Virginia Criminal Record Search

Choose a Virginia history report or a court case search

For a Virginia criminal-history response, use Virginia State Police (VSP). For the docket and documents in a particular prosecution, use the court system and the clerk holding that case. A personal history request, public court search, arrest report, and national fingerprint check are separate services. First obtain the receiving organization’s exact requirement, including whether it needs a certified court document or a particular background-check program.

The judiciary’s current Online Services page offers OCIS 2.0 for adult criminal cases in juvenile and domestic relations district courts, criminal and traffic cases in general district courts, and participating circuit courts. Coverage is not every record in every court. Search by the available name or case identifiers, then retain the locality and court with the result.

Do not assume every SP-167 response has the same scope

The VSP SP-167 instruction PDF says the ordinary request searches Virginia convictions; it directs applicants needing charges, dismissals, and pending charges to attach a completed fingerprint card. The live VSP webpage also describes SP-167 as returning a complete Virginia history. Because those descriptions differ, specify the intended scope and confirm the fingerprint requirement with VSP before relying on a name-only response for non-conviction information.

Read the result marking as well as any attached history. A no-conviction finding does not exclude an arrest record. A response marked as a fingerprint search has a different basis from a name-only result. Keep the request, chosen purpose, and fingerprint-submission details with the response; an omitted category is not proof that an event never occurred.

Generate, print, sign, and notarize the right form

Use the SP-167/SP-230 web-form link from VSP’s official Forms page. SP-167 is the individual/general-public route; SP-230 is for qualifying businesses and agencies. Creating a form online is not completion of the mail submission. Review the generated identifiers, request type, purpose, and return address, then print the form for the required signatures.

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  SP-167 requires the subject’s notarized signature in Section 1. If you request your own record returned to yourself, the instructions require only that section’s notarization.
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  If a different person or agency will receive the result, its receiving individual signs and notarizes Section 2.
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  Attach the fingerprint card when the requested scope requires it, and leave the result-marking area for VSP. Retain a copy of the submitted packet.

Resolve the fee and mailing instructions before posting

VSP’s current FAQ refers to $15 and $20 background-check requests, but the fee depends on the service selected. Use the amount generated for your actual request; do not assume that a fingerprint-taking fee or notary charge is included. VSP separately publishes a fingerprint-taking limit of $10 for the first voluntary non-criminal set and $5 for additional sets.

The SP-167 instructions accept a business check, certified check, or money order payable to Virginia State Police, or the listed card-payment method; they exclude personal checks. The older PDF lists CARE, P.O. Box 85076, Richmond, VA 23285, while the live page lists CARE, 7700 Midlothian Turnpike, N. Chesterfield, VA 23235. Follow the current generated packet or obtain VSP confirmation of the destination before mailing.

Allow processing time; overnight mail is not expedited review

The live page says about 15 business days after receipt and elsewhere gives 15–20 business days. It expressly says there is no same-day or expedited service. Treat these as estimates, allow mail delivery time, and do not interpret overnight postage as priority processing. If the stated period has passed and payment cleared, contact [email protected] with the identifying and submission details requested by VSP.

For a deadline or overseas use, clarify the receiving body’s required format before submitting. A mailed history response is not automatically a certified judgment from a court. Ask the recipient whether its requirement concerns the history search itself, an authentication, or the underlying disposition so you do not wait for the wrong product.

Follow a case reference to the file-owning clerk

Virginia court guidance permits criminal-case research by name, case number, or hearing date where the relevant system supports it. Some courts use their own systems. If a statewide search gives no useful result, locate the actual court and ask its clerk about the case and public access. Save the docket reference before requesting the judgment, dismissal, sentencing order, or certified copy.

Ask the clerk for the document’s copy and certification charges and available delivery method. Those are court-document services, separate from VSP’s search charge. An index or calendar identifies a proceeding; the filed order establishes what the court recorded. Restricted or juvenile information may not be publicly available, and a pending charge is not a conviction.

Send an error to the agency that can correct it

VSP directs people disputing incorrect history to the arresting agency. Its biometric-records guidance says criminal-history modifications and corrections must be submitted by that agency using SP-327. Identify the wrong name, event, charge, or outcome and supply supporting court paperwork when available; do not edit a downloaded response and present it as an official correction.

For an applicant-result question use [email protected]. For a mistake in a court docket or missing disposition, contact that court’s clerk as well, retaining the case number and the order supporting the discrepancy. Keep the issue unresolved until the responsible source confirms the corrected record.