Search Minnesota Arrest Records

Minnesota arrest records are public under state law. You can search them through the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, county sheriff databases, and Minnesota Court Records Online. The BCA keeps a statewide criminal history system and offers a free online name search. Each of the 87 counties also maintains its own jail roster, warrant list, and booking data. This page covers every major tool for finding arrest records in Minnesota, from statewide databases to local sheriff offices.

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is the central repository for criminal records in Minnesota. Set up in 1969 as part of the Department of Public Safety, the BCA keeps the Computerized Criminal History (CCH) system. All adult felony, gross misdemeanor, and targeted misdemeanor arrests must be reported to the BCA by law. Juvenile felony and gross misdemeanor arrests are also required to be reported. Other misdemeanor arrests may be reported at each agency's option. The BCA processes roughly 1.5 million messages daily through the Law Enforcement Message Switch and conducts nearly 700 audits every three years to verify data quality.

The BCA offers free public access to conviction data through its online Criminal History Search. Go to chs.state.mn.us to run a search. You need a first name, last name, and date of birth. The free search shows conviction data, sentence information, and confinement data for 15 years after discharge of sentence. Private data such as fingerprints, arrest records, photographs, and custody data are not part of the free search. Those records are accessible only with the person's written consent on a notarized Informed Consent form.

The BCA is at 1430 Maryland Avenue East, St. Paul, MN 55106. Phone is (651) 793-2400. In-person inspection is free. A printed copy costs $8. Charitable nonprofits pay a reduced rate of $8 with proof of IRS 501(c)(3) status. Mail requests require the Informed Consent form and a $15 fee.

The BCA homepage gives you a starting point for all public safety records in the state.

The BCA at dps.mn.gov manages the state's criminal history database and provides the public search portal.

The public criminal history search lets you look up conviction records by name at no charge.

The search portal at chs.state.mn.us is the state's primary free tool for checking someone's conviction history in Minnesota.

Minnesota Court Records Online

Minnesota Court Records Online, known as MCRO, covers district courts in all 87 counties. You can search by person name, business name, case number, citation number, or attorney bar number. The system shows party names, docket entries, case status, and scheduled hearings. It also has a document search for filed papers and a judgment search for civil debts. Basic case searches are free.

Documents filed on or after July 1, 2015, are available for major and minor criminal cases and civil cases. For older filings from July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2015, the system provides judgments, orders, court-generated notices, and appellate opinions. Some records are restricted from public view. Search warrants, civil commitment documents, domestic abuse case files, harassment case records, and certain juvenile delinquency cases do not appear in the public search. For full case access, visit publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us.

MCRO at publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us gives free access to case status and docket entries from district courts across all of Minnesota.

The MCRO information page at mncourts.gov explains what records are available online and how to get the most from each search type.

More detail on MCRO capabilities is at mncourts.gov/Access-Case-Records/MCRO.aspx.

Minnesota Department of Corrections Offender Search

The Minnesota Department of Corrections runs a free public offender locator for people currently under DOC supervision. Search by name or by MNDOC Offender ID at coms.doc.state.mn.us/publicviewer. Results include offense details, custody status, release date, and supervision location. The database covers people in state prison and those out on supervised release. Newly sentenced individuals may take a few business days to appear.

The DOC is at 1450 Energy Park Drive, Suite 200, Saint Paul, MN 55108. Phone is (651) 361-7200. Send email records requests to co-records.doc@state.mn.us. The DOC also works with the Minnesota Haven custody notification system, which lets you register for alerts when an offender's status changes.

The DOC Offender Locator at coms.doc.state.mn.us is the place to look up people currently in state prison or on supervised release in Minnesota.

Public and Private Arrest Data Under Minnesota Law

Minnesota law sets clear rules on which parts of arrest records are public and which are private. Minn. Stat. § 13.82 is the main law governing law enforcement data. Under that statute, the following information about an arrest is public: time, date, and place of the action; any resistance or pursuit involved; whether weapons were used; the legal basis for the arrest; the name, age, sex, and last known address of the adult; and where the person is being held. This data is open to anyone who asks, at no charge for inspection.

