Are Mugshots Public Record? Questions and Answers

In most states, yes. A booking photo is part of the arrest record that a sheriff or police department creates, and most state public records laws treat it as open to the public. Some states restrict the release or the commercial publication of booking photos, and federal booking photos are generally not released. The rule for each state is on its page in the Source Directory.

Yes, in general. Arrest and booking records are created by government agencies and are open under state public records laws, with exceptions for juvenile records, sealed and expunged records, and records tied to an active investigation. Court records of the case that follows are public as well, unless a court seals them.

Because their law says so. Some states limit when a law enforcement agency may release or post a booking photo, and some restrict publishing booking photos for profit or charging a fee to take them down. Where a state restricts commercial display, MugshotLookup reports for that state carry no photos.

Yes. Arrest, booking and court records are public records in the United States, and anyone may search them. What you may do with them is limited. You may not use MugshotLookup for employment, tenant screening, credit or insurance decisions. See the FCRA notice.

No. An arrest is not a conviction. Charges may have been dropped, dismissed or resulted in acquittal. Reports show the outcome of a case when the source reports one.

A booking record stays public for as long as the agency keeps it and no court seals or expunges it. Many sheriff's sites show only current inmates or recent bookings, while the underlying record remains available on request. If a record is expunged or sealed, tell us on the opt-out page and we suppress it for free.

An arrest record shows that a person was taken into custody and booked. A criminal record, in the usual sense, shows convictions. Many arrests never lead to a conviction, which is why reports show the disposition of a case when the source reports one.

Yes. A name and a state are enough to start. A city narrows the search to one county, which matters for common names. Two people can share a name, so compare the age, the county and the dates on a record before you conclude it is the person you mean.

Records come from licensed public records providers and from official open data published by agencies and courts. Each record lists its source, its jurisdiction and its date, so you can check it against the original.

Only where state law allows commercial display and the source provides the photo. Some states restrict the release or publication of booking photos, and reports for those states carry no photos. The page of each state in the Source Directory explains the rule.

No service does. Each county decides what it publishes and for how long. The Source Directory lists the official sources we have verified for each state, with the date we verified them, so you can see what is covered.

No. MugshotLookup is a private service and is not affiliated with any government agency. The official site of each agency is linked from the source rows on our pages.

No. Searches are private. The person you search is not notified, and your searches are not shown to other users.

For searches made without an account we keep a keyed hash of the search, the state and a hashed network address, only to enforce abuse limits. The Privacy Policy explains what we keep for accounts.

Repeated searching for one person can be a sign of stalking or harassment. We throttle and block repeated and bulk searches, and we close accounts that use the service to harass anyone.

Yes. Mark your request as a priority request on the opt-out page. We handle priority requests within 24 hours, with no fee and no documents required to start.

No. MugshotLookup is not a consumer reporting agency, and its reports may not be used for hiring, renting, credit, insurance or any other purpose covered by the FCRA. Those decisions require a consumer reporting agency that follows the FCRA.

Unlimited is $34.95 per month, or $17.45 per month billed as $209.40 per year. Plans renew automatically until you cancel. You cancel online in one click, and we confirm the cancellation by email. See pricing.

No. There is no trial that converts into a paid plan. You see the price, the billing period and the renewal terms before you pay, and you agree to them with a box that is never checked for you.

Every account includes one free report on one person. If you need more, choose the monthly Unlimited plan at $34.95 and cancel online in one click, with access to the end of the month you paid for. There is no separate one time payment.

Memberships are paid by card. The price, the billing period and the renewal terms are shown before you pay.

Monitoring sends you an email when a new public record appears for a person you follow. Unlimited covers 5 people, Plus 25 and Professional 100.

Use the opt-out page. Removal, suppression and correction are free. We handle standard requests within 72 hours and priority requests, for people at risk, within 24 hours.

Write to support@mugshotlookup.com. We answer by email.