To find your juvenile mugshots and records, contact the juvenile court and the law enforcement agency that handled your case and submit a formal records request with proof of identity. You won’t find these through a Google search or a commercial background check site because juvenile records are sealed from public access in most jurisdictions. Some records may also have been destroyed or automatically sealed depending on your age at the time and the nature of the offense.
Figure Out Which Agency Holds What
Juvenile records are not stored in one place. Different agencies keep different pieces of the file, and a single request rarely pulls everything.
- The juvenile court holds the case file, hearing transcripts, and disposition orders.
- The law enforcement agency that arrested you keeps the arrest report and the booking record, including the mugshot.
- The probation department holds supervision records if you were placed on probation.
- The state criminal history repository may hold a copy of the arrest record. About a third of law enforcement agencies forward juvenile arrest records to a central state repository.1Bureau of Justice Statistics. Juvenile Records and Recordkeeping Systems
Start with the county where the arrest happened. If you don’t know which court handled the case, the county clerk’s general information line can usually route you.
What to Gather Before You Ask
Agencies will need enough identifying information to pull the right file. Collect:
- Your full legal name at the time of the incident (including maiden or former names).
- Your date of birth.
- The approximate date of the arrest or court appearance.
- The city or county where it happened.
- Any case numbers you have.
If you don’t remember specifics, the court clerk can often locate a case with just your name and date of birth. Older cases that predate electronic filing may take longer because staff have to pull physical files from storage.
How to Submit the Request
Most agencies use a formal records request form, available from the court clerk, the law enforcement records division, or the agency’s website. Expect to provide:
- A completed request form.
- A notarized signature.
- A copy of a government-issued photo ID.
- A per-page fee, or a separate fee for certified copies.
Send the request to the specific agency that holds the record you want. If you want both the court file and the mugshot, file two requests. Keep copies of everything you send, and note the date each request went out.
What Happens After You File
Plan for a wait of several weeks to a couple of months. The agency will usually send a confirmation of receipt, or a notice asking for more information if something is missing. From there, they either release the records or deny the request.
Common reasons for denial include incomplete identity verification, records that were destroyed under a retention schedule, and court orders restricting release even to the person named in the file. If you get a denial, ask the agency to point to the specific legal basis. In some cases you can petition the court that handled your case for an order directing release. That’s uncommon when you’re asking for your own records, but it comes up when an agency reads confidentiality rules conservatively.
Why the Records Aren’t Online
The juvenile system is built around rehabilitation, and confidentiality is central to that design. Juvenile mugshots and case files are not part of the public record the way adult arrests are. Federal law prohibits releasing a juvenile’s name or photograph in connection with a federal delinquency proceeding unless the case is prosecuted in adult court.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 5038 – Use of Juvenile Records State laws follow a similar approach with different specifics. Access is limited to a narrow list: parents or guardians, law enforcement, school officials, attorneys on the case, and in some situations child protective services or researchers with court permission.
Confidentiality is not absolute. Serious offenses may be excluded from sealing protections, and several states have carved out exceptions for specific violent crimes. How much protection your records have depends on where the case was handled and what the offense was.
If Your Case Was Transferred to Adult Court
The rules change if your case was waived or transferred to adult criminal court. Those records are public and follow the same access rules as any adult criminal case. The federal prohibition on publishing a juvenile’s name or photograph applies only when the person is not prosecuted as an adult.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 5038 – Use of Juvenile Records
If you were tried as an adult, your mugshot and case records are likely available through the county clerk’s office, online court record portals, and commercial background check databases. Finding them is easier; getting them removed is harder, because adult record expungement carries stricter eligibility rules than juvenile sealing.
If Your Case Was in Federal Court
Most juvenile cases are handled by state courts, but a small number are federal. Federal juvenile delinquency records are protected under 18 U.S.C. ยง 5038 and must be safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure. Release is limited to inquiries from other courts, agencies preparing presentence reports, law enforcement investigating crimes, treatment facility directors, agencies evaluating national security positions, and victims of the juvenile’s offense.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 5038 – Use of Juvenile Records
Because federal juvenile records are sealed by statute, they won’t show up in a standard PACER search. Contact the federal district court where the case was filed and request your records directly. The PACER Service Center can help identify the correct court if you’re not sure which one handled the case.3Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER). Federal Court Records
Mugshots on Private Websites
Even when a court has sealed your juvenile records, your mugshot may still sit on private sites that scraped and republished booking photos. These sites often acquired the photos before any sealing order took effect and don’t automatically comply with court orders.
Your options depend on the site. Some mugshot websites will remove a photo on request, especially if you can send a copy of a sealing or expungement order. Others have historically charged fees for removal, though several states have passed laws restricting that practice. If a site refuses, an attorney can send a demand letter citing the applicable state law and the court order.
For search results specifically, Google allows removal requests for content related to individuals under eighteen, including non-explicit images of minors. You or a representative can submit a request through Google’s content removal form.4Google Search Help. Request to Have Your Personal Content Removed from Google Search If the source site has already taken the image down, Google’s outdated content tool can speed up removal from search results. Removing content from Google doesn’t remove it from the website itself, but it cuts down who can find it.
If Your Real Goal Is to Get Rid of the Records
If you’re pulling your records because you’re worried about who else can see them, the more useful question may be whether they can be sealed or expunged. Sealing restricts public access but keeps the record intact for limited government use. Expungement destroys the record, so the legal effect is that the event never happened, though in practice records may persist in databases that weren’t notified of the order or in third-party systems that don’t comply with it.5Office of Justice Programs. Expunging Juvenile Records – Misconceptions, Collateral Consequences, and Emerging Practices
Twenty-four states now automatically seal or expunge juvenile records without requiring a petition.6National Conference of State Legislatures. Automatic Expungement of Juvenile Records Triggers vary: some seal at age eighteen or twenty-one, some after probation or diversion is completed, some after a waiting period with no new offense. Serious or violent offenses, cases involving habitual offenders, and commitments to juvenile correctional facilities are commonly excluded. Automatic laws don’t always work as intended, since courts may fail to transmit the order to every agency that holds a copy. If you’re not sure whether your records were sealed automatically, call the juvenile court where the case was heard and ask.
Where sealing isn’t automatic, the process typically requires filing a petition with the court that handled your case. Filing fees range from nothing to several hundred dollars, and the petition may or may not require a hearing. Many legal aid organizations help with juvenile expungement at no cost, and some states run clean slate programs specifically for this purpose. Your local legal aid office or bar association is the right first call if cost is a concern.