You can run a free criminal background check online by combining several government-run search tools, and if a screening company has already compiled a report on you, federal law entitles you to a free copy of it. No single free source gives you everything a paid professional check would, but between state court portals, federal databases, and your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can assemble a surprisingly complete picture without paying.
Free Government Databases You Can Search Right Now
Each of these covers a different slice of criminal record information. Used together, they cover most of what a basic background check would return.
State Court Case Search Portals
Most states run online portals that let anyone search criminal court dockets by name. These typically show charges filed, court dates, case status, and final dispositions such as convictions or dismissals. You usually need only a name, sometimes a date of birth. Depth varies. Some states show records going back decades, others cover only recent cases, and a few still require an in-person courthouse visit. Search your state’s judicial branch website for “case search” or “court records” to find the portal.
The National Sex Offender Public Website
The Department of Justice runs the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website at nsopw.gov, which pulls registered sex offender data from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and more than 150 tribal jurisdictions into a single free search.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sex Offender Registry Websites You can search by name, zip code, or geographic area. Individual state registries also have their own tools, which sometimes include photos and address history the national site doesn’t.
Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
The Bureau of Prisons runs a free inmate locator at bop.gov covering anyone held in federal custody from 1982 to the present.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Inmate Locator Searches return the person’s age, facility location, and projected release date. If someone shows as “Released” with no facility listed, they’ve left federal custody but could still be in a state facility or on supervised release. Most state corrections departments run similar locators for state inmates.
Federal Court Records Through PACER
Federal criminal cases don’t show up on state court portals. For those you need PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records), which covers all federal district and appellate courts. PACER charges $0.10 per page in theory, but if you accrue $30 or less in a quarter, the fees are waived entirely.3PACER: Federal Court Records. PACER Pricing: How Fees Work For anyone doing a handful of name searches, that waiver makes PACER effectively free. Single documents are capped at $3.00 regardless of length.4PACER: Federal Court Records. Pricing Frequently Asked Questions You do need to create an account.
Getting a Free Copy of a Background Check Already Run on You
This is the most underused free option, and it comes closest to a comprehensive report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires every consumer reporting agency, including companies that compile background check reports, to provide you with one free copy of your file every 12 months on request.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1681j – Charges for Certain Disclosures The agency must deliver the report within 15 days.
Employment and tenant screening companies are consumer reporting agencies under the FCRA, so this rule applies to them. If you know which company screened you for a job or apartment, contact them and request your file. The report will show what they’ve compiled about you, including criminal records, and you can dispute anything wrong.
You’re also entitled to a free copy any time a company takes adverse action against you based on a background check. If you were turned down for a job, denied an apartment, or rejected for a professional license because of something in the report, you can request a free copy from the screening company within 60 days of the adverse action notice.6Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know The employer or landlord is required to identify the company that provided the report, so you know exactly where to send the request.
Requesting Your Own FBI or State Record
These options aren’t free, but they’re the most authoritative single-source records of your criminal history, so they’re worth knowing about if the free searches leave gaps.
The FBI maintains an Identity History Summary, sometimes called a rap sheet, built from fingerprint submissions tied to arrests, federal employment, military service, and naturalization. To get yours, submit a completed fingerprint card (Form FD-258) with your name and date of birth, along with an $18 processing fee.7Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions Fingerprints need to be professional quality, so plan on visiting a local law enforcement agency or fingerprinting service, which may charge its own fee. Mailing the request to the FBI takes several weeks; using an FBI-approved Channeler to submit electronically is faster. The FBI record only includes information submitted through fingerprints, so offenses that never involved fingerprinting won’t appear.
Each state also has a bureau of investigation or similar agency maintaining its own criminal history database.8Federal Bureau of Investigation. State Identification Bureau Listing You can request your own state-level record from this agency; fees and turnaround times vary, but expect somewhere between $10 and $30 in most states. Some states maintain their records independently from the FBI, meaning updates happen at the state level and the FBI accesses that system rather than holding a copy.9Federal Bureau of Investigation. State-Maintained Records Listing For a complete picture, you may need both the FBI record and the state record.
What Free Searches Cover and What They Miss
A professional background check searches multiple databases at the county, state, and federal level. The core of any criminal check includes felony and misdemeanor convictions, pending cases, and active warrants. Many also cover incarceration history, arrest records, and sex offender registry status. Broader screenings pull in civil judgments, tax liens, driving records, and professional license verification.10Federal Register. Fair Credit Reporting; Background Screening
What shows up depends entirely on which databases the screening company searches and what the requesting party pays for. A basic county criminal search will miss federal cases; a single-state search will miss convictions from other states. This is actually why free public searches across multiple databases can be more thorough than a cheap paid check that only looks in one place. What you can’t replicate for free is a single comprehensive search that pulls from thousands of county courthouses, all 50 state repositories, and federal databases at once. That’s what professional screening companies sell. If you’re ever asked to pay for your own employment background check, that’s unusual and worth questioning; the requesting organization typically absorbs the cost.
One time limit worth knowing: the FCRA generally prohibits background check companies from reporting non-conviction records older than seven years. Arrests without conviction, dismissed charges, and acquittals fall off after seven years from the date the record was entered. Criminal convictions have no federal time limit and can be reported indefinitely, though some states impose their own limits.10Federal Register. Fair Credit Reporting; Background Screening
Fixing Errors You Find
Errors on criminal records are more common than people expect. Cases that were dismissed still showing as open. Misdemeanors listed as felonies. Records belonging to someone with a similar name attached to your file. If you’re job hunting or apartment shopping, an uncorrected error can cost you an opportunity before you even know about it. Checking your own records proactively is worth the effort.
If your FBI Identity History Summary contains inaccurate or incomplete information, you can submit a written challenge describing what’s wrong and including copies of supporting documentation, such as court orders, expungement records, or certified dispositions.7Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions The FBI will contact the relevant agencies to verify and update the record if warranted.
Most states require that changes to your criminal history go through their state identification bureau before any updates reach the FBI.8Federal Bureau of Investigation. State Identification Bureau Listing You’ll typically need certified documentation from the court where the case was heard, such as an updated disposition or an expungement order, then submit it to the state’s criminal records agency. The process varies, but the pattern is the same everywhere: get the correct paperwork from the court, then send it to the agency that holds the record.
If a third-party background check company reports incorrect information to an employer or landlord, you have a separate FCRA right to dispute the error directly with that company. It must investigate and respond, typically within 30 days. This is different from correcting the underlying court or agency record, and you may need to do both: fix the source record and dispute the inaccuracy with the reporting company.