Minnesota Criminal Records

This guide explains how to find Minnesota criminal records, arrest records, court records, inmate information, and the public predatory offender registry, and how Minnesota's background-check and record-clearing laws work. It was last reviewed in June 2026 using official Minnesota sources maintained by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the Minnesota Judicial Branch, and the Minnesota Department of Corrections. You can also start a name search using the tool on this page.

Are criminal records public in Minnesota?

Conviction data held by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is partially public. The BCA's Criminal History System (CHS) makes conviction information publicly searchable online for 15 years after the completion of any sentence. The public record shows the offense, date of offense, court of conviction, date of conviction, sentence, conviction level, and probation agency or place of confinement. Arrest history that did not lead to a conviction is not included in the public search. Records older than 15 years and juvenile history are not visible to the general public through the online system.

How do I look up a criminal record in Minnesota?

There are three realistic options:

• BCA public online search. The Minnesota Criminal History System at chs.state.mn.us is a free public search covering convictions within the past 15 years. No account is required. You can search by name and date of birth.
• Court records through MCRO. Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) provides free public access to district court case records statewide by name, case number, or attorney. MCRO covers criminal, civil, and probate cases; it does not show domestic abuse, harassment, child protection, or juvenile delinquency cases.
• A people-search tool like the one on this page, which compiles public-record data from many sources into one report. These tools are for personal knowledge only and are not a substitute for an official record or an FCRA-compliant background check.

If you need a complete, fingerprint-verified record - for example to review your own history - you can submit a request directly to the BCA. The BCA criminal history information page describes how to request a full background check with proper authorization.

Where can I look up arrest records in Minnesota?

Arrest records are kept by the law enforcement agency that made the arrest - a city police department or county sheriff. The BCA's public CHS search does not show arrests that did not lead to a conviction. For recent bookings, many county sheriff offices publish an online jail roster showing who is currently in custody. Remember that an arrest is not proof of guilt: it records only that someone was taken into custody, not that they were convicted.

How do I find court records in Minnesota?

Minnesota has a unified court system, and almost all criminal court records are accessible statewide through Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO). MCRO is free to use and lets you search by person name, business name, case number, or citation number. It includes the register of actions and public documents filed on or after July 1, 2015. Older records or sealed case types may require contacting the clerk at the courthouse where the case was filed. Each Minnesota district court also maintains public-access terminals at its location for searching statewide records in person.

How do I look up warrants in Minnesota?

Warrants are issued by district courts and tracked in the court system. The most reliable way to check is through MCRO - a case search under a person's name will show open cases including any bench warrants that are part of a public case. For Hennepin County specifically, you can contact the criminal warrant helpline at (612) 540-6485. Some county sheriffs also publish active warrant lists on their websites. The issuing court or the county sheriff is always the authoritative source on whether a warrant is active.

Do arrests show up on background checks in Minnesota?

For employment background checks, Minnesota law under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (Chapter 363A) and Chapter 364 requires employers to focus on convictions, not mere arrests. Employers cannot use an arrest record that did not result in a conviction as an automatic disqualifier. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a consumer reporting agency may report conviction records; arrests not resulting in convictions are generally not reportable. If a record has been expunged or sealed under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 609A, it cannot be reported on a background check.

How far back does a background check go in Minnesota?

Minnesota does not impose a state-specific time limit on how far back an employer or background-check company can report a criminal conviction. The federal FCRA has a seven-year limit on reporting convictions for jobs paying under $75,000 per year, but Minnesota has no equivalent cap of its own. In practice, convictions can appear on Minnesota background checks indefinitely unless they have been expunged. Minnesota's Chapter 364 does require employers to conduct an individualized assessment and show a direct relationship between the offense and the job before using a conviction that is more than seven years old to deny employment.

Can employers ask about criminal history before a job offer in Minnesota?

