filed on or after February 17, 2026, some documents can be purchased online and mailed to the requester.
4. How much are San Diego Superior Court copies?
Standard file or microfilm copies currently cost 50 cents per page. Additional fees may apply for certification, staff research taking more than ten minutes and retrieving files from off-site storage.
5. How do I find someone currently in San Diego County Jail?
Use the San Diego County Sheriff’s Who’s in Jail search. It can show housing location, pending charges, next court date and projected release date when available.
6. How much is a San Diego Sheriff’s local criminal-history report?
The Sheriff’s Office currently charges $14 for a local criminal-history report. It covers arrests compiled by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and is not a statewide California RAP sheet.
7. How do I get my statewide California criminal record?
California residents use DOJ’s fingerprint-based Record Review process with form BCIA 8016RR and Live Scan. The current DOJ processing fee is $25, plus the fingerprint provider’s rolling fee.
8. Can I use my $25 California DOJ Record Review for visa or immigration purposes?
No. California DOJ specifically states that ordinary Record Review cannot be used for visa, immigration or foreign-nation transactions. DOJ provides a separate Visa/Immigration request process.
9. Can an arrest with no conviction be sealed in California?
Some arrests that did not result in conviction may qualify for sealing under Penal Code section 851.91, and some qualifying arrests can also receive automatic relief under California law.
10. Where do San Diego criminal appeals go?
Qualifying San Diego Superior Court appeals generally go to the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One in San Diego.
Official sources used for this San Diego guide
- San Diego Superior Court — Online Case Search
- San Diego Superior Court — Court Index
- San Diego Superior Court — Accessing Court Records
- San Diego Superior Court — Obtain a Copy of a Court File
- San Diego Superior Court — Court Records Locations
- San Diego Superior Court — Criminal
- San Diego Superior Court — Clearing Your Record
- San Diego County Sheriff’s Office — Who’s in Jail and Warrant Resources
- San Diego County Sheriff — Local Criminal History
- City of San Diego Police — Get a Police Report
- San Diego Police — Public Records Act Requests
- California DOJ — Criminal Records: Request Your Own
- California DOJ — Fingerprint Background Checks
- California DOJ — Visa / Immigration Criminal History
- California Courts — Seal an Arrest With No Conviction
- California Appellate Courts Case Information
- PACER — Federal Court Case Search