How to Find Out If Someone Has a Criminal Record
It sounds like it should be a single search, but criminal records do not work that way. They are created and held at different levels – county courts, state repositories, and the federal system – with no single national database the public can simply query, and each source covers only part of the picture. Just as important as where the records live is how you are allowed to use them: if you are making a decision about employment, tenancy, or licensing, that use is regulated and must run through a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This guide explains the landscape plainly and is direct about our role. We are a public-records research firm working under a permissible purpose – not a consumer reporting agency and not a law firm. We research the criminal-record footprint that lawfully available sources show, for legitimate non-FCRA purposes, and we explain how the system works. We do not provide FCRA consumer reports for hiring or tenant decisions, we respect sealed and expunged records, and we do not judge anyone’s character. This is general information, not legal advice.
The Short Version
There is no single national database of criminal records the public can search. Records sit at the county, state, and federal levels, each covering only part of the picture. And how you may use what you find is regulated: decisions about employment, tenancy, or licensing must run through a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. We are a public-records research firm under a permissible purpose – not a CRA and not a law firm. We research the criminal-record footprint that lawfully available sources show for legitimate non-FCRA purposes and explain the landscape. We do not provide FCRA consumer reports, we respect sealed and expunged records, and we do not judge character. This is general information, not legal advice.
Watch: Where Criminal Records Live
Why it isn’t one search – and how use is gated.
Watch Overview
Where Records Live, and How You May Use Them
Two separate questions, both of which matter.
The first question is where to look, and the honest answer is many places. Most criminal cases are prosecuted at the county level, so county court records are the backbone, but they sit in thousands of separate systems with uneven online access – the same fragmentation explained in a court records search by state guide. States maintain repositories of varying completeness, and the federal system is separate again. A common confusion is what even counts: an arrest is not a conviction, and how arrests appear – or should not appear – is its own subject, covered in whether arrests show up on background checks. There is no single public portal that pulls all of this together, which is why a thorough answer means checking the right jurisdictions, not running one search.
The second question is the one people skip, and it matters just as much: how are you allowed to use what you find? If the purpose is a decision about employment, tenancy, professional licensing, or similar, that use is regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act and must go through a consumer reporting agency following its procedures – the framework laid out in FCRA-compliant background checks. We do not provide that. Our criminal-record research serves legitimate non-FCRA purposes – litigation, due diligence, lawful personal-safety reasons – and we explain the landscape so you understand what you are looking at. We also respect the limits the law sets: we do not surface sealed or expunged records or anything we are not lawfully entitled to use, and we do not turn a record into a verdict on someone’s character.
When We Help, and When a CRA Must
The purpose decides the right tool.
| Purpose | Our role (research) | The right tool |
|---|---|---|
| Litigation or due diligence | Research the lawful footprint. Records | We can help. |
| A lawful safety concern | Explain what records show. | We can help. |
| Hiring or promotion | Not our role. | A CRA, FCRA-compliant. |
| Tenant or licensing decision | Not our role. | A CRA, FCRA-compliant. |
| Sealed or expunged records | We respect the restriction. | Not lawfully usable. |
The division is simple: if the decision is about employment, tenancy, or licensing, the law routes you to a consumer reporting agency, and we will say so. For litigation, due diligence, and lawful non-FCRA purposes, we research the criminal-record footprint that lawfully available sources show and explain it – within the limits the law sets.
Why People Ask This Question
The situations behind the search.
A Litigation Workup
Knowing an opposing party.
Counterparty Due Diligence
Before a deal or investment.
An Arrest vs. a Conviction
Understanding the difference.
A Hiring Decision
Not us – that goes to a CRA.
Records Across Counties
A person who lived in several.
A Common Name
Is this record even theirs?
How We Research the Footprint
Scope, search the right places, confirm, explain.
Scope the Purpose
Confirm a lawful, non-FCRA use.
Search the Right Levels
County, state, and federal as fits.
Confirm It’s the Person
Not a common-name match.
Explain, Don’t Judge
Sourced, with confidence noted.
Our Role: Research and Explain
The factual layer, lawfully bounded.
Our job is to research the criminal-record footprint that lawfully available sources show, for a legitimate non-FCRA purpose, and to help you understand a famously confusing landscape. We confirm a lawful purpose before we begin, search the right county, state, and federal sources for the matter, and – critically – confirm that a record actually belongs to your subject rather than to someone who merely shares a name, which is one of the most common and damaging errors in this area. We are a public-records research firm, not a consumer reporting agency and not a law firm. We do not pretext, impersonate, or access anything we are not lawfully entitled to, and we do not surface sealed or expunged records, which the law treats as restricted.