Private data includes fingerprints, photographs, identification information, the full arrest report, and custody and supervision data. Criminal history data under Minn. Stat. § 13.87 is classified as private by default. The exception is conviction data, which becomes public for 15 years after discharge of sentence. Sentence information and confinement data follow the same 15-year rule. Records that are still private can be accessed only with the subject's written consent.

Minn. Stat. § 13.82 at revisor.mn.gov defines what arrest data law enforcement must make available to the public in Minnesota.

Warrant data has its own classification. Under Minn. Stat. § 13.82, subdivision 19, data in arrest warrant indices is confidential until the person is taken into custody, served with the warrant, or appears before the court. Law enforcement can choose to make warrant data public if there is a valid public safety reason to do so.

An arrest record is not the same as a conviction. All people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. An arrest alone does not mean a person committed a crime. Records from the BCA may not include all arrests, since some misdemeanor arrests are optional to report.

Predatory Offender Registry in Minnesota

The BCA maintains the Predatory Offender Registry under Minn. Stat. § 243.166. The registry contains over 29,595 individuals. More than 17,631 of them have active registration requirements. Offenders must register for 10 years or the length of their supervised release, whichever is longer. Some offenses require lifetime registration. Registrants must update their address within five days of any change.

Public access to the registry is limited. Only Level III offenders and non-compliant offenders are listed in the searchable public database. A non-compliant offender is someone who has not registered for 30 or more days. Community notification rules under Minn. Stat. § 244.052 apply to offenders released after January 1, 1997. For questions, contact the BCA Predatory Offender Unit at (651) 793-7070 or toll-free at 1-888-234-1248.

Expungement of Minnesota Arrest Records

Certain arrest records can be destroyed in Minnesota under Minn. Stat. § 299C.11. You may qualify if all charges were dismissed before a probable cause determination. You also qualify if the prosecutor declined to file charges and you did not take part in a diversion program. One more condition applies: you must not have a felony or gross misdemeanor conviction within 10 years before the arrest in question.

To request expungement, send a written request to each agency that holds your record. This means the arresting police department, the county attorney, the county sheriff, and the BCA. Agencies process these requests separately. The Minnesota Judicial Branch has self-help tools and forms for expungement at mncourts.gov/Self-Help.aspx.

For convictions after January 1, 2015, expunged records are removed from public view. Sex offense records generally remain public even after expungement.

VINELink Statewide Inmate Search

VINELink covers all Minnesota counties and lets you check custody status by name or offender ID. Go to vinelink.com or call 1-877-MN-4-VINE (1-877-664-8463) to search. The service also lets you register for custody status alerts. You get a notification when someone is released, transferred, or if their status changes. This is Minnesota's primary victim notification system and works alongside county jail systems across the state.

Remote and In-Person Court Record Access

The Minnesota Public Access Remote system gives subscribers off-site access to court case records. It is designed for legal professionals and other high-volume users who need frequent lookups. Learn more at mncourts.gov/Access-Case-Records/MPA-Remote.aspx. For most people, the free MCRO public search at publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us is sufficient without needing a remote access account.

You can also access court records in person at any Minnesota district courthouse. The court administrator in each county can look up case files, make copies, and help you find older records. The Minnesota State Law Library in St. Paul offers a research workstation and staff to assist with court record research. Visit mn.gov/law-library for more information.

The MPA Remote system at mncourts.gov serves subscribers who need regular access to Minnesota court case data from offsite locations.

Browse Minnesota Arrest Records by County

Each of Minnesota's 87 counties manages its own arrest records through the county Sheriff's Office and local jail. Select a county below to find jail rosters, warrant searches, booking data, and local contact information.

View All 87 Minnesota Counties

Arrest Records in Major Minnesota Cities

Large cities in Minnesota maintain their own police records in addition to county systems. Choose a city below to find local police department contacts, online records portals, and report request forms.

View Major Minnesota Cities