Criminal History Record Search

How Can I Find a Person’s Criminal History in New York State?

The easiest and most direct way is to contact the New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) which provides a New York Statewide criminal history record search (CHRS) for a fee of $65.00. Unfortunately, the search criteria is strictly based on the exact match of a person’s name and date of birth. If you get the name wrong or do not have a valid DOB you will not get a result. The search results are based upon public records relating to open/pending and convictions of criminal cases originating from the County, Supreme, City, Town and Village courts of all 62 counties. Sealed records will not be disclosed. Additionally, disclosure of Town & Village criminal records is presently limited. It should be noted that the results of this process are NOT certified and should not be confused with a "Certificate of Disposition" which can only be issued by a court.

The procedure to obtain a CHRS from OCA is as follows:

Complete the Criminal History Record Search (CHRS) Application Form. Indicate name, address, and phone number of the person or company submitting the form. Include the individual’s full name and date of birth you want searched. Applications with unclear or omitted information will be rejected. Each alias and each date of birth is counted as an additional search.

The fee for the search is $65.00. Checks or money orders should be made payable to the N.Y.S. Office of Court Administration. Cash will not be accepted. Applications may be mailed to, or filed in person weekdays 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at:

NYS Office of Court Administration
Office of Administrative Services
Criminal History Record Search
25 Beaver Street - Room 840 - Front Desk
New York, NY 10004

The following are other methods of obtaining of obtaining a Criminal History. These methods while giving more precise information are only available to the person who is the subject of the inquiry as they involve the use of fingerprints.

To obtain a copy of your Criminal History Report (rap sheet) report to one of the following:

Legal Action Center, 225 Varick Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY, 10014, (212) 243-1313. Appointments to get copies of Criminal History Reports (rap sheets) can be made Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m. They do not take walk-in's. You must make an appointment with the Rap Sheet Coordinator.

Police Headquarters, 1 Police Plaza, New York, NY and request an "Albany Package". At Police Headquarters you will be fingerprinted. There is a fee of $15.00 (money orders only) for fingerprinting. It is the responsibility of the person requesting the Criminal History Report (rap sheet) to send the fingerprints, the form provided in the "Albany Package", and a money order for the processing fee to Albany.

Here is the link to the New York State Web site that discusses in detail the procedures for obtaining your rap sheet.

Please note that if you believe that there is an outstanding warrant, it would be a good idea for you to clear that warrant up before you actually go to police headquarters for the purpose of running your fingerprints.

Finally, you may obtain a copy of your rap sheet from the FBI by sending a Freedom of Information Act request to:

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Identification Division
Recording Section
9th and Pennsylvania Ave, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20537

Your request to the FBI should include your name, address, place of birth and a complete set of fingerprints.