Start with the Texas system that actually holds the record
Texas criminal records are not stored in one universal public database. The Texas Department of Public Safety maintains the statewide Computerized Criminal History system; trial-court records are maintained by district, county, justice and municipal court clerks across Texas’s 254 counties; the Texas Department of Criminal Justice maintains state-prison and offender information; sex-offender information uses a separate DPS registry; and criminal appeals move through Texas’s courts of appeals and ultimately the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Texas criminal records are several different records
A Texas arrest, court case, criminal-history report, jail booking and prison record may all relate to the same incident but are maintained for different purposes.
Computerized Criminal History
Texas DPS is the statewide criminal-history repository. Public access is narrower than the complete criminal-history information available to authorised criminal-justice entities.
Criminal court case
The clerk of the court that heard the case maintains the actual docket, charging documents, orders, judgment and disposition.
Arrest or offense report
The arresting or investigating agency maintains its own incident, offense, booking and investigative records.
Local custody
Sheriffs and county detention facilities usually maintain current county-jail information.
State corrections
TDCJ provides state offender information for people within the Texas corrections system.
Sex offender information
The Texas Sex Offender Registry is a separate public database and is not replaced by an ordinary criminal-history name search.
Texas DPS Criminal History Conviction Name Search
The Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Records Division provides the state’s official public name-based criminal-history search.
Open Texas DPS public criminal-history searchUnder Texas law, qualifying conviction and deferred-adjudication information can be released to the general public. The public search is not the same as the complete secure Computerized Criminal History access available to authorised entities.
How to search Texas criminal history step by step
Create a CRD public website account
Texas DPS requires an account before a member of the public can search the Criminal History Conviction Database.
Purchase search credits
Search credits currently cost $1 each. Card purchases have additional payment-processing fees.
Enter the person’s legal name
First and last names are required. DPS recommends adding middle or maiden name and complete date of birth whenever available.
Avoid nicknames and initials
DPS specifically advises against using nicknames, initials or partial names because they can reduce search accuracy.
Review every potential match
Compare DOB, name variations and other identifiers before deciding a record belongs to the person you intended to search.
Follow the case back to the court
If a DPS result identifies a court case, use the corresponding county clerk or district clerk to verify the disposition and obtain certified records if needed.
What is in the Texas Computerized Criminal History system?
Texas DPS says Chapter 66 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires criminal-history reporting for arrests involving Class B misdemeanors or greater offenses, including prosecution and disposition information submitted by criminal-justice agencies.
DPS reports that all 254 Texas counties submit criminal data for inclusion in the statewide Computerized Criminal History system.
| Information | Public DPS name search? | Best place for detail |
|---|---|---|
| Public conviction information | Yes, when releasable | DPS + court clerk |
| Public deferred adjudication information | Yes, when releasable | DPS + court clerk |
| Complete arrest/prosecution history | Not necessarily | Personal fingerprint review / authorised access |
| Actual court filings and judgment | No | District / county / justice / municipal clerk |
| Current county jail custody | No | County sheriff / jail |
| State prison status | No | TDCJ Offender Search |
| Sex offender registration | Separate search | Texas DPS Sex Offender Registry |
| Federal case | No | PACER |
Texas criminal-history search fees
| Service | Current published fee | Important detail |
|---|---|---|
| DPS online public name search | $1 per credit/search | Card orders add 2.25% per credit plus $0.25 per transaction. |
| Mail-in public criminal-history search | $10 per search | Uses DPS Form CR-42. |
| Fingerprint-based DPS record check | $15 | Additional fingerprinting costs can apply. |
| FAST fingerprinting addition | $10 | DPS publishes this as an additional amount for applicable FAST checks. |
| Certified open criminal-history search | No additional certification fee | The normal record-search fee still applies. |
Fees can change. Verify the current rate on the Texas DPS Crime Records website before payment.
Request Texas public criminal history by mail
Texas DPS Form CR-42 — Request for Public Criminal History Data can be used when an online search is not preferred.
The current form requires:
- subject’s full name
- sex
- race
- date of birth
- requester’s mailing address
- indication whether certification is needed
The current fee is $10 per search, payable by check or U.S. money order to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Texas Department of Public SafetyCrime Records Division
P.O. Box 15999
Austin, TX 78761
How to review your own Texas criminal history
If you need to verify exactly what Texas DPS associates with your own identity, a fingerprint-based personal review is more reliable than searching your own name on the public website.
Texas DPS publishes a Review of Personal Criminal History procedure and related forms. The process uses fingerprints so DPS can positively associate the returned record with the requester.
DPS currently directs people to FAST/IdentoGO locations for many electronic fingerprint procedures.
View DPS criminal-history proceduresName-based vs. fingerprint-based Texas criminal records
Public search
Quick and inexpensive but can return multiple candidates or miss the correct person because it relies on names and biographical information.
Identity-confirmed search
DPS describes fingerprints as the most accurate method for matching a Texas criminal-history record to a specific person.
For employment or licensing checks requested by an authorised agency, the applicant typically receives a FAST service code or other instructions from the requesting agency.
