Access Contra Costa County Criminal Records

Criminal records in Contra Costa County are maintained by the Superior Court and the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office. The county has over 1.1 million residents and is part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Martinez is the county seat. The court runs an online portal built on the Tyler Technologies Odyssey system, where you can look up criminal cases by name or number. The sheriff handles jail records and runs a custody facility where you can search for current inmates. Between these two agencies, most criminal record needs in Contra Costa County can be met without traveling to the courthouse, though some document requests still require an in-person visit.

Contra Costa Court Criminal Case Portal

The Contra Costa Superior Court operates a public portal at odyportal.cc-courts.org. This Tyler Odyssey system lets you search criminal cases by defendant name, case number, or date. Results include case type, charges, filing date, hearing schedule, and current status. The portal covers criminal, traffic, civil, and family cases. You can use it for free without creating an account, though registered users may have access to more features.

The Contra Costa County Superior Court's public portal is shown here, where you can search for criminal case records.

The main courthouse is at 725 Court Street in Martinez. Call (925) 608-1000 for the court's main line. Contra Costa County also has court locations in Richmond, Walnut Creek, and Pittsburg. Criminal cases are assigned to whichever location covers the geographic area where the offense took place. The online portal shows which courthouse handled each case.

Document copies from the clerk's office cost 50 cents per page. Certified copies cost $40. If you need the clerk to search by name and the search takes more than 10 minutes, there is a $15 fee. Having a case number avoids that charge. You can request copies in person at the clerk's window during regular business hours.

Note: Some older case records may not appear in the online portal and must be requested directly from the clerk's office.

Contra Costa Sheriff Inmate Records

The Contra Costa County Sheriff runs the county detention facilities. You can check who is in custody through the sheriff's in-custody reports at inmateinfo.so.cccounty.us. The system shows people currently held in county jail, including their charges, booking date, and bail amount. The main detention facility is the Martinez Detention Facility. The West County Detention Facility in Richmond is another location.

The California DOJ's record review process lets you request your own criminal history through their system.

The sheriff's database only covers people in county custody. It does not include state prison inmates. For anyone sentenced to state prison, search the CDCR CIRIS system. Contact the sheriff's office at (925) 646-4493 for questions about current inmates or recent bookings that have not yet appeared online. Booking data updates regularly but there can be a lag of a few hours between arrest and when the information is posted.

State Criminal Records in Contra Costa

The California DOJ keeps the statewide criminal history repository. Anyone can get a copy of their own RAP sheet through Live Scan. The cost is $25 for the DOJ processing fee, plus whatever the Live Scan operator charges for rolling your prints. Contra Costa County has Live Scan locations in Concord, Walnut Creek, Antioch, Richmond, and other cities. Use the DOJ Live Scan locator to find a site near you. Processing takes 48 to 72 hours when no record exists. Flagged records take longer.

Background checks for employment in Contra Costa County go through the same DOJ system. Over 45,000 agencies statewide are authorized to request background checks. Track your own check at applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov. You need the ATI number from your fingerprint session plus your date of birth. The DOJ will not discuss results by phone. Only the requesting agency receives the criminal history report.

Contra Costa County residents can also use the state sex offender registry. Go to meganslaw.ca.gov to look up registered offenders by name or address. The Bay Area's population density means results in cities like Richmond, Antioch, and Concord can be more extensive than in less populated areas of the county.

Clearing Records in Contra Costa County

California law gives Contra Costa County residents several options for clearing criminal records. Penal Code Section 1203.4 is for people who finished probation. File a petition with the Superior Court in Martinez, or at the courthouse where your case was heard. If granted, the conviction is changed to a dismissal. It still shows on your criminal history, but the notation makes a difference for employers and landlords who run background checks. The process involves paperwork and sometimes a court hearing.

Sealing arrest records is possible under Penal Code Section 851.87. This applies when no conviction came from the arrest. You do not need to prove innocence. The sealed record will not appear on most standard background checks. Proposition 47 lets people with older felony convictions for certain drug and theft crimes petition to have them reduced to misdemeanors. Proposition 64 covers marijuana charges. Bay Area Legal Aid serves Contra Costa County and may be able to help with these filings at no cost. The county's Public Defender office also handles expungement cases for people who previously had a public defender on their original case.

Note: Even after a record is cleared or sealed, it may take several weeks for updated information to show in all databases.

Getting Criminal Records in Contra Costa County

You can get criminal records from Contra Costa County in a few ways. The online portal is best for quick lookups and finding case numbers. For full documents, visit the clerk's office at the courthouse. The Martinez location at 725 Court Street is the main hub. Bring a case number when possible.

• Online portal at odyportal.cc-courts.org for case lookups
• Clerk's office at the Martinez courthouse for document copies
• 50 cents per page for copies, $40 for certified copies
• Sheriff's in-custody reports for current jail records
• Police reports from the local police agency that handled the arrest
• DOJ Live Scan for personal criminal history ($25)

Contra Costa County has multiple police departments. Concord, Walnut Creek, Antioch, Richmond, Pittsburg, and other cities all have their own police. Each department handles its own records. If someone was arrested by the Concord Police, you contact Concord PD for the police report. If the sheriff made the arrest in an unincorporated area, the sheriff's records division is the right place to call. Court records always come from the Superior Court, regardless of which police agency was involved.

Nearby Counties

Contra Costa County is surrounded by other Bay Area and Central Valley counties. Check these pages for criminal records in neighboring jurisdictions.