Court records search — the layer that says how it ended
Case number, court, filed date, charge and disposition. Court records are the only layer that says whether a charge became a conviction — and the layer most criminal searches quietly skip.
Building this into a product? See the court records API.
Court cases, prison records and jail bookings: three different claims
The same person can appear in all three layers, and each says something materially different. Reading one as though it were another is the most common and most damaging error in this data.
Jail booking
Claim: this person was taken into custody on this date, on these charges as recorded at booking. Says nothing about guilt, and charges at booking are frequently reduced or dropped.
Court record
Claim: a case existed, in this court, and ended this way. The disposition is the only authoritative statement about the outcome.
Prison record
Claim: this person is or was serving a state sentence. It implies a conviction, but carries the custody facts rather than the case.
The 22 states with a statewide court source
Court publishing is the most fragmented layer in US criminal data. Many states publish court records county by county rather than through any single statewide system, and no API can invent a statewide record that does not exist. Where a statewide source exists, it is here.
| State | County jail rosters | Statewide prison system | Warrants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 15 | Yes | — |
| Arkansas | 14 | Yes | Yes |
| Colorado | 66 | Yes | Yes |
| Connecticut | 1 | Yes | Yes |
| District of Columbia | 1 | Yes | — |
| Georgia | 44 | Yes | — |
| Illinois | 27 | Yes | Yes |
| Indiana | 49 | Yes | — |
| Iowa | 18 | Yes | Yes |
| Maryland | 27 | Yes | — |
| Minnesota | 18 | Yes | Yes |
| Nevada | 17 | Yes | Yes |
| New Jersey | 21 | Yes | — |
| Ohio | 51 | Yes | — |
| Oklahoma | 17 | Yes | Yes |
| Oregon | 38 | Yes | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | 65 | Yes | Yes |
| Tennessee | 16 | Yes | Yes |
| Virginia | 34 | Yes | — |
| Washington | 40 | Yes | Yes |
| West Virginia | 9 | Yes | — |
For the states without a statewide court source, the custody and county layers still answer — see county criminal records.
What court records on our index show
In a random sample of 66,154 US criminal records on our index, 50% are state prison (department of corrections) records and 49% are court cases.
41% of those records include charge detail. Among them, the most common charges are theft, larceny and stolen property (14%), drug possession (13%) and assault, battery and threats (10%).
Where a record states the level of the charge (9% of records), 60% are felonies and 34% misdemeanors.
93% of court cases on our index do not state an outcome. Among those that do, 43% ended in a conviction, guilty plea or adjudication, 14% were dismissed or found not guilty, and 43% are still open.
A jail booking records an arrest and the charges at booking. It is not a conviction.
- Theft, larceny and stolen property14%
- Drug possession13%
- Assault, battery and threats10%
- Burglary and breaking & entering9%
- Fraud, forgery and identity theft8%
- Drug sale, distribution or manufacture8%
- Traffic offenses (not DUI)7%
- Other or unclear7%
- DUI / DWI6%
- Public order, trespass and property damage6%
- State prison (department of corrections) records50%
- Court cases49%
- County jail bookings1%
- Convicted, pleaded guilty or adjudicated3%
- Dismissed, not guilty or acquitted1%
- Open or pending3%
- No outcome stated (including cases marked closed without a disposition)93%
Based on a random sample of 66,154 records on our index (2026-10-08). Categories are our grouping of the charge text each court, jail or agency publishes; a record can include charges in several categories. Percentages are rounded. See criminal charge types and what shows up on a background check.
How to search court records by name
- Step 1
Enter the name
First and last name, plus a date of birth or birth year to separate namesakes.
- Step 2
Choose the scope
One state, or no state to include every court source alongside custody and warrant records.
- Step 3
Open the case
Case number, court, filing date, charges and the disposition where the court publishes one.
- Step 4
Confirm at the court
Every record cites the court that holds it. The clerk’s file is the authoritative copy.
Criminal court dispositions explained
| Disposition | What it means |
|---|---|
| Convicted or guilty | The defendant pleaded guilty or no contest, or was found guilty at trial |
| Dismissed | The charge was dropped by the prosecutor or dismissed by the court |
| Acquitted or not guilty | The defendant was found not guilty at trial |
| Deferred or diverted | The case was set aside on conditions, and may later be dismissed |
| Open or pending | The case has not ended. It is an accusation, not a finding |
County court records vs statewide court records
Criminal cases are filed in trial courts, which in most states are organized by county. Some states publish a single statewide case index that covers many of those courts; others leave publishing to each county clerk. A statewide source answers for many counties in one search. A county source answers in depth for one place.
Because courts publish differently, a court search is only as complete as the courts it reaches. Every response lists the jurisdictions searched. See county criminal records and statewide criminal search.
States without a statewide court source on our index
30 jurisdictions have no statewide court source on our index: Alabama, Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming. A criminal search there still reaches state prison, jail and, where available, warrant records, but a booking or a custody record is not a court disposition. Where a court outcome matters, confirm it with the county clerk.
Using court records in background checks
Court records are the layer that says how a case ended, which makes them the most important part of a criminal history and the easiest to misread. Read the disposition, not just the charge. A dismissed charge or an acquittal is not a criminal conviction.
Standard results are not a consumer report. Screening companies running FCRA-regulated checks for hiring or housing use FCRA Partner Access, with dispute handling built in. See how to read a background check.
Court records search FAQ
What is a disposition, and why does it matter so much?
The disposition is how a case ended — dismissed, acquitted, convicted, deferred, pleaded down. It is the difference between "this person was arrested" and "this person was convicted", and those are not remotely the same fact. Arrest and booking records carry no disposition. If a search only reaches custody data, it can tell you someone was taken into a jail and nothing at all about whether the charge survived.
Which states have court records available?
Statewide court sources are live for 22 states, listed on this page. Court publishing in the US is genuinely fragmented — many states publish court records county by county rather than through any single statewide system, so a statewide court source does not exist for them. Where it does not, the county and custody layers still apply.
Is this the same as PACER or a federal docket search?
No. These are state court systems. Federal cases live in the federal district courts, an entirely separate system, and are addressed on the federal records page. A person can have a federal case and a spotless state record, or the reverse.
What does a court record carry?
Case number, the court that holds it, the filed date, the charge and — where the source publishes it — the disposition. Every record cites the jurisdiction it came from so the official docket can be reached directly.