Address Trace

• Focus your search on as few jurisdictions as possible; no public-accessible nationwide database of criminal case information exists. ( Only law enforcement agencies can access the Department of Justice database.) Start by performing an address trace on your search subject to determine where he resided for the past 10 years. Several commercial sites, such as Experian and Merlin Information Services, will provide this information for a fee.
  
  

Federal and State Jurisdictions

• Your search subject's current address and each prior address during the past 10 years will appear within two overlapping jurisdictions for criminal records: a "county" for state criminal case records and a "district court" for federal criminal records. The address trace information will usually provide the address' county. If not, check the National Association of Counties' free online service that allows you to locate the county for any address in the country. Find the corresponding federal district court by checking the government website U.S. Courts. (See References section.)
  
  

Online Database Searches---Government Sites

• To search state criminal case records for your subject, start by locating the state court website for each county. Some counties will offer a searchable database of criminal case information, while most will not; whether you can perform the search for free or have to pay a small fee will depend on the county. Search for federal criminal case information for all district courts on the court's public access to court electronic records (PACER) website (see References section), which will require registering for an account and paying a generally reasonable access fee.
  
  

Online Database Searches---Commercial

• Many online commercial websites provide a database of publicly available information. While these companies amass a significant amount of information, the amount of information available to them regarding state criminal case records remains rather small and may not provide much help to you. For example, if your search subject resided in Maricopa County, Ariz., for the past 10 years, a company providing a search of nationwide criminal case records will be of no use to you because the state court in Maricopa County (like most counties) does not sell its records to database aggregators. If you choose to use a commercial database aggregator, verify that it has records for your counties before paying for a search.
  
  

On-site Record Search

• Perform an on-site search at the county courthouse---the only way to search state court criminal case records not available online. If you cannot go to the courthouse to perform the search, find the local company designated by the county that will provide this service for a fee.