How to Check Someone's Criminal Background for Free
People run criminal background checks for any number of reasons -- vetting a potential employee, investigating a neighbor or co-worker, or just double-checking whether a significant other is telling the truth about the past. Completing a criminal background search on someone can be done for free online within a few minutes.
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Instructions
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Using Criminal Searches
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Visit the Criminal Searches website (see link in References).
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Enter the person's first and last name in the appropriate boxes. Do not include a middle initial in the "First Name" box. Include the state where you want to search, or you can leave the state blank if you're unsure. Click "Search."
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If any matches are found, there will be a code indicating the type of offense the person committed: "Bv" for behavioral, "Bu" for business, "D" for drug- or alcohol-related, "S" for sex-related, "T" for theft or robbery, "V" for violent, and "O" for traffic or other violations. Under "Criminal Offense," you will see the specific kind of crime.
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Click on "View Details" to learn more about the offenses. Available information includes case number, offense type, offense code, description, date reported and the disposition of the case.
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If the initial search returned no results, narrow down your search. Click on "Advanced Search." This will allow you to add a middle initial, city and ZIP code. You can also search by county, the year of birth or an age range.
Using Local Law Enforcement Websites
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Visit the Public Records Online Directory (see link in References) to search public records by state.
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Select a state where the person you are looking for has lived.
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Select the county from the menu on the top left portion of the page.
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Select the website that you would like to visit. Once on that site, look for a link that says "Public Records." Go there, and enter the information of the person you're searching for. If there is no such information available for a county, contact law enforcement there to see whether you can access public records online.
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