Fresno County Criminal Records Search

Criminal records in Fresno County are maintained by the Fresno Superior Court and the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. The county has roughly one million residents and sits in the heart of California's Central Valley. The court uses an online portal for public case searches. The sheriff runs a separate inmate information center for people in county jail. Whether you need to check on a criminal filing, look up someone in custody, or get copies of court documents, there are both online and in-person options. Fresno is the largest city in the county, and the main courthouse is located there.

Fresno County Court Case Portal

The Fresno Superior Court has a public portal for searching court records. Access it at publicportal.fresno.courts.ca.gov. The system is built on the Tyler Technologies Odyssey platform. Search by defendant name, case number, or citation number. Results include case type, charges, filing date, hearing dates, and case status. Both criminal and traffic cases are available. The portal is free to search, but downloading documents may have fees attached.

The Fresno Superior Court's public portal is shown here, where you can begin searching criminal case records.

The main Fresno courthouse is the B.F. Sisk Federal Courthouse, but Superior Court operations are at 1100 Van Ness Avenue in downtown Fresno. Call the court at (559) 457-2000 for general inquiries. The court also has branch locations in Clovis and other parts of the county. When you search online, the results show which court location handled the case.

For copies of court documents, visit the clerk's office. Copies cost 50 cents per page. Certified copies are $40 under California Government Code. If you need the clerk to do a name search that takes over 10 minutes, there is a $15 search fee. Having a case number ready speeds things up and avoids that fee in most cases.

Fresno Sheriff Inmate Records

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office operates the county jail system. The inmate information center is at publicinfo.fresnosheriff.org. You can look up inmates by name. Results show the person's charges, bail amount, booking date, and which facility they are in. The main jail is the Fresno County Jail on Fresno Street in downtown Fresno.

The CDCR inmate search tool covers anyone who has been transferred from county jail to state prison in California.

The sheriff's search only covers people in county custody right now. If someone was arrested in Fresno County but has since been sentenced to state prison, they will show up in the CDCR's CIRIS search tool instead. Call the Fresno County Jail at (559) 600-8600 for help finding someone or for questions about a recent booking. There can be a delay between when an arrest happens and when the record goes live online.

Note: The sheriff's online inmate search may experience occasional downtime or slow response during high-traffic periods.

State Criminal Records in Fresno County

California's criminal history database is run by the Department of Justice. Anyone can request a copy of their own RAP sheet. The process starts with a Live Scan fingerprint submission and a $25 fee. Fresno County has Live Scan locations in Fresno, Clovis, Sanger, and other cities. Use the DOJ Live Scan locator to find one. Processing takes 48 to 72 hours for clean records. Records that get flagged for review take longer because a DOJ technician has to look at them manually.

Employers and licensing agencies in the Fresno area also use the DOJ system for background checks. They must have state authorization before running a check. The DOJ handles around 2 million state-level checks each year. You can check the status of your own background check at applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov using your ATI number and date of birth. The DOJ will not tell you the result over the phone. Only the authorized requesting agency gets the full report.

Fresno County residents can search the state sex offender registry at meganslaw.ca.gov. The registry shows registered offenders by name or by location on a map. Data comes from the California Sex and Arson Registry.

Clearing Records in Fresno County

If you have a criminal record in Fresno County, California law provides paths to clear or reduce it. Penal Code Section 1203.4 is the main option for people who finished probation. You petition the Fresno Superior Court. If the judge grants it, your guilty plea is withdrawn and the case is dismissed. The conviction stays on your RAP sheet but marked as "dismissed per PC 1203.4." This matters because many employers see a dismissed conviction differently than an active one. The process is not automatic and you do have to file paperwork.

Arrest records can be sealed under Penal Code Section 851.87 when charges were dropped or no conviction resulted. You do not need to prove innocence. Proposition 47 is relevant in Fresno County for older felony drug and theft cases that now qualify as misdemeanors. File a petition to have the charge reduced. Proposition 64 covers marijuana offenses. Central California Legal Services in Fresno can help with these petitions at no cost for people who meet their income requirements. The Fresno County Public Defender also handles some expungement cases.

Getting Criminal Records in Fresno County

There are multiple ways to get criminal records in Fresno County. Start with the online portal for basic case data. If you need more, go to the clerk's office in person. The court's main clerk window is at 1100 Van Ness Avenue in Fresno. Bring the case number if you have it. The clerk can search by name, but having a case number avoids the $15 search fee.

• Online portal at publicportal.fresno.courts.ca.gov for case lookup
• Clerk's office at the Fresno County Courthouse for full files
• Copies at 50 cents per page, certified copies at $40
• Sheriff's inmate center for current custody information
• Fresno Police records at (559) 621-2534 for police reports

Police reports come from the agency that handled the arrest. If the Fresno Police Department made the arrest, contact their records section at 2323 Mariposa Street, Fresno, CA 93721. Reports under 10 pages are free from Fresno PD. Over 10 pages, it is 20 cents per page. For arrests made by the sheriff in unincorporated areas or smaller towns, the sheriff's records division handles those requests.

Note: Court records and police reports are kept by different agencies, so you may need to contact both to get the complete picture of a criminal case.

Cities in Fresno County

Fresno County has one major city with its own dedicated page. All criminal cases in the county go through the Fresno Superior Court system regardless of which city the arrest took place in.

Nearby Counties

Fresno County borders several other counties in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada region. Check these pages for criminal records from neighboring areas.