Your Records

• 1). Go to a branch of your local law enforcement agency, such as the Sheriff's office, state trooper barracks or city police department. Request a copy of your criminal background. Bring a flash-drive or blank DVD or CD and request that they transfer the records to avoid fees. Each organization has its own policies and procedures, so be sure to comply with their process to expedite your request.
  
  
• 2). Request copies from the state or local agency from Step 1 if you an electronic data storage device is unavailable. Also request any driving infraction records at this time. Some states or jurisdictions refer to the background checks as "person's of interest" checks.
  
  
• 3). Go to the court that handed down the conviction and file a request for your records. You have a legal right to view all records for free. The process may take four to six weeks to get the records. Bring a photo ID and be prepared to fill out the required request forms.
  
  

Other Records

• 1). Go to a local law enforcement agency and request a criminal background check on the individual. Provide name, date of birth and current known address if possible. Provide the modest fee if requested.
  
  
• 2). Do a background address search of the individual using a private investigator, or if you have an old lease or utility bill from the individual, use online people search engines. Gather every known address. Contact law enforcement in each jurisdiction to gather full local criminal or state criminal records.
  
  
• 3). Navigate to Megan's Law sex offender website. Enter the person's name to see if he or she is a registered sex offender. This information is free and is accessible 24-hours a day online.
  
  
• 4). Request arrest records for the individual if any record comes up sealed or expunged. While you may not get the criminal conviction record, it's possibe to find out what they were arrested for and interpolate from that. To request arrest records, find out the jurisdiction of the conviction and follow the specific court's process of locating the arrest record. In addition, arrest records are accessible through US Customs.
  
  
• 5). Navigate to your state's law enforcement or criminal records page. Many states have free online access to public criminal databases. Use consolidation sites that have links to all 50 states and the criminal databases (see Resource.). As a general rule of thumb, you get what you pay for. While many sites offer free public criminal records, the quality may be lower than that of paid sites.