Obtain Criminal Record

Ask for the precise record before ordering

To obtain a criminal record, first identify the deliverable: your own criminal-history summary, a state-authorized background check, or a document from a particular court case. Ask the organization requesting it to name the issuer, required date range, certification and acceptable delivery format. An FBI history response, state repository report and court judgment are different records, and a booking entry does not establish a conviction.

In the United States, the FBI personal-review service is for reviewing, correcting or updating your own record, or receiving a response that no record is on file. The FBI says this product is not for employment or licensing checks. For those purposes, use the process specified by the requesting agency and relevant State Identification Bureau, rather than purchasing a personal review and assuming it is interchangeable.

Request your FBI history electronically

Start at the FBI’s linked Electronic Departmental Order service, edo.cjis.gov, and complete its Identity History Summary request. Fingerprints are still required. If using a participating U.S. Post Office for electronic fingerprints, complete the online application and payment before visiting. The Post Office may charge an additional fingerprinting fee; use the participating-location list linked by the FBI.

You can instead mail a completed fingerprint card with the confirmation email from your online request to the address stated in that email. It remains an electronic submission after the card arrives. Save your confirmation and follow the instructions for receiving the response; a paid application without the required fingerprints is not a completed record request.

Build a complete mailed FBI application

1. Complete and sign the FBI Applicant Information Form, giving a complete return address. Each person needs a separate form.
2. Provide a current FD-1164 fingerprint card with your name, birth date and signature, rolled impressions of all ten fingers and plain impressions. A previously processed card is not acceptable. If using live scan, obtain a hard copy for mailing.
3. Include the $18 per-person fee using the FBI credit-card payment form, or a money order or certified check payable to the Treasury of the United States. Do not send cash, a personal check or a business check.
4. Mail the signed form, fingerprint card and payment to FBI CJIS Division – Summary Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV 26306. Do not include a self-addressed envelope.

Unclear fingerprints can be rejected and cause delay or further cost, so using a trained fingerprint technician can prevent a repeat submission. The FBI allows a fee-waiver request supported by proof of indigence. The FBI sends mailed-request results by first-class U.S. mail on standard white paper. Each mailed request ordinarily produces one sealed response; additional sealed responses require additional requests and $18 payments.

Compare published processing and channeler limits

The FBI currently publishes electronic-request processing within 48 hours after electronic fingerprints at a participating Post Office, approximately ten days after receiving a mailed fingerprint card for an online request, and up to 15 days for a mailed request. Add mailing time. The FBI does not sell expedited processing. These are published estimates, not a guarantee that a deadline will be met.

An FBI-approved channeler can submit fingerprints and return the electronic result, with its own additional fees, methods and turnaround. That route is restricted to U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents located in the United States or its territories, and cannot be used for employment or licensing checks. Use the FBI’s approved list and obtain the channeler’s total before selecting it.

Use the correct state or local custodian

For a state history, use the FBI’s State Identification Bureau listing to find the appropriate state office, then follow that office’s own public-access or personal-review instructions. The listing is a directory, not a national ordering service or uniform price schedule. Eligibility, fingerprints, permitted use, fees and delivery vary by state. A local police report or county court file is obtained from the agency or clerk that created it.

Prepare full names and documented variants, birth date, the state or locality, approximate event dates, and any case or arrest identifier. Supply only the information the official process asks for, using its secure submission route. If a licensing agency supplies a service code or fingerprint authorization, retain that exact instruction; using an unrelated personal-review product can result in a report the agency will not accept.

Get a federal judgment or other case filing

For federal court records, register for PACER. Search the known court directly if you have its name and case number; otherwise use the PACER Case Locator nationwide index to identify the court and case. The Locator updates daily, while case information at the individual court updates immediately. Open the docket and obtain the specific judgment, order or other filing needed. PACER covers federal courts, not state prosecutions.

PACER charges 10 cents per page, with a $3 cap on an ordinary document. Search results, non-case-specific reports and transcripts do not have that cap, and searches can incur a charge even when no match is found. Fees of $30 or less in a quarter are waived. Viewing at a federal courthouse and court opinions are free; printed copies and other clerk services can still cost money.

Confirm certification and missing-document delivery

A downloaded court PDF is not automatically a certified copy. Ask the holding court for its certified or authenticated-copy procedure, price and delivery if the recipient requires it. If the case or document is absent from PACER, contact the court where it was filed; the court may need to retrieve older material or explain an access restriction. Do not turn an unsuccessful online search into a nationwide no-record statement.

Check what arrived and use the right correction process

Match the delivered record to the original request: issuer, product, subject identifiers, case number, document dates and certification. If the wrong filing arrived, reference the existing request and identify the missing document instead of ordering another vague criminal-record search. Keep the response, receipt and request together so the office can trace the transaction.

For an inaccurate FBI summary, use the FBI’s linked Identity History Summary Challenge or correction route. FBI assistance is available at [email protected] or 304-625-5590. For a state-history error, contact that repository; for an erroneous court filing or disposition, contact the originating court. A response that the FBI has no arrest data on file describes the FBI’s submissions-based system and should not be expanded into a guarantee about every local record.