Butte County Criminal Records

Criminal records in Butte County are maintained by the Superior Court in Oroville and the Butte County Sheriff's Office. The county sits in Northern California's Sacramento Valley and includes the cities of Chico, Oroville, Paradise, and Gridley. Court case data can be searched through the Tyler Technologies portal. The sheriff publishes booking logs on its website. State-level criminal history records are managed by the California DOJ through its Live Scan fingerprint system. Butte County is home to Chico State University and has a mix of urban and rural communities, all served by the same court and sheriff systems for criminal records.

Butte County Court Case Records

The Butte County Superior Court uses a Tyler Technologies portal for online case access at portal-cabutte.tylertech.cloud. This is the same platform used by several other California counties. You can look up criminal cases by defendant name or case number. The portal shows case type, charges, filing dates, and hearing schedules. Both felony and misdemeanor cases from across Butte County are in the system.

The Tyler Technologies portal gives you a starting point for research. Enter a name and select the criminal case category to filter results. Once you find a case, you can view the register of actions, which lists every filing and court event in the case. This is a useful tool for getting basic case information without a trip to the courthouse.

The main courthouse is at 1 Court Street in Oroville. Call the court clerk at (530) 532-7013 for help with criminal records. Copies cost 50 cents per page. Certified copies cost $40. Name searches that take the clerk more than 10 minutes come with a $15 fee. You can visit the courthouse in person to request copies or view case files during regular business hours.

Butte County also holds court sessions in Chico at the North Butte County Courthouse. Criminal cases from both the Oroville and Chico courthouses are searchable through the same online portal, so you do not need to know which location handled the case.

Butte County Sheriff Booking Logs

The Butte County Sheriff's Office publishes booking logs on its website at buttecounty.net. These logs show recent arrests and bookings at the Butte County Jail. You can view the name, charges, and booking date for each person processed into the jail. This is the primary way to check recent arrest activity in Butte County online.

The Butte County Jail is located in Oroville. All adult arrests in the county go through this facility, whether the arrest happened in Chico, Oroville, Paradise, or the unincorporated areas. The sheriff's office can be reached at (530) 538-7471 for questions about booking records or inmate status.

The booking logs are not a full inmate search tool. They show recent bookings but may not reflect current custody status for everyone. If someone has been released, transferred, or bailed out, the log entry still shows the original booking but may not indicate the release. For state prison inmates who were originally sentenced in Butte County, use the CDCR's CIRIS inmate search tool.

Note: Booking logs are updated periodically. There can be a lag between an arrest and when the booking appears online, especially during busy periods or after hours.

State Criminal Records for Butte County

The California DOJ maintains the statewide criminal record database. It is separate from local court and sheriff records. Anyone in Butte County can request their own RAP sheet by visiting a Live Scan location and paying the $25 DOJ processing fee. Live Scan providers operate in Chico, Oroville, and surrounding areas. Use the DOJ Live Scan locator to find one near you. Results usually come back within 48 to 72 hours when no criminal record is on file.

Employers and licensing agencies in Butte County that need background checks go through the DOJ. They must have state authorization to run a check. You can track a pending background check at applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov with your ATI number and date of birth. The DOJ does not expedite requests, so allow a few days or more for results.

Butte County residents can search the California sex offender registry at meganslaw.ca.gov. The registry is searchable by name or address. Chico, being the largest city in the county, tends to have the most entries. The registry is managed by the DOJ under Penal Code Section 290.46 and shows different levels of information depending on the offender's registration category.

Clearing Criminal Records in Butte County

California law provides ways to clean up a criminal record. Penal Code Section 1203.4 is the most common option. If you completed probation, you can petition the Butte County Superior Court to dismiss your conviction. The record stays on your RAP sheet but is marked as dismissed. This helps with employment and housing applications. Many people in Butte County use this process each year to move past old convictions.

Arrest records that did not end in a conviction can be sealed under Penal Code Section 851.87. You do not need to prove innocence for this. Proposition 47 lets people petition to reduce certain nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors. Proposition 64 covers old marijuana convictions. Legal Services of Northern California serves the Butte County area and may be able to help with petitions for people who qualify for free legal assistance. The Butte County Public Defender's office is another resource for information about record clearing options.

How to Get Butte County Criminal Records

Criminal records in Butte County are held by several different agencies. The method for getting records depends on what kind of record you are after. Court filings, booking logs, police reports, and statewide criminal history all come from separate sources.

• Search the Tyler Technologies court portal for case numbers and details
• Visit the clerk's office at 1 Court Street in Oroville for full case files
• Copies are 50 cents per page; certified copies run $40
• Check the sheriff's booking logs for recent arrest records
• Request your own RAP sheet through Live Scan at a local provider

For police reports, contact the law enforcement agency that handled the case. Chico PD covers the city of Chico. Oroville PD handles Oroville. Paradise PD covers Paradise. The Butte County Sheriff covers unincorporated areas and some smaller communities. Each department has its own records unit and request process. If you are not sure which agency handled a case, the booking log or court record may tell you the arresting agency.

Note: Court records and police reports are two different things held by two different agencies. A court record tracks the legal case through the system. A police report describes the investigation. You may need to contact both the court and the arresting agency to get a complete picture.

Nearby Counties

Butte County borders several other Northern California counties. Check these pages for criminal records from neighboring jurisdictions.