Texas DPS Criminal Records Division: Criminal Records Guide

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Texas statewide crime-record services

Know which Texas DPS Crime Records service you actually need

The Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Records operation is much broader than a single criminal-record search page. It manages statewide criminal-history systems, fingerprint background checks, the FACT Clearinghouse, criminal-history error resolution, sex-offender registration functions, crime-data reporting, identity-related services and several systems used by law-enforcement and authorized agencies. For an ordinary member of the public, however, only some of those services are directly accessible.

Jurisdiction: Texas Agency: Texas Department of Public Safety Information checked: October 2026
Quick route: use the public DPS name search for qualifying conviction and deferred-adjudication information; use a fingerprint Personal Review when checking your own Texas record; use FAST when an employer, licensing authority or other authorized entity requires fingerprints; and use the local court when you need the actual criminal-case documents or certified disposition.
Public criminal-history search Name-based Texas conviction and deferred-adjudication records.
Search guide →
Review your own record Fingerprint-based personal Texas criminal-history review.
Personal review →
Fingerprint background check FAST and authorized employment or licensing checks.
Fingerprint guide →
Correct a record Missing disposition, incorrect entry or identity problem.
Error resolution →
Contact the right DPS unit Crime Records bureaus, phone numbers and email addresses.
Contact directory →

Texas DPS Crime Records is more than a background-check office

Texas DPS Crime Records administers several statewide information systems used by the public, courts, law enforcement, licensing authorities and other legally authorized organizations. Some systems are public-facing; others contain restricted criminal-justice or fingerprint-based information.

Criminal history

Computerized Criminal History

The statewide CCH system receives qualifying Texas arrest, prosecution and disposition information.

Fingerprinting

FAST services

Electronic fingerprint collection for authorized applicant, licensing, volunteer and personal-review purposes.

Authorized entities

FACT Clearinghouse

A repository giving eligible organizations consolidated access to qualifying DPS and FBI fingerprint results.

Data quality

Error Resolution

DPS reviews possible inaccuracies and incomplete information in Texas criminal-history records.

Registration

Sex Offender Program

DPS maintains the statewide sex-offender database using information submitted by local authorities.

Crime statistics

Incident-Based Reporting

Crime Records also supports statewide crime-data reporting, UCR-related functions and Texas Data Exchange services.

Important: seeing a service listed on a DPS Crime Records page does not mean it is available to everyone. Texas law limits access to many criminal-history and fingerprint systems according to the requester’s legal authority and purpose.

Which Texas DPS Crime Records service should you use?

Your goal Best DPS service Who can use it? What it does not replace
Search another person’s public Texas criminal history Public Criminal History Name Search General public Official county/district court file
Review your own complete Texas criminal history Texas Personal Review Subject of the record FBI nationwide record
Employment/licensing fingerprint check FAST Applicants working with an authorized agency Ordinary public search
Receive DPS/FBI applicant results FACT Clearinghouse Eligible authorized entities General public background-search site
Correct inaccurate Texas CHRI Error Resolution Unit Record subjects / reporting agencies Court correction when source document is wrong
Search public sex-offender information Texas Public Sex Offender Registry General public Full criminal-history search

Current DPS online search cost and search-credit rules

DPS currently charges one search credit per submitted name search. The current online price is $1 per search credit.

When credits are purchased using a credit card, DPS currently lists an additional 2.25% fee per credit plus a $0.25 transaction fee.

A zero-result search still counts. DPS treats a “no matching records” response as a valid completed search, so the credit is used even when no public record is returned.

Search history retention

DPS currently states that batch search responses are available from Search History for 7 days and may remain downloadable from the message center for 30 days. Search-history information describing what was searched—but not necessarily the returned rap sheet—is retained in the user’s search history for up to 3 years.

Practical tip: save or print an important response while it is available. Do not assume the returned rap sheet will remain indefinitely available in your online account.

How to use the DPS criminal-history database more accurately

Create the appropriate public account

General users should use the DPS public website rather than attempting to register through the restricted Secure Site for authorized entities.

