US Federal Criminal Records Search

Use PACER for federal prosecutions

PACER provides public federal court case information. Search the federal district or appellate court directly when you know it; otherwise use the nationwide PACER Case Locator to identify the court and case number. State prosecutions belong to state courts. A personal FBI Identity History Summary is a fingerprint-based history product that can include agency submissions beyond federal prosecutions, so it is not a substitute for a federal case index.

PACER requires registration for an account and is available around the clock. Before opening documents, identify the purpose: finding a pending case, reading an indictment, establishing the judgment, or obtaining a certified copy. These questions may require different docket entries or a request to the clerk.

Narrow the result before paying for documents

1. Use the known court and full case number when possible; otherwise narrow a Case Locator party search with the information you actually know.
2. Record the court, case number, party name, case type, and filing or closing dates. Do not treat a civil or bankruptcy hit as a criminal prosecution.
3. Read the docket description and date to identify the needed charging document, order, judgment, or appeal. Open the relevant filing rather than every document in the case.
4. Save the downloaded filing together with the docket entry number and retrieval date so a later researcher can return to the same record.

A common name may produce several people’s cases. Personal identifiers are limited or redacted in public records, so a name-only match may remain uncertain. Do not fill a missing birth date or other identifier with an assumption. Contact the court when the available public information cannot resolve the record you need.

Budget for searches as well as files

Electronic access costs $0.10 per billable page. Most individual documents and case-specific docket reports are capped at $3; transcripts, name searches, and non-case-specific reports are not covered by that cap. A no-match search can still cost $0.10. Viewing creates the charge, even if you never print the result. Review the displayed billable pages before accepting access to a document.

Charges of $30 or less in a calendar quarter are waived. Court opinions are free, and viewing case information at a federal courthouse is free, although obtaining copies is separate. Searching a known case number and limiting docket dates helps avoid unnecessary charges. Save what you buy so you do not repeatedly open the same long report.

Expect public-access gaps and redactions

PACER displays public case summaries, docket entries, and available documents. Personal information such as full Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, minors’ names, birth dates, and criminal-case home addresses is redacted. A public search is not permission to access protected filings or proof that nothing else exists in the file.

Transcripts may be inspected at the clerk’s office before public PACER availability and ordinarily appear in PACER 90 days after production; the normal $3 document cap does not apply. If an older filing or a document image is missing, contact the court with the docket number and entry description instead of interpreting a broken or absent image as a dismissal.

Request certified or archived material from the custodian

For a certified judgment, additional case information, or a document not online, contact the clerk of the federal court where the case was filed. Identify the exact entry and ask for the copy/certification charge, delivery method, and current processing estimate. PACER’s electronic access price is not the clerk’s certification fee.

Closed criminal case files stored at National Archives Federal Records Centers can be ordered through Order Reproductions, then Court Records and Criminal, or the criminal-case request form. NARA warns that some fees printed on forms have changed, so use its current reproduction schedule. Federal Records Centers no longer offer public on-site case-file review; the court can advise whether it must retrieve the stored record.

If the actual requirement is your own FBI history

The FBI personal-review route costs $18 per person and requires current fingerprints. Start the electronic request through the FBI’s linked eDO portal, submit by mail, or use an approved channeler. This is for reviewing, correcting, or updating your own history; the FBI says these personal summaries are not the employment/licensing product. Ask the requesting state identification bureau about that separate requirement.

For a direct mailed request, send the signed applicant form, fingerprint card, and permitted $18 payment to FBI CJIS Division – Summary Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV 26306. The FBI currently lists online processing within 48 hours after participating USPS electronic fingerprints, about ten days after mailed prints, and mail requests up to 15 days, plus postal delivery. There is no paid faster service.

Keep an unresolved match or error visible

For a PACER account or search problem, contact the Service Center at 800-676-6856 or [email protected]. For incorrect case information, direct the question to the file-owning court and identify the docket entry. A history record and a judicial finding should remain attributed to their respective issuing sources.

If your FBI summary is inaccurate, use the FBI’s separate history-challenge process, supplying the disputed event and supporting disposition. Neither editing a saved PDF nor finding a similarly named case corrects the official record. Keep the source response and any later correction together.