To find out if you have a felony for free, search the public court records where a case would have been filed: your county clerk of court for state charges, and PACER for federal charges. You can also exercise your right under federal law to a free copy of any background report a screening company has compiled about you. Combined, these cost nothing and cover most of what an employer or landlord would see.
Search Your County Court Records
County courthouses are where most felony cases are filed and resolved, and viewing those records is free in most places. You can visit the clerk of court’s office, give your name and date of birth, and ask to search the criminal case index. Many courthouses also have public access terminals that let you search electronically without staff help.
A growing number of courts also publish case records on their own websites. These searches are typically free and let you look up cases by name from home. There’s no single national portal, so you’ll need to find the site for the specific county or state court system where a case might have been filed. A search for your county’s “clerk of court” or “case search” will usually get you there.
The limitation is jurisdictional. A courthouse search only covers that court’s cases. A clean result in one county tells you nothing about what happened in another. If you’ve lived in multiple counties or aren’t sure where an arrest occurred, you’ll need to repeat the search in each place, or combine it with a broader search below.
Search Federal Court Records on PACER
State courthouse records won’t show federal felonies. Crimes that cross state lines, involve federal agencies, or violate federal law are prosecuted in the federal court system, and those records live in a separate database called PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records). One free PACER account gives you access to every federal district and bankruptcy court.
PACER charges ten cents per page for searches and documents, capped at $3.00 per document. It’s effectively free for a personal check, though: if you accrue $30 or less in fees during a quarter, they’re automatically waived.1PACER: Federal Court Records. PACER Pricing: How Fees Work A name search to see whether any federal cases exist against you will fall well under that threshold. Create the free account at pacer.uscourts.gov to get started.
Get Your Free Background Report Under the FCRA
Federal law gives you a right most people don’t use. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, every consumer reporting agency must give you a free copy of your file once every twelve months on request.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681j – Charges for Certain Disclosures That covers the major credit bureaus and, importantly, the specialty agencies that compile employment screening and criminal background reports.
This matters because most employers and landlords run background checks through private companies. If one of those companies has a file on you, you can see exactly what it contains at no charge. You’re also entitled to a free copy any time an employer or landlord takes “adverse action” against you based on a background report, such as denying a job or lease. The employer must tell you which company produced the report and give you a copy before making a final decision.3Federal Trade Commission. Employer Background Checks and Your Rights
Requesting your file directly does two things at once. You see what a prospective employer would see, and you can dispute anything that’s wrong before it costs you an opportunity.
State Repositories and the FBI Check Aren’t Free, But Fee Waivers Exist
Two broader searches are worth knowing about even though they usually cost money. Every state runs a centralized criminal record repository, typically through the state police or a bureau of investigation, which consolidates records from every county in that state. Fees generally run about $10 to $35, and many states require fingerprints so the result is tied to you rather than someone with the same name. A few states offer at least some information free through online portals, though what’s covered varies. Check your state’s law enforcement agency site before paying.
The FBI’s Identity History Summary Check is the closest thing to a national criminal record search, pulling every interaction with law enforcement agencies that reported to the FBI’s database. It costs $18, but the FBI offers fee waivers if you can’t afford it. Contact (304) 625-5590 or email identity@fbi.gov for waiver instructions before you submit.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions The FBI database only reflects what agencies reported to it, so older cases or records from smaller jurisdictions may be missing.
Avoid “Free Background Check” Websites
Search for “free criminal background check” and dozens of commercial sites promise instant results. Treat them with caution. A 2024 National Institute of Justice study compared official state records against private-sector background check reports and found high error rates. Sixty percent of study participants had at least one false-positive error, meaning the report showed a record that didn’t belong to them. About 90 percent had at least one false-negative, meaning actual records were missing.5National Institute of Justice. The Problem with Criminal Records: Discrepancies Between State Reports and Private-sector Background Checks
Many of these sites also advertise “free” searches but require payment to see actual results. Stick with official court databases and government repositories. The information is more reliable, and the genuinely free options are actually free.
What If Nothing Shows Up
If you were convicted of a felony years ago and nothing appears in your searches, the record may have been expunged or sealed. These are different. Expungement directs the court to treat a conviction as if it never happened, removing it from public access. Sealing keeps the record but restricts who can see it, usually limiting access to law enforcement and certain government agencies.
Both are governed by state law, and the rules vary. Some states allow expungement only for nonviolent felonies, or only after a waiting period once probation and parole are complete. Violent felonies, sexual offenses, and crimes against children are frequently excluded. Even after expungement, the underlying court and police records may still exist, and licensing boards in fields like healthcare, law enforcement, education, and finance may still be able to see sealed or expunged records or require you to disclose them.
If you think a record was expunged but aren’t sure, contact the court where the conviction occurred. Some states offer online tools to check the status of expungement or sealing orders. If you never applied but might qualify, a legal aid organization can often help at no cost. The Legal Services Corporation directory at lsc.gov can connect you with a local office.
Putting a Complete Search Together
No single search catches everything. A county search misses other counties. A state repository misses federal cases and other states. Even the FBI database has gaps. To be thorough, layer the free options: start with online court records for every county where you’ve lived, then run a PACER search for federal cases, then request your file from any consumer reporting agencies you suspect employers have used. If something turns up on a private background report that you weren’t expecting, request the report under your FCRA rights and compare it against the official court records. Errors are common enough that verifying against the source is worth the effort.