Purchase search credits

Purchase enough credits for the searches you plan to submit.

Enter the complete first and last name

DPS requires the first and last name. Add a middle or maiden name whenever you know it.

Add date of birth

A full birth date helps narrow the search considerably and reduces false matches.

Review the system’s expanded matches

DPS now automatically runs broader combinations after the initial search, including searches without the middle name and combinations using birth month and day.

Verify identity before using the result

Compare date of birth, middle name, aliases, county information and other identifiers. Name-based searches can return records belonging to someone else.

Verify the actual criminal case

When the result matters, use the county or district court that handled the case to confirm the charges and final disposition.

Why a DPS name match is not the same as fingerprint identification

DPS specifically warns that a name-based search can match multiple people with similar names and can also fail to identify the correct person’s record.

A fingerprint-based search is substantially more reliable because it compares a person’s fingerprints with fingerprint-supported criminal-history records.

Rule of thumb: use the public name search for public-record research. Use fingerprint-based review when identity must be established with greater confidence.

Helpful identifiers for name searches

  • full first and last name
  • middle name
  • maiden or former name
  • complete date of birth
  • known Texas county
  • known arrest or court dates

CRD Public Website vs CRD Secure Website

This distinction matters because many people land on the Secure Site while searching for a public background-check page.

General public

CRD Public Website

Used for public criminal-history searches, public sex-offender services and other public-facing applications.

Restricted access

CRD Secure Website

Used by legislatively authorized organizations that have legal authority to receive broader criminal-history information.

You cannot simply sign up for broader CCH access. DPS requires the organization to have statutory authority. Secure Site access may itself involve criminal-history checks and compliance requirements for users.

What the Computerized Criminal History system contains

The Texas Computerized Criminal History system, often abbreviated CCH, is the statewide criminal-history repository used by DPS.

CCH can contain qualifying information reported by Texas criminal-justice agencies concerning:

  • arrests
  • prosecution information
  • court dispositions
  • sentencing information
  • custody-related data
  • identifying information
Data quality depends on reporting. An arresting agency, prosecutor, court clerk or other criminal-justice agency may be responsible for reporting different parts of the record. When a disposition is missing, the source agency often needs to be involved in correcting it.

Class C records

DPS says Class C arrests can appear in CCH if an agency submits them, although Texas reporting requirements do not treat ordinary Class C arrests in exactly the same way as higher-level offenses.

How long does arrest information remain?

DPS states that criminal arrest information can remain on the criminal-history record indefinitely unless a valid legal process—such as an applicable expunction—requires removal.

How to obtain your own Texas criminal-history record

If you need to see exactly what Texas DPS associates with your identity, the more reliable method is the Texas Personal Review process.

DPS recommends fingerprint-based review because it matches the individual through fingerprints rather than a name alone.

1 Start the Personal Review Follow DPS fingerprint-review instructions.
2 Schedule fingerprints Use the authorized fingerprint process.
3 Verify identity Bring required identification documents.
4 Review the result Use Error Resolution if anything is wrong or incomplete.
DPS Fingerprinting Services

FAST fingerprinting for Texas background checks

DPS operates the Fingerprint Applicant Services of Texas (FAST) program using contracted fingerprint locations.

FAST supports authorized fingerprint-based background checks for many categories of applicants, including certain:

  • teachers and education workers
  • child-care providers
  • security personnel
  • licensed professionals
  • designated volunteers
  • other applicants covered by Texas law

What you normally need for an agency-requested fingerprint appointment

  • the agency’s service code
  • agency identifier when applicable
  • approved identity documents
  • payment for the scheduled service
Applicants normally do not receive the agency’s background-check result directly from DPS. DPS says people fingerprinted for a requesting organization should ask that organization whether it will provide a copy, or separately obtain a Texas Personal Review.

DPS currently lists a $15 criminal-history check fee and an additional $10 fingerprinting fee when FAST is used for the qualifying DPS check. Exact appointment totals can vary with the authorized service.