Minnesota's "ban the box" law (Minnesota Statutes section 364.021) prohibits most private employers from asking about criminal history on a job application or during an initial interview. Employers must wait until the applicant has been selected for an interview or a conditional job offer has been extended before inquiring about criminal records. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights enforces this rule; violations can result in fines. Certain jobs - such as school staff, home health workers, and direct-care positions - are exempt because state or federal law requires a background check for those roles.

How do I find someone in jail or prison in Minnesota?

It depends on where the person is held:

• State prison. The Minnesota Department of Corrections maintains a free public Offender Locator at coms.doc.state.mn.us. You can search by name or six-digit MNDOC Offender ID and see the person's facility, sentence, and expected release date. It may take several business days for a newly sentenced person to appear.
• County jail. People awaiting trial or serving shorter sentences are held in a county jail. Check the sheriff's website for the county where the person was arrested for a jail roster or inmate search.
• Federal custody. For federal cases, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator at bop.gov.

How do I find out if someone is on probation or parole in Minnesota?

Supervised release (parole) from a state prison sentence is managed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections. A person's supervision status may be visible in the DOC Offender Locator. Probation for most felony and gross misdemeanor convictions is supervised by the county Community Corrections department where the person was convicted. Probation lets a person serve a sentence in the community under court-imposed conditions - such as regular check-ins, drug testing, or no-contact orders - instead of in prison.

What are the crime levels in Minnesota?

Minnesota uses four offense levels, defined in Minnesota Statutes section 609.02:

• Petty misdemeanor - not classified as a crime; maximum $300 fine, no jail time, no criminal record. Most routine traffic citations fall here.
• Misdemeanor - maximum 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
• Gross misdemeanor - maximum one year in jail and/or a $3,000 fine.
• Felony - sentence of one year or more; served in state prison (or county jail for lower-level felonies). Conviction of a felony forfeits the right to possess firearms under Minnesota law.

Minnesota felony sentences are guided by the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, which assigns each felony offense a severity level and places it on a sentencing grid. The grid recommends a sentence length based on the offense severity and the defendant's criminal history score.

Are traffic violations criminal in Minnesota?

Most routine traffic violations in Minnesota are petty misdemeanors under Minnesota Statutes section 169.89. A petty misdemeanor is explicitly defined as "not a crime" in Minnesota law and carries only a fine of up to $300 - no jail time, no criminal record. More serious driving offenses, such as DUI/DWI or reckless driving, are charged as misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, or felonies depending on the circumstances, and do create a criminal record.

Is the sex offender registry public in Minnesota?

Minnesota calls its registry the Predatory Offender Registry (POR) and uses a three-level risk system. The Minnesota Department of Corrections manages community notification and maintains a public Predatory Offender public search for Level 3 offenders (the highest risk) and others who are subject to public notification. Level 1 (lowest risk) registrants are generally not disclosed to the public. Level 2 registrants may be disclosed to certain organizations or neighborhoods on a case-by-case basis. The BCA also maintains information on non-compliant registrants.

Can a sex offender be removed from the Minnesota registry?

Most registrants must remain on the Minnesota Predatory Offender Registry for at least 10 years from initial registration or from the end of their probation or supervised release, whichever is longer. Certain serious offenses - including first-degree criminal sexual conduct and cases involving civil commitment - require lifetime registration. After completing the minimum registration period, eligible registrants may petition the district court to be relieved of registration requirements under Minnesota Statutes section 243.166. The court considers factors including the absence of new offenses, completion of treatment, and risk to public safety. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reviews the petition before any hearing.

How do I clear or seal my record in Minnesota?

