Which arrest record search fits your reason for searching
| Why you are searching | Best type of site | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A date, a neighbor or a new partner of a relative | Records service that shows the source of each arrest | One search covers a whole state and you can confirm each record with the agency |
| A family member who may be in jail right now | The county jail roster, then a records service with alerts | Rosters are current to the hour, alerts catch a booking you would miss |
| A court case number and how it ended | The state or county court search, or a records service that pulls dispositions | Only the court holds the outcome |
| Hiring an employee or screening a tenant | An FCRA compliant background screening company | The law requires it, and people search sites are not allowed for this |
| Legal, newsroom or investigative work at volume | A professional records plan with seats and exports | You need many reports a month and a record of where each came from |
Most people searching this phrase sit in the first two rows. That is where the choice between sites actually changes the answer you get.
What makes an arrest record search site worth paying for
Every paid site works from the same families of public records: county jail bookings, sheriff's releases, state court indexes and corrections departments. So judge a site on how it handles those records, not on how many billions of them it claims.
Source on every record. You should see the agency that made the arrest and a way to reach its own page. Without that you are trusting a summary, and summaries mix up people with the same name.
The case outcome. An arrest is not a conviction. Charges may have been dropped, dismissed or resulted in acquittal. A site that shows the booking without the disposition gives you half the story and the scarier half.
Identity details. Age, city and booking date let you tell two people with one name apart.
Coverage you can check. A good site tells you which counties feed it before you pay, so you know whether the county you care about is in.
Terms stated up front. Price, billing period, renewal and how to cancel should be on the plan before checkout. A $1 trial that renews at full price is a common way people end up paying for months they did not plan on.
Legal limits. A site for personal searches must tell you it is not a consumer reporting agency. If it lets you think you can screen a tenant with it, walk away.
Arrest record search sites compared side by side
The competitor prices below come from checkout pages and independent reviews in 2026. They change with promotions, so confirm them before you buy.
| Site | Price | Source shown on each arrest | Case outcome | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MugshotLookup | $34.95 a month, $17.45 a month billed annually | Agency, date and a link to the official page | Shown when the court reports it | Personal checks on arrests and court cases, with alerts |
| BeenVerified | About $30 to $37 a month, about $24 a month on 3 months | Summary report | Where available | Broad lookups including vehicles, in a phone app |
| TruthFinder | About $28 to $30 a month | Summary report | Where available | A long profile with social accounts |
| Instant Checkmate | About $35 to $37 a month | Summary report | Where available | A broad profile and a phone app |
| County jail roster | No charge | It is the source | No, bookings only | Someone you think is in custody in a known county |
| State or county court search | Usually no charge, copies may cost | It is the source | Yes | A known case or a known court |
| GoodHire and other screening companies | Per report | Verified by the screener | Yes | Employment screening under the FCRA |
The large memberships win on breadth: phone apps, vehicle and property reports, social accounts. They lose on the one thing an arrest search is for, which is telling you where a record came from and how it ended. If you already pay one of them, our pages on the BeenVerified alternative, the TruthFinder alternative, the Intelius alternative, the Spokeo alternative and the Instant Checkmate alternative set the terms side by side.
When the free official search is the best arrest record search
Sometimes the best site costs nothing. If you know the county and the arrest is recent, the sheriff's jail roster is the most accurate source there is, because it is the source. If you know the court, its case search shows the charges and the outcome. VINELink, the national victim notification network, shows custody status in most states and can notify you when someone is released.
The free route breaks down in three common cases.
- You do not know the county. The person moved, or you only know the state, so you would be checking dozens of rosters one by one.
- The arrest is older than the roster keeps. Many rosters drop people a few days after release.
- You want to know if anything new happens. Rosters do not watch a name for you.
Our Source Directory links the official roster and court search for every state, so you can start free and pay only when the free route stops working.
Can you use an arrest record search site to screen a tenant or an employee
No. A people search or arrest record site that is not a consumer reporting agency cannot be used for employment, tenant screening, credit or insurance decisions. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires an FCRA compliant screening company, the applicant's written consent and an adverse action notice. The FTC has fined people search companies over exactly this, including the $5.8 million settlement with TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate in 2023.
MugshotLookup is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). You may not use this site or any information from it to make decisions about employment, tenant screening, consumer credit, insurance or any other purpose covered by the FCRA.
Best arrest record search for paralegals, reporters and investigators
Professional searchers need volume, a paper trail and outputs they can file. Our Professional plan costs $49.95 per month on annual billing and includes 1,000 reports a month across 3 seats, PDF and CSV export and monitoring for 100 people. Each record keeps its source link, which is what an editor or a supervising attorney asks for first. When an arrest becomes a case you need to argue, not just confirm, a dedicated tool for legal research in plain English finds the statutes and case law behind the charges. Plans and limits are on the mugshot lookup cost page.
Questions and answers
What is the best website to look up arrest records?
For a personal search across a whole state, a records service that shows the agency, the date and the case outcome on every arrest is best, such as MugshotLookup. For one known county, the sheriff's jail roster is the most accurate free source. For hiring or renting, use an FCRA compliant screening company.
What is the most accurate arrest record search?
The agency that made the arrest and the court that heard the case are the most accurate sources. A paid site is only as accurate as its link back to them. Choose a site that names the source and the date on each record so you can confirm it yourself before acting.
How much does an arrest record search cost?
Official rosters and many court searches cost nothing. Paid records memberships run about $28 to $37 for one month in 2026. MugshotLookup costs $34.95 per month, or $17.45 per month on annual billing, with unlimited searches and arrest alerts on 5 people included.
Do arrest records show if charges were dropped?
Only if the site pulls the court disposition. The booking record itself shows the arrest and the charges at booking, not the outcome. MugshotLookup shows dismissed and dropped charges and acquittals next to the arrest when the court reports them.
Will the person know I looked up their arrest record?
No. Arrest record searches on MugshotLookup and the major people search sites are private, and the person you search is not notified. Official rosters and court searches do not notify anyone either.