What is the Texas FACT Clearinghouse?

The Fingerprint Applicant Clearinghouse of Texas (FACT) is a repository used by authorized organizations for qualifying DPS and FBI fingerprint-based background-check results.

Only individuals who are processed through FAST for an eligible purpose can be associated with the FACT Clearinghouse.

Texas result

DPS fingerprint response

FACT can consolidate Texas fingerprint-based criminal-history results for authorized users.

Federal result

FBI response

Eligible background checks can include FBI fingerprint-based criminal-history information.

Monitoring

Subscription notices

Eligible organizations may receive notifications of qualifying new criminal-history activity.

Current FBI fee change: DPS announced that effective October 1, 2026, the FBI fingerprint component increased to $15, while the FBI volunteer fingerprint fee increased to $13. Those FBI amounts are separate from other applicable DPS or vendor charges.

Rap Back programs monitor new qualifying activity

Crime Records also supports Rap Back functions that allow authorized organizations to receive qualifying notifications after an individual’s fingerprints are already enrolled under an eligible program.

Criminal justice

Texas Criminal Justice Rap Back

Helps criminal-justice agencies receive notifications when enrolled fingerprints become associated with qualifying new criminal activity.

Civil / authorized use

FBI Civil Rap Back

Authorized entities can use qualifying FBI Rap Back functionality when the applicable legal and enrollment requirements are met.

Rap Back is not a public alert service. Ordinary members of the public cannot subscribe to someone’s nationwide arrest activity merely because they want ongoing background information.

Texas DPS records and Texas court records serve different purposes

DPS CCH is a statewide criminal-history repository. It is not the same thing as the official trial-court case file.

Need Best source Why
Public statewide conviction/deferred record Texas DPS DPS maintains the statewide criminal-history repository.
Indictment or complaint Trial court / clerk These are court-file documents.
Certified disposition Trial court / clerk The court certifies its own case record.
Court docket Trial court / clerk DPS is not the statewide docket system.
Texas prison status TDCJ TDCJ maintains correctional offender information.
Federal prosecution PACER / federal court Federal criminal cases are separate from state CCH.
Practical workflow: use DPS to identify qualifying statewide criminal-history information, then use the county or district clerk to obtain the detailed court file and certified final disposition when needed.

What to do when the DPS record has no final court outcome

A common problem is seeing an arrest in the Texas criminal-history record without the final court disposition.

DPS explains that this can happen when the disposition was never reported successfully or when submitted information could not be matched or accepted correctly.

Identify the court of jurisdiction

Use the arrest or prosecution information to determine where the case was filed.

Get the official final disposition

Ask the clerk for a certified copy showing how the charge was resolved.

Send supporting documentation to Error Resolution

DPS requires certified source documents when correcting or updating court-result information.

Recheck the criminal history

After correction, obtain another review when necessary to confirm that the record now reflects the proper outcome.

Texas DPS Criminal History Error Resolution

The Error Resolution Unit evaluates possible errors reported by individuals, courts, law-enforcement agencies and other criminal-justice sources.

Common correction issues include:

  • missing final disposition
  • incorrect charge information
  • wrong court result
  • incorrect identifying data
  • duplicated information
  • record attributed to the wrong person

DPS asks people seeking correction to provide certified supporting documentation when the requested change depends on court or agency records.

Error Resolution contact

Email: error.resolution@dps.texas.gov

Open DPS Error Resolution
Incorrect information on a commercial website? DPS states that it cannot force an unrelated third-party criminal-history website to change its own database, although Texas law provides remedies in some situations involving inaccurate or improperly maintained third-party records.

Identity misuse requires a different process from an ordinary record error

DPS distinguishes a simple criminal-history error from a case where an arrested person falsely used someone else’s name or identifying information.

Identity misuse can require separate verification and correction procedures, including fingerprint comparison and Texas identity-protection remedies.

Tell DPS exactly what happened. If the record exists because someone else used your identity during an arrest, do not describe it only as a misspelling or clerical error. That can send the inquiry down the wrong correction path.

