OTES Help Center – County Criminal Records
All felony and misdemeanor crimes (which make up the majority of crimes) are tried at local jurisdictions and filed in county courthouses. This makes this search an essential check to include in a background screening program. These records are housed in the 3,200 + counties in the U.S. and contain the most accurate and up-to-date information.
What’s included: all felony and misdemeanor record accessible (not “arrest only” records) including pending cases, convictions, adjudications withheld (during hold period), and active warrants.
What not included: non-criminal records such as traffic violations, infractions, petty (by state statute) crimes, dismissed, and any expunged/erased or deleted records.
Orange Tree’s County Criminal Records Search Process
The search method depends on the county. Some counties do not make their records available electronically, so they must be searched manually at the county courthouse by clerks, a researcher on-site, or using the same repositories as the clerk.
For county records available electronically, the search can be performed online using the same databases utilized by the court clerks.
Understanding County Criminal Records Search Results
This search will provide an overall result and status.
If a record is located the record may include the following information:
- Level of offense
- Disposition
- Age of record
- Identifiers used to match the record to the applicant