Federal criminal records, searchable from a name
The federal district courts are their own world — the one place fraud, interstate and tax cases live, and the one layer no county or state search reaches. The beta is bringing it into the same one-search experience.
Not callable yet. Live today: the sex offender registry search — 100% US coverage, continuously updated.
What makes the federal layer different
A separate court system entirely
Ninety-four federal district courts hear the cases that federal law reserves to them. A defendant can have a spotless county and state history and a federal conviction — and only a federal search will ever say so.
The offenses that live here
Wire and securities fraud, tax offenses, interstate crimes, offenses on federal property: the categories that matter most in financial and fiduciary screening are precisely the ones filed federally.
Research that fights you
Federal case lookup today means per-document fees, per-page metering and a search interface built for lawyers with case numbers — not for a screening team that starts from a name.
Who needs the federal layer
Financial services screening for fraud history. Fiduciary and executive hires. Marketplaces moving money between strangers. Anywhere the risk being screened for is exactly the kind of offense that gets prosecuted federally — a check without this layer is quiet in the one place it most needs to speak. The beta pairs it with the county and state layers so one search answers across all three.
- Name-first search, not case-number-first research
- Records cited to the district court that holds them
- One schema across federal, state and county results
- API and dashboard, same as the live registry search
Screening for fraud or fiduciary risk? Join the beta and tell us your flow.
Federal records FAQ
Can I search federal criminal records here today?
Not yet — the federal layer is part of the criminal records beta, in active development. Live today is the sex offender registry search: 100% US coverage, continuously updated, with a full API and a no-code dashboard.
What counts as a federal criminal record?
A case prosecuted in a US district court under federal law — fraud, tax, interstate and similar offenses — carrying the docket, charges, disposition and sentence. It is held by the federal judiciary, entirely apart from the state and county systems.
Why would a state or county search miss it?
Because the record was never theirs. State repositories reflect state prosecutions; county indexes reflect county filings. A purely federal case appears in neither, which is why serious screening reads all three layers.
What will the beta deliver?
Name-first search across federal criminal cases, returned in the same cited, consistent schema the registry API uses today — from a single call, or from the dashboard without code. Scope and order follow demand from the beta list.
Is this a consumer report?
No. Offendersearch is not a consumer reporting agency and results are not a consumer report. FCRA-covered decisions need appropriate process on your side — the same terms that govern every other endpoint.
More of the criminal beta
Criminal Records API
The hub: county, state and federal criminal records behind one search — the way the offender registry works today.
Criminal Background Check API
Screening-shaped: run a criminal check inside your hiring, tenancy or marketplace flow when the beta opens.
County Criminal Records
The courthouse layer — where most criminal cases actually live, spread across thousands of county courts.
Statewide Criminal Search
One search per state instead of a patchwork of portals — and every state at once when the beta opens.