California Arrest Records Available Online

In today’s world, it pays to do your homework. In this case, it pays to carry out a background check. A background check has many uses. In fact, one can use it to check on the history of a possible employee or to check if the arrest made during one’s juvenile days can be sealed and destroyed. Doing a background check on a possible nanny can ensure that one will not be hiring a registered sex offender. It is therefore important to get a person’s record; however, the State of California Arrest records are restricted and one can only get one’s own criminal records. With that said, one can get criminal records that have already received convictions from the court or those that have been made public records. More often than not, records that are restricted are those records of domestic violence in nature, probation/arrest reports, records that contain the contact information of the victim and those records that are still pending litigation. 
For those interested to see their own records, residents can request a background check to be made for them by the Department of Justice. The person requesting the report should download a form made available by the Office in its website, go to a Live Scan center to have their fingerprints taken and submit these to the DOJ. Fingerprint agencies are usually located in one’s local law enforcement such as the sheriff’s office or one of the designated fingerprint agencies.
For out-of-state residents, they have to download a different request form, contact the nearest fingerprint agency, attach a $25 processing fee and mail their request to the Department of Justice Record Review Unit. The Office only accepts checks and money orders drawn from a US bank. Other payment types are not accepted and will cause the request to be returned. The State restricts government agencies from charging the person requesting the records more than the amount specified by the law. However, fingerprint agencies can charge the person for rolling out fees. 
To search for public criminal records, one should include the case number and other details in their request. They can visit the DOJ, Superior Court or the Clerk of the County where the case was filed. In the event that the case number is unknown, they can look for the records at the Superior Court’s criminal case index. They also have the option to visit or mail the Clerk of the County for their request copies. The Office does charge for record searches that would last for more than 10 minutes. Fees and other charges may also apply.
One other way that makes the criminal records search easy is to avail of the services of commercial public search sites or third party sites that offer searches free or for a nominal fee. One can make arrests search, registered sex offenders search and background checks in the convenience of their own offices or homes. This is the best way to utilize the power of the internet while saving one’s time and energy.