Riverside County Criminal Records

Criminal records in Riverside County are held by the Superior Court and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. The county spans a large stretch of Southern California, from the Inland Empire to the desert communities near the Arizona border. More than 2.4 million people live here. That makes it one of the most active court systems in the state. If you need to look up a criminal case, check on someone in jail, or get copies of court filings, both the court and sheriff offer online tools. The court uses a public access portal where you can search by name or case number. The sheriff runs a booking search for current inmates at county jail facilities.

Riverside County Court Case Search

The Riverside Superior Court has a public access portal for looking up criminal cases. You can find it at epublic-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov. The system lets you search by defendant name or case number. Results show basic case data like filing date, charges, and the court location where the case was heard. You do need to create a free account to use the portal. Once logged in, you can view case details and download documents. Online document downloads cost $1 per page for the first five pages and 50 cents for each page after that.

The screenshot below shows the Riverside County Superior Court's public access portal where criminal case searches begin.

This portal covers all case types filed in Riverside County, including felonies and misdemeanors. The system is run by Tyler Technologies. You can also view hearing dates and case status through the portal. For in-person requests, visit the clerk's office at any Riverside County courthouse. The main courthouse is at 4050 Main Street in Riverside. Call 951-222-0384 if you have questions about searching records online or getting copies of court documents.

Riverside County has multiple courthouse locations spread across a wide area. Cases in the western part of the county are filed in Riverside. Desert cases go through the Indio courthouse. Southwest cases are heard in Murrieta or Temecula. When you search online, the portal shows which courthouse handled the case. This helps if you need to visit in person for copies or to review a full case file.

Riverside Sheriff Inmate Records

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department manages all county jail facilities. You can search for inmates through the sheriff's jail information management system at jimspub.riversidesheriff.org. Search by name or booking number. Results include the person's charges, bail amount, booking date, and which facility they are in. The main detention center is the Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside. The county also runs the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning and the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.

You can view the California courts website to find which court handles cases in your area of Riverside County.

For people already sentenced to state prison, the sheriff's inmate search will not help. Use the CDCR's CIRIS inmate search for anyone in the state prison system. The sheriff's inmate database only covers people currently held in county custody. Call the jail information line at (951) 349-4659 for help finding someone who may have been recently booked or released.

Note: There may be a gap of several hours between when someone is arrested and when their booking record appears in the online system.

California Criminal Records in Riverside

State-level criminal records in California are kept by the Department of Justice. The DOJ runs the statewide criminal history database. Anyone can request their own RAP sheet through a Live Scan fingerprint submission and a $25 fee. Riverside County has many Live Scan locations. You can find one near you through the DOJ Live Scan locator. Processing takes 48 to 72 hours when no record is found. If the system flags a match, it takes longer because a technician has to review it by hand.

Employers and licensing agencies in the Riverside area use the same DOJ system for background checks. They need state authorization before they can run a check. The DOJ processes roughly 2 million state background checks each year. You can track the status of your check at applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov with your ATI number and date of birth. The DOJ will not share results directly with applicants by phone. You have to use the online portal or wait for the requesting agency to contact you.

The California sex offender registry is another resource for Riverside County residents. Visit meganslaw.ca.gov to search by name or by location. The registry shows registered sex offenders based on data from the California Sex and Arson Registry.

Clearing Records in Riverside County

California law gives several ways to clear a criminal record. The most common is Penal Code Section 1203.4. It applies to people who finished probation. You file a petition with the Riverside Superior Court at the same location where your case was heard. If granted, your conviction is changed to a dismissal. It still shows on your RAP sheet but is marked as dismissed. This can help with employment and housing applications. The process is not automatic. You have to file paperwork and sometimes appear in court.

Penal Code Section 851.87 lets you seal arrest records when no conviction came from the arrest. This is useful if charges were dropped or you were found not guilty. You do not need to prove innocence to use this statute. Proposition 47 also applies in Riverside County. It lets people with certain older felony convictions for theft or drug offenses petition to have them reduced to misdemeanors. Proposition 64 covers prior marijuana offenses. Both require filing a petition with the court. Inland Counties Legal Services in Riverside may be able to help with the paperwork at no cost if you qualify for their programs.

Note: Record relief under PC 1203.4 does not restore gun rights or remove sex offender registration requirements in California.

How to Get Riverside County Criminal Records

There are a few ways to get criminal court records from Riverside County. The online portal gives you case numbers and basic filing data. For full documents, go to the clerk's office at the courthouse where the case was filed. Bring the case number if you have it. Staff can look up cases by name too, but a case number is faster. Copies cost 50 cents per page at the counter. Certified copies are $40 under state law.

• Online case search at the Riverside Superior Court public portal
• In-person at the clerk's office for full case file access
• Copies at 50 cents per page, certified copies at $40
• Inmate records from the sheriff's booking search system
• Police reports from the Riverside Police Department at (951) 826-5700

Police records are separate from court records. The Riverside Police Department handles its own records through the Records Bureau. Contact them at (951) 826-5700 for crime reports and arrest records. If the arrest happened in an unincorporated area, the Riverside County Sheriff handles those records instead. Always check which agency made the arrest before requesting a police report.

Cities in Riverside County

Riverside County has several cities. Criminal cases for all of them go through the Riverside Superior Court system. Select a city below for local criminal record resources.

Nearby Counties

Criminal cases can involve neighboring jurisdictions. Check these nearby county pages for more criminal record resources.