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Criminal History Record
The reliable way to research criminal history is to identify the record system first, then search the authority that owns it.
Direct answer
Choose the Criminal-History Record Layer
A criminal history record is not one universal document. For your FBI Identity History Summary, use the FBI fingerprint-based process. For a state criminal-history record, use that state’s repository. For a particular federal court case, use PACER; for state/local court files, use the court that maintains the case.
Context
How to interpret criminal history record results
The FBI Identity History Summary is fingerprint-based and is a personal identity-history product, not a general web name search.
This FBI copy is for reviewing, correcting or updating your own record, not for employment or licensing. For those checks, contact the State Identification Bureau for the state requiring the check and follow its specific procedure.
PACER is limited to federal courts. State and local criminal-history repositories and courts remain separate systems.
Source map
Common criminal-history sources
| Record layer | Official route | Useful for | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| FBI Identity History Summary | FBI CJIS | Your fingerprint-based FBI summary | Not a state court file |
| State criminal-history repository | State public-safety/justice agency | State repository history | Scope varies by state law |
| Federal court case | PACER | Federal case and docket information | Federal courts only |
Process
A step-by-step route for criminal history record
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01
Define the decision
Are you checking your own history, a state repository, or a known court case?
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02
Use the record owner
Go to the agency or court that actually maintains the record.
Start the FBI’s online request from the official Identity History Summary page linked in Sources, then follow its fingerprint instructions. Alternatively, mail a signed Applicant Information Form, a current fingerprint card containing rolled and flat impressions of all ten fingers, and the $18-per-person payment to FBI CJIS Division – Summary Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV 26306. The mail route accepts the FBI credit-card payment form, money order or certified check, not cash or personal/business checks.
The mailed response is your FBI summary or a letter stating that no prior arrest data is on file with the FBI. If your summary is inaccurate, use the “request a change or correction” link on that same FBI page to begin an Identity History Summary Challenge. For a state repository or court error, contact that record’s state custodian or court rather than assuming an FBI challenge corrects every system.
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03
Cross-check when stakes are high
If several record systems matter, keep each result labeled with its source and date.
Interpretation
Avoid the “one database” mistake
A criminal-history question can span repository records, arrest data, and court dispositions. A result from one source should not silently be promoted into a conclusion about every other source.
Prepare
What to have ready for criminal history record
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✓
Name variants
List known legal names before starting.
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✓
Date of birth
Use where the official system requests it.
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✓
Fingerprint option
Use when the record product requires positive identity.
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✓
Jurisdiction
Identify the state/court tied to the event.
Related Record Guides
Sources
Authoritative next stops
Official federal source
FBI Identity History Summary Checks
Personal fingerprint-based FBI identity-history review
United States
Official federal judiciary source
PACER - Find a Case
Federal court case search
United States federal courts