Minnesota calls this process expungement. Since January 1, 2025, the Clean Slate Act (Minnesota Statutes section 609A.015) has been automatically expunging eligible records without any petition from the individual. By mid-2026 the BCA had automatically expunged over 1.5 million eligible records. Waiting periods for automatic expungement after discharge of the sentence are:

• Petty misdemeanor: 2 years
• Misdemeanor: 2 years
• Gross misdemeanor: 3 years
• Felony (controlled substance): 4 years
• Other felonies: 5 years

Some records are not eligible for automatic expungement - including convictions requiring sex offender registration, certain violent offenses, and cases that are still in the court review process. For those, petition-based expungement under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 609A remains available. A petition requires filing with the court, serving notice on prosecutors and agencies, and a hearing where the court weighs benefits against public safety concerns. Once granted, an expungement seals the record from public view and cannot be reported on most background checks.

Do I need a lawyer to expunge my record in Minnesota?

You do not need a lawyer if your record qualifies for automatic expungement under the Clean Slate Act - the BCA handles it without any action on your part. For petition-based expungement, you are not required to have an attorney, but the eligibility rules under Chapter 609A are detailed, notice and hearing deadlines must be met, and a procedural error can cost you the opportunity. Many people use an attorney or a free legal-aid clinic - especially for felony convictions or older cases where the benefit-versus-public-safety standard is harder to meet.

How long does a felony stay on your record in Minnesota?

A Minnesota felony conviction stays on your record permanently unless it is expunged under Chapter 609A or the Clean Slate Act. The BCA's public online criminal history search shows convictions for 15 years after sentence completion, but the underlying record in the court system does not disappear after that window - it is simply no longer in the public BCA search. Expungement seals the record from public access; it does not physically destroy it, and law enforcement can still access sealed records in certain circumstances.

Are juvenile records private in Minnesota?

Juvenile delinquency records are generally confidential and are not available to the public or most background-check companies. Under Minnesota Statutes section 260B.171, the BCA retains juvenile history data on a person who was found to have committed a felony- or gross misdemeanor-level offense until that person reaches age 28, at which point the data must be destroyed - unless the person has committed a felony as an adult, in which case the data is retained longer. Juvenile records are also excluded from the MCRO public online search. Most juvenile records can be sealed or are subject to the Clean Slate Act automatic expungement provisions once the person reaches adulthood.

Hennepin County criminal records

Hennepin County is Minnesota's most populous county, home to roughly 1.27 million residents and the city of Minneapolis, and its District Court is the busiest in the state. Criminal case records for Hennepin County are publicly searchable through statewide Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) at no charge. MCRO covers conviction and post-conviction case history but excludes pre-conviction criminal and traffic data and party street addresses per Minnesota public-access rules - for pre-conviction records or certified copies you must contact the court directly. The Hennepin County District Court Records Center is located at the Skyway Level of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis; plain copies are free at the public terminals and certified copies cost $14 each. You can also call the clerk at (612) 348-6000. For warrant information, the Hennepin County criminal warrant helpline is (612) 540-6485. More information is available at the Hennepin County criminal court records page.

Official Minnesota criminal record sources

• Minnesota BCA Criminal History System (CHS) - free public search of conviction data for the past 15 years.
• BCA criminal history information (DPS) - how to request a complete fingerprint-based background check and full record details.
• Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) - free statewide district court case search by name or case number.
• Minnesota DOC Offender Locator - find a person currently in Minnesota state prison by name or MNDOC Offender ID.
• Minnesota Predatory Offender public search (DOC) - public registry search for Level 3 and publicly notified sex offenders.
• Minnesota Statutes Chapter 609A - the full expungement statute including Clean Slate automatic provisions and petition-based relief.
• Minnesota Department of Human Rights - criminal background guidance - ban the box rules and employer obligations under Chapter 364.
• Hennepin County District Court criminal records page - how to access records for Minnesota's most populous county.

Disclosure: criminal.com may earn a commission when you use the people-search tool on this page, which is powered by a third-party background-check service. Results from such tools are for your personal knowledge only and may not be used to make decisions about employment, housing, credit, tenant screening, or any other purpose covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). An arrest record is not proof of guilt. This page is general information about Minnesota public records, not legal advice; for advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney. Information was last reviewed in June 2026 and laws may change.