Find Monterey County Criminal Records

Criminal records in Monterey County are maintained by the Superior Court in Salinas and the county sheriff. Monterey County stretches along California's central coast and has about 440,000 residents. The county seat is Salinas, where the main courthouse sits. Criminal cases from across the county are filed here. The court offers an online case search portal. The Monterey County Sheriff runs a jail in Salinas and publishes an in-custody log. Public access to criminal records in this county is available both online and at the clerk's office. Fees follow the standard California court schedule.

Monterey County Criminal Case Search

The Monterey County Superior Court has an online case search portal at portal.monterey.courts.ca.gov. You can look up criminal cases by defendant name or case number. The results show case type, filing date, charges, and case status. Both felony and misdemeanor filings are in the database. The portal is free to use for basic searches.

Below is the Monterey County court's case search portal, the starting point for looking up criminal records in this county.

The court charges $15 per name for record searches. If you already have the case number, the search goes faster and may avoid extra fees. Copies of documents cost 50 cents per page. Certified copies are $40. Some older case files are stored off-site. Retrieving those costs an extra $10. The main courthouse address is 240 Church Street, Salinas, CA 93901. Call (831) 775-5400 for the clerk's office. Walk-in service is available during business hours, but calling first helps you know what to expect.

Note: Off-site file retrieval takes extra time. If you need records from an older case, allow a few business days for the clerk to pull the file.

Monterey Sheriff Booking Records

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office runs the county jail in Salinas. The sheriff publishes an in-custody log at mcso.countyofmonterey.gov. This log shows current inmates with their name, booking date, charges, and bail information. It covers people held in county custody right now. Released inmates drop off the list.

The California courts system has a Find Your Court tool that helps people locate the correct courthouse for their county, including Monterey.

Call the sheriff's main line at 831-755-3700 if you need help finding someone or want details about a booking. Inmates who get sentenced to state prison leave the county system. At that point, the CDCR takes over. Use the CIRIS inmate search for anyone in state custody. The CDCR database shows facility location, CDCR number, admission date, and parole hearing schedule.

State Criminal Records in Monterey

Monterey County residents have access to the California DOJ's criminal history system. You can get your own RAP sheet by going to a Live Scan location. Fill out form BCIA 8016RR, get your fingerprints taken, and pay the $25 fee to the DOJ. The DOJ Live Scan locator shows sites near Salinas, Marina, and other Monterey County cities. Results take about 48 to 72 hours when no record is found. A flagged record takes longer.

After getting fingerprinted, check your background status at applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov. Enter your ATI number and date of birth. This tool is for applicants and individuals who submitted Live Scan prints. Employers check criminal history through the same DOJ system, but they need a state-issued authorization code first.

The sex offender registry at meganslaw.ca.gov covers Monterey County too. Search by name, location, or ZIP code to see registered offenders in the area. Not all offenders are posted. The DOJ decides who appears based on the type of offense and the offender's registration status under Penal Code Section 290.46.

Note: Your personal RAP sheet is only for your own review. Penal Code Section 11142 says you cannot give it to a third party, including an employer.

Record Clearing in Monterey County

California law provides multiple ways to clear a criminal record. In Monterey County, you file petitions with the Superior Court in Salinas. Penal Code Section 1203.4 allows anyone who completed probation to ask for a dismissal. The judge can withdraw the guilty plea and dismiss the case. This is the most common form of record relief in the county. The conviction stays on your RAP sheet but appears as dismissed.

For arrests that never led to a conviction, Penal Code Section 851.87 lets you seal the arrest record. This came from SB 393 in 2017. You file a petition and the court orders the record sealed. It will not show up on most background checks after that. Proposition 47 gives people with certain old felonies a path to reduce them to misdemeanors. This covers non-violent theft and drug offenses. Proposition 64 handles marijuana convictions specifically. Legal aid groups in the Salinas area sometimes offer free help with these petitions.

How to Get Records in Monterey County

You can access criminal records in Monterey County through the court portal, the clerk's office, or the sheriff's in-custody log. Start online to gather case numbers and basic info. Then contact the clerk for full documents. Having a case number makes everything faster and cheaper.

• Court portal at portal.monterey.courts.ca.gov for case lookups
• Clerk's office at 240 Church Street, Salinas
• Phone the clerk at (831) 775-5400
• Copies at 50 cents per page, certified at $40
• Off-site retrieval at $10 for older files
• Sheriff in-custody log for current jail bookings

Police reports are held by individual police departments. The Salinas Police Department handles reports for the city of Salinas. The Monterey Police Department covers the city of Monterey. The sheriff handles unincorporated areas. Each agency has its own process for releasing reports. Do not expect to get a police report from the court. Those are two different systems with different offices.

Nearby Counties

Monterey County shares borders with several other counties. Criminal records from those areas are held by their own court systems and sheriff offices.