Two limits define what we will and will not do. First, we do not provide consumer reports for FCRA-covered decisions – hiring, tenant screening, licensing, and the like – and when a request is really one of those, we redirect you to a compliant agency rather than take it; that protects you as much as the subject. Second, we report what the records show and explain it accurately; we do not pronounce judgment on a person’s character or tell you what to conclude. A record is a fact in context, not a verdict, and the meaning and use of it are for you and, where relevant, your counsel. We document each finding with its source and an honest confidence note. The research is ours to do accurately and lawfully; the decision, and any FCRA-covered process, remain yours.
Who We Help
For lawful, non-FCRA purposes.
Attorneys
Litigation and case workup
Businesses
Non-FCRA counterparty review
Investigators
Building a lawful profile
Individuals
A lawful safety concern
Risk Teams
Lawful due diligence
The Curious
Understanding the system
For any lawful, non-FCRA purpose, the work is the same: search the right jurisdictions, confirm the record is the person’s, and explain it accurately. If your need is a hiring, tenant, or licensing decision, we’ll point you to a compliant consumer report instead. Tell us about the subject and your permissible purpose; a first read typically comes back within 24 hours.
Our Commitment
We research the criminal-record footprint that lawfully available sources show for a legitimate, non-FCRA purpose – searching the right county, state, and federal levels, confirming a record actually belongs to your subject, and explaining it with its source and an honest confidence note. We hold firm lines: this is not an FCRA consumer report, hiring and tenant requests go to a compliant agency, we respect sealed and expunged records, and we never pronounce judgment on character. Lawful research since 2004 – never pretext, never private financial contents, never a substitute for legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there one place to look up a criminal record?
No. There is no single national database the public can simply query. Most criminal cases are at the county level, states keep repositories of varying completeness, and the federal system is separate. A thorough answer means checking the right jurisdictions for the person, not running one search – which is exactly the fragmentation that makes professional research valuable.
Can I use a criminal record to decide on a hire or tenant?
Not through us. Decisions about employment, tenancy, or licensing are regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act and must use a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency following its procedures and protections. What we provide is not a consumer report and may not be used for those purposes. If that is your need, we will redirect you to a compliant agency.
What purposes do you research criminal records for?
Legitimate, non-FCRA purposes – litigation and case workup, counterparty due diligence, and lawful personal-safety concerns, among others. We confirm a permissible purpose before we begin. The line is the use: research for understanding and lawful decisions outside the FCRA framework is our lane; FCRA-covered decisions are a consumer reporting agency’s.
Does an arrest mean someone has a criminal record?
Not necessarily – an arrest is not a conviction, and the two are very different in meaning and in how they may be reported. Treating an arrest as if it were a conviction is a common and serious mistake. We report what the records actually show and distinguish clearly between them, so you understand the facts in context rather than drawing the wrong conclusion.
Will you show me sealed or expunged records?
No. Sealed and expunged records are restricted by law, and we do not surface them or anything we are not lawfully entitled to access. Respecting those restrictions is part of operating lawfully. If a record has been properly cleared, it should not appear in our research, and we do not look for ways around that.
How do you avoid the wrong-person problem?
Carefully, because it is one of the most damaging errors in this area. Common names produce false matches, so we corroborate that a record belongs to your subject through more than one matching data point before reporting it as theirs. We would rather tell you a record is unconfirmed than attach someone else’s history to the wrong person.
Do you decide whether someone is dangerous or trustworthy?
No. We report what the records show and explain it; we do not pronounce judgment on character or tell you what to conclude. A record is a fact in context, not a verdict. You – and where relevant your counsel – weigh what it means for your situation. Our value is in accurate, sourced facts, not opinions.
How fast can you help?
For a workable request with a confirmed permissible purpose, a first read typically comes back within 24 hours. You receive the criminal-record footprint that lawfully available sources show, confirmed to the person and explained with its source and confidence noted honestly. The research is ours; the decision – and any FCRA-covered process – remains yours.
Understand the Real Picture
Criminal records are scattered and easy to misread – and how you may use them is gated. Tell us about the subject and your lawful, non-FCRA purpose, and we’ll search the right jurisdictions, confirm the record is the person’s, and explain it – typically with a first read within 24 hours. For hiring, tenant, or licensing decisions, we’ll point you to a compliant consumer report instead. Contact us to get started.
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