Virginia Arrest Records and Warrant Search

Virginia Freedom of Information Act allows the public to view public records; however, the government imposes some limitations when it comes to Virginia arrest records, warrants and criminal court dockets, which you may require to be able to conduct a background check.  The aim of this article is to show you how you can obtain the necessary documents to inquire about a person's criminal history despite the state's limitations.

Finding Virginia arrest records

The state's police operate the Central Criminal Records Exchange (CCRE), which is a governmental database that stores criminal information from all of the state's law enforcement agencies. Private citizens can refer to it to perform a limited criminal records search that will show only arrests that ended with convictions.  A more detailed search that includes a person's complete incarceration history is only allowed to state and police agencies and to employers that signed an agreement with the state police. A private criminal history search through the CCRE is a bureaucratic process. Searchers are required to fill in a special form called SP-167 (You can be downloaded it here) and send it signed and notarized to the following address: Department of State Police PO. Box 85076 Richmond, VA 23261-5076 You will have to wait approximately 2 weeks for your search results to arrive. Bear in mind that a fee may be included in the service, and as mentioned above, the information you will obtain is only partial. The CCRE also maintains an online search (NCIJ), but it is only accessible to state agencies and official institutions.

Conducting an unlimited arrest search

To obtain full criminal information on the Internet, you will be forced to turn to private sources. usarrestsearch.org puts at your disposal an effective inquiry tool. It displays comprehensive reports that include

• VA arrests
• Prison and jail records
• Virginia warrants and court records
• Civil records

You only need a person's name. The data are accurate and updated. The inquiry process is 100% web based and confidential.

Locating an inmate in the state's prison system

Searchers interested in conducting a Virginia inmate search can turn to the offender locator  maintained by the state's Department of Corrections. Not too many details are presented; they include an inmate's ID number, name, gender, race, release date and exact location.

Finding Virginia Court Records

Dockets issued by the court are relatively easy to acquire. The state offers a Case Status and Information webpage with links to an online case search for each specific court. You can trace a specific civil and/or a criminal case by filling in a name, a case number, hearing data, etc. Take into account that some district court files are not available to the public. These files include cases involving medical emergency, protective orders and temporary detention orders.

Finding sex offenders

Those interested in locating sex offenders in their area are advised to utilize the Virginia sex offender registry (which can be found at the following address). This database enables users to find wanted or incarcerated offenders in a specific zip code which they have to fill in a search box. In addition, a full list of the state's convicted sex felons is presented. The list comes with mugshots and conviction records. This important service is provided as a free service to the public.