Expunctions and nondisclosure affect DPS criminal-history access differently

Texas provides multiple forms of criminal-record relief, and they do not all have the same legal effect.

Expunction

Qualifying record removal

Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55 governs expunction of qualifying arrest, court and criminal-history records.

Nondisclosure

Public-access restriction

Qualifying orders can prohibit criminal-justice agencies from releasing specified CHRI to the general public while preserving certain authorized access.

Juvenile sealing

Separate juvenile rules

Texas Family Code provisions govern sealing and confidentiality of juvenile-justice information.

DPS legal staff cannot act as your attorney. The Crime Records legal team publishes general guidance, but DPS specifically states that individuals seeking expunction or nondisclosure advice should obtain independent legal guidance concerning eligibility.

Texas sex-offender records are another Crime Records service

DPS maintains the statewide Texas Sex Offender Registry using registration information submitted by local law-enforcement authorities.

Most qualifying registration information is public, subject to statutory exclusions for specified private information and certain juvenile records.

Search Texas Public Sex Offender Registry
Do not treat the registry as a complete criminal-history search. The registry serves a specialized statutory purpose and covers qualifying registrants, not every person who has a Texas criminal record.

Juvenile criminal-history information has different access rules

Texas juvenile-justice records are governed separately from ordinary adult public criminal-history records. Family Code Chapter 58 includes rules concerning confidentiality, sealing and access.

DPS Crime Records guidance also points users to Texas juvenile-record statutes rather than treating juvenile information as part of the normal public adult name-search process.

Do not assume an adult public-search rule applies to a juvenile record. Access may depend on age, court orders, sealing status, statutory exceptions and the requester’s legal role.

Crime Records also manages statewide crime-data reporting functions

Crime Records is not limited to individual background checks. DPS also operates or supports systems used for statewide crime statistics and law-enforcement information exchange.

UCR

Uniform Crime Reporting

Supports statewide collection and reporting of crime statistics from participating agencies.

NIBRS / IBR

Incident-Based Reporting

Captures detailed incident-level crime data submitted by law-enforcement agencies.

TDEx

Texas Data Exchange

Supports exchange of qualifying law-enforcement information for authorized criminal-justice purposes.

These systems should not be confused with a public name-based criminal-history lookup. Statistical crime databases answer different questions from an individual’s CCH record.

Public-information requests do not override CHRI restrictions

Texas DPS accepts qualifying public-information requests under the Texas Public Information Act. However, the Public Information Act does not automatically make restricted criminal-history record information available to everyone.

Requests for ordinary DPS administrative records, policies and other public records can follow the agency’s Public Information process, while CHRI access remains governed by specific Texas criminal-history statutes.

Use the right access law. A general open-records request is not a workaround for obtaining criminal-history information that Texas law classifies as restricted.

Texas DPS Crime Records contact directory

Using the correct bureau can save several phone transfers. DPS currently lists these Crime Records contacts.

Access & Dissemination

Criminal-history and fingerprint access

Phone: (512) 424-2474

Criminal-history inquiries, personal-review questions, account matters and fingerprint-related support.

CHRI Services

Record integrity and dispositions

Phone: (512) 424-2590

Covers Computerized Criminal History, court/custody disposition reporting, data integrity, expunctions and related services.

Error Resolution

Incorrect criminal history

error.resolution@dps.texas.gov

Fingerprint Services

FAST and FACT

fingerprint.service@dps.texas.gov

DPS also routes FAST and Clearinghouse questions through (512) 424-2474.

Expunctions

DPS expunction unit

Expunctions@dps.texas.gov

Sex Offender Registration

Texas SOR program

TXSOR@dps.texas.gov
(512) 424-2800

Crime Information

TCIC / identity-related support

Phone: (512) 424-2088

Crime statistics

Incident-Based Reporting

Phone: (512) 424-2091

Crime Records mailing address

Texas Department of Public Safety
PO Box 4143
Austin, TX 78765-4143

Add the relevant unit or bureau name to the mailing address when the DPS instructions for that service require it.