The Texas DPS Crime Records FAQ currently lists 512-424-2474 for Crime Records questions.
How to correct an inaccurate Texas criminal-history record
A Texas DPS record can be incomplete when a court disposition was never submitted, was rejected because of an error, or has not been properly associated with the criminal-history event.
Review your fingerprint-based record
Confirm precisely what Texas DPS has associated with your identity.
Identify the incorrect or missing event
Record the arresting agency, court, cause number and incorrect disposition.
Get a certified court disposition
DPS specifically says a certified disposition from the court of jurisdiction is needed when correcting missing disposition information.
Submit it through DPS error-resolution procedures
Follow current Crime Records Error Resolution instructions rather than relying on a printout from a private background-check company.
How to search actual Texas criminal court cases
Texas does not have one public statewide trial-court name search that replaces all county and city court systems.
Criminal court records are generally maintained by the clerk of the court where the case was filed. The correct source therefore depends on county, city and offense level.
Felony cases
Felonies are ordinarily prosecuted in state district courts. Contact the district clerk for public records and certified copies.
Misdemeanors
County courts or county courts at law commonly handle Class A and Class B misdemeanor prosecutions.
Fine-only cases
Justice courts handle many Class C misdemeanors, traffic cases and other matters within their jurisdiction.
City violations
Municipal courts handle qualifying fine-only offenses, traffic cases and city ordinance violations occurring within the municipality.
Use the Texas Judicial Branch Judicial Directory to locate district, county, justice and municipal courts and court personnel.
Texas court level matters when searching criminal records
| Typical matter | Likely Texas court | Record custodian |
|---|---|---|
| Felony prosecution | District Court | District Clerk |
| Class A / Class B misdemeanor | County Court / County Court at Law | County Clerk or designated clerk |
| Fine-only Class C / certain traffic matters | Justice Court | Justice Court clerk |
| City ordinance / municipal Class C | Municipal Court | Municipal Court clerk |
| Intermediate criminal appeal | Regional Court of Appeals | Appellate clerk |
| Highest Texas criminal appellate review | Court of Criminal Appeals | Court of Criminal Appeals Clerk |
Texas arrest, booking and county-jail records
Texas county sheriffs usually operate county jails, so a very recent arrest may be easier to find through the sheriff or detention center than through Texas DPS or a court database.
A practical recent-arrest search is:
How to search Texas warrant information
Texas does not provide one unrestricted statewide public warrant search that should be treated as a complete list of every active warrant.
Depending on the case, public warrant information may be available from:
- county sheriff
- district clerk
- county clerk
- justice court
- municipal court
- local police department
Texas Department of Criminal Justice Offender Search
For people who have entered the Texas state corrections system, use the official TDCJ Offender Search.
The current system supports searching by:
- first and last name
- SID number
- current TDCJ number
- previous TDCJ numbers
- partial names with wildcard searching
The result can provide offender details and offers notification options for qualifying records.
Texas Public Sex Offender Registry
Texas DPS maintains a separate statewide public sex-offender database under Chapter 62 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Search Texas Public Sex Offender RegistryPublic registration information can include details such as:
- name and aliases
- photograph
- reported address
- registration offense
- physical descriptors
- other legally public registration data
Texas criminal appeals: Courts of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals
Texas currently has 15 courts of appeals. The First through Fourteenth Courts of Appeals have intermediate criminal appellate jurisdiction over geographic regions of the state. The Fifteenth Court has statewide civil jurisdiction and is not an ordinary criminal appellate court.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the state’s highest court for criminal cases.
The Judicial Branch provides court jurisdiction maps to determine which appellate court serves a particular county.
Texas expunction: removing qualifying criminal records
Texas reorganized its expunction statutes into Chapter 55A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, effective January 1, 2025.
Expunction is stronger than simply hiding a public court result. When a final expunction order applies, Texas law generally requires listed agencies to return, destroy, obliterate or remove identifying references to covered records as required by the order.
Chapter 55A includes potential pathways involving circumstances such as:
- trial-court acquittal
- certain pardons
- actual innocence
- mistaken identity
- certain dismissed or unfiled charges
- expiration of applicable limitations periods
Under current law, many petitions are filed in a district court in the county where the person was arrested or where the alleged offense occurred. Certain fine-only matters can use a qualifying justice court or municipal court of record.
Read Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55ATexas orders of nondisclosure: sealing rather than expunging
An order of nondisclosure is different from an expunction. DPS explains that a qualifying nondisclosure order restricts public disclosure of covered criminal-history information by courts, clerks, law-enforcement agencies and prosecutors.
However, sealed information can still be disclosed to specified criminal-justice agencies, authorised noncriminal-justice agencies and other entities allowed by law.
Removal of qualifying records
Offers broader statutory protection for records covered by the court’s final expunction order.
Restricts public disclosure
Seals qualifying records from ordinary public release while allowing access by specified entities.
Texas Judicial Branch forms include current Orders of Nondisclosure forms and resources.
Texas Public Information Act requests for law-enforcement records
A statewide DPS criminal-history search is not a substitute for a police offense report, body-camera record, sheriff incident report or another agency-specific document.
For those records, submit a Texas Public Information Act request to the government body that actually maintains the requested information.
City police department
Request from the city or police public-information officer that created or holds the record.
County sheriff
Request jail, arrest or sheriff-created records from the county authority that maintains them.
Court clerk
Court case records follow judicial public-access rules and should generally be requested from the court or clerk rather than treated like an ordinary executive-agency PIA request.
Federal criminal records in Texas are separate
Texas state systems do not replace federal criminal-record systems. Federal prosecutions can be filed in one of Texas’s four federal judicial districts:
- Northern District of Texas
- Southern District of Texas
- Eastern District of Texas
- Western District of Texas
Use PACER for federal electronic court records.
If someone wants their own nationwide FBI Identity History Summary rather than a federal court docket, use the FBI’s fingerprint-based Identity History Summary process.
Texas DPS headquarters: map and contact point
The Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Records Division administers the state’s criminal-history programs. Many record-check procedures are completed online, by mail or through FAST fingerprint locations rather than by simply walking into DPS headquarters.
DPS Headquarters
5805 N Lamar BlvdAustin, TX 78752
Crime Records questions: 512-424-2474
For criminal-history mail requests, use the Crime Records Division P.O. Box shown in the mail-request section rather than mailing documents to the street address.
Texas criminal-record search tips that prevent common mistakes
Use DPS for history, clerk for the case
DPS gives statewide criminal-history information. The actual court docket and certified disposition belong with the court clerk.
Always add date of birth when known
Texas DPS specifically recommends entering as much identifying information as possible.
Include maiden names
DPS encourages searching a maiden name when applicable because records can be associated with different legal names.
Avoid nicknames and initials
DPS expressly warns that partial or informal names can weaken a name-based search.
Recent arrest? Check county jail
A booking can appear at the sheriff before the public DPS record or court disposition is complete.
Use the cause number
Once you find the court cause number, use it instead of repeatedly searching a common name.
Check the final disposition
Never assume the original charge tells you how the case ended.
Check appeals where relevant
A trial result can be modified or reversed by a regional court of appeals or the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Missing record has many explanations
Wrong county, different name, incomplete reporting, expunction, nondisclosure or another access restriction can all affect results.
Using Texas criminal records for employment, housing or screening
The fact that Texas makes certain criminal-history information public does not mean every use of that information is automatically lawful.
Employment, housing, credit, insurance and other eligibility decisions can trigger additional federal and state requirements, particularly when a consumer-reporting agency supplies the information.
Texas criminal records: frequently asked questions
1. Is there a statewide Texas criminal-record search?
Yes. Texas DPS provides a public Criminal History Conviction Name Search for qualifying statewide conviction and deferred-adjudication information. It is different from searching actual county court files.
2. How much does the Texas DPS online criminal-history search cost?
DPS currently charges $1 per search credit. Credit-card purchases add a 2.25% fee per credit and a $0.25 transaction fee.
3. Does the Texas statewide search cover all 254 counties?
DPS states that all 254 Texas counties submit criminal data for inclusion in the Computerized Criminal History system, although record completeness depends on agency reporting and public-release rules.
4. Can I request a certified Texas criminal-history search?
Yes. DPS says an open criminal-history record check can be certified upon request without an additional certification fee, although the underlying search fee still applies.
5. How do I obtain my own complete Texas criminal-history record?
Use Texas DPS’s fingerprint-based personal review procedure. Fingerprint matching provides stronger identity confirmation than a public name-based search.
6. Where do I search a Texas criminal court case?
Search the clerk of the court where the case was filed. Felony cases commonly use a district clerk; county misdemeanors use a county-level clerk; Justice and Municipal Courts handle many fine-only matters.
7. Where can I search Texas prison records?
Use the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Offender Search for qualifying state corrections records. County jail detainees should be searched through the relevant county sheriff or detention center.
8. What is the difference between expunction and nondisclosure in Texas?
Expunction can require qualifying records to be removed or destroyed as directed by the final order. Nondisclosure generally restricts public release while allowing specified government and authorised entities continued access.
9. What is Texas’s highest criminal court?
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the state’s highest court for criminal cases.
10. Does a Texas DPS search include federal criminal cases?
No. Federal criminal cases are separate from Texas state criminal-history and court systems. Use PACER for federal court records and the FBI process for an individual’s nationwide Identity History Summary.
Official Texas criminal-record resources
- Texas DPS — Crime Records Division
- Texas DPS — Public Criminal History Search
- Texas DPS — How to Search the Criminal History Database
- Texas DPS — Form CR-42 Request for Public Criminal History Data
- Texas DPS — Criminal History Records and Nondisclosure
- Texas DPS — Crime Records Services FAQs
- Texas DPS — Public Sex Offender Registry
- Texas Department of Criminal Justice — Offender Search
- Texas Judicial Branch — Judicial Directory
- Texas Judicial Branch — Court Jurisdiction Maps
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- Texas Judicial Branch — Orders of Nondisclosure Forms
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure — Chapter 55A Expunction
- PACER — Federal Court Records