Access Santa Clara County Criminal Records

Criminal records in Santa Clara County are handled by the Superior Court and the Sheriff's Office. The county is home to Silicon Valley and has a population of about 1.9 million people. San Jose, the county seat, is the largest city in the Bay Area by population. The Santa Clara County Superior Court operates three courthouse locations for criminal cases. Online case searches cover criminal, civil, traffic, and other case types through a single portal. Between the court system and the sheriff's inmate tools, there are several ways to look up criminal records in this county.

Santa Clara County Case Information

The Santa Clara County Superior Court has an online case information portal at santaclara.courts.ca.gov. This system lets you search criminal cases by name or case number. It also covers civil, small claims, probate, family, and traffic cases all in one place. For criminal cases specifically, you can find the case number, charges, hearing dates, and current status of the case.

Below is the Santa Clara County Superior Court's case information online page where you can start a criminal case search.

The court has three locations that handle criminal cases. The Hall of Justice at 190 West Hedding Street in San Jose is the main criminal courthouse. The South County courthouse at 301 Diana Avenue in Morgan Hill handles cases from the southern part of the county. The Palo Alto courthouse at 270 Grant Avenue covers that area. When you look up a case online, the system shows which courthouse has the file.

Copies cost 50 cents per page at the clerk's office. Certified copies are $40. If the court needs to spend more than 10 minutes searching for a record, there is a $15 search fee. These are standard California court fees set by state law. Most simple name lookups take less than 10 minutes and do not trigger the extra fee.

Note: Some older criminal cases may not be in the online system. For records not found online, contact the clerk's office at the Hall of Justice directly.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Inmate Search

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office runs the county jail system. The main facility is the Main Jail in San Jose, with additional facilities at the Elmwood Correctional Complex in Milpitas. The sheriff's office has an inmate search tool, though the online system has experienced access issues at times. You can try searching at eservices.sccgov.org for current inmates. If the online tool is not working, call (408) 299-2305 for jail information.

The California DOJ also maintains information on people in state custody. For inmates sentenced in Santa Clara County who are now in