Website / account support

DPS currently lists 1-855-481-7071 for Crime Records website support involving account creation, public-search credits and related website issues.

Unused search credits: DPS says refund requests for unused search credits can be submitted through its support process. A completed “no matching records” search is not considered an unused credit.

Texas DPS Crime Records location in Austin

Texas DPS identifies its Crime Records operations at the Department’s North Lamar Boulevard headquarters complex in Austin.

Do not travel to Austin just for fingerprints without checking first. Applicant and personal-review fingerprints normally use the FAST/IdentoGO process and authorized fingerprint locations rather than requiring a visit to DPS headquarters.

Texas Crime Records laws worth knowing

DPS maintains a legal-resources page pointing to the major Texas statutes that control different Crime Records functions. The most relevant areas include:

Criminal-history access

Texas Government Code Chapter 411 governs significant portions of criminal-history access and dissemination.

Criminal-history reporting

Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 66 addresses reporting into the statewide criminal-history record system.

Expunction

Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55 provides the statutory framework for qualifying expunctions.

Juvenile records

Family Code Chapter 58 contains major juvenile-record confidentiality and sealing provisions.

Sex-offender registration

Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 62 governs the Texas Sex Offender Registration Program.

Identity misuse

Texas law includes specific provisions addressing fraudulent use of identifying information in criminal records.

Check the current statute before relying on a rule. Criminal-record laws are amended periodically, so a DPS summary page should not be treated as a substitute for the current statutory text when the legal effect matters.

Frequently asked questions about Texas DPS Crime Records

1. Is the Texas DPS Crime Records Division open to the public?

Some services are public and others are restricted. The public can use services such as the Public Criminal History Conviction Name Search and public sex-offender registry. Broader CCH, FACT Clearinghouse and criminal-justice functions require statutory authorization.

2. Can I search another person’s Texas criminal record through DPS?

Yes. DPS provides a public name-based search for qualifying conviction and deferred-adjudication criminal-history information. Name matches should be verified carefully because they are not fingerprint identification.

3. How much is the online Texas DPS name search?

DPS currently charges one $1 search credit for each submitted public criminal-history name search. Credit-card purchases also include the transaction fees shown by DPS.

4. Can I see my own complete Texas criminal history?

Yes. DPS provides a fingerprint-based Personal Review procedure that allows the subject of the record to obtain their own Texas criminal-history information and identify errors.

5. What is FAST?

FAST stands for Fingerprint Applicant Services of Texas. It is the DPS program used to capture and submit fingerprints electronically for authorized criminal-history background checks and personal reviews.

6. What is the FACT Clearinghouse?

FACT is the Fingerprint Applicant Clearinghouse of Texas. Eligible organizations can receive consolidated DPS and FBI fingerprint-based criminal-history results for authorized applicants. It is not an ordinary public background-search database.

7. How do I correct an error in my DPS criminal history?

Use the Texas DPS Criminal History Error Resolution process. DPS may require certified records from the court or agency that created the underlying information.

8. Why is an arrest listed without a final court outcome?

The disposition may not have been successfully reported to DPS or may have been rejected because of incomplete or mismatched data. Obtain a certified disposition from the court and follow the DPS Error Resolution process.

9. Does an order of nondisclosure delete the criminal record?

Not necessarily. An order of nondisclosure generally restricts qualifying criminal-history information from public disclosure while preserving access for certain criminal-justice and statutorily authorized entities.

10. Is Texas DPS the place to get certified court documents?

No. DPS maintains criminal-history information, but certified complaints, indictments, judgments and dispositions generally come from the court or clerk that maintains the criminal case.

Official resources for Texas DPS Crime Records services

Editorial note: Criminal-Record.org is an independent informational resource and is not affiliated with the Texas Department of Public Safety or another government agency. DPS criminal-history systems contain information submitted by courts and criminal-justice agencies and are governed by Texas access laws. A name-based match should not be treated as conclusive proof of identity, and an arrest or charge should not be described as a conviction without checking the final court disposition.

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