How to Find Jail Records and County Jail Records

Most prison records are available to the public.

A lot of websites take advantage of the public availability of criminal records to profit from others' attempts to investigate an individual's criminal history. Although it may sometimes be necessary to pay a third party to conduct a comprehensive background investigation, the average businessman will not need all of the information an investigator or public-record aggregator can dig up. Instead of paying potentially disreputable websites for information within the public domain, you can obtain this information locally with little hassle.

Things You'll Need

• Web browser
• Completed request form
• Filing fees

Instructions

1. Gather basic information about the individual. Although a name and birthday are sufficient to start searching, the ability to provide detailed information will help ensure a complete and accurate result. A Social Security number will expedite your search. Other useful information includes prison numbers, case numbers and booking dates, though it's unlikely you would have these numbers if you don't know whether the individual has ever been to jail.

2. Visit the criminal records website for the state or county in which the person resides. If no website exists, contact a local police department to obtain the contact information for the county's records clerk. Perform a preliminary search to determine whether prison records exist for that individual.

3. Obtain and complete the state or county's form for requesting a jail blotter or arrest record. Pay any requisite filing fees. Note that you will be required to pay for the costs of making the search and providing a physical copy. Often times, these costs will be much lower that those charged by third party websites.

Tips & Warnings

• The availability of state-run websites simplifies the preliminary search process, but a lack of records should not be considered definitive evidence that a person has no prison record. Many states have been slow to convert their files to electronic formats.

• Note that many states, counties and cities have separate prison records databases. If you believe that a person has been arrested in multiple states or jurisdictions, you will have to contact each one individually or pay for a comprehensive background check. If choosing to run a full background check, research reputable firms to avoid receiving incomplete or poorly researched records.

• If a prison record has been sealed, it will not be made available to the public even if a request specific to that booking is made.

References

• City of Houston: Public Information Requests
• Pennsylvania State Police: How to Obtain a Criminal History Record
• Dallas County District Clerk: Letter regarding Dallas court records online

Resources

• Florida Department of Corrections: Inmate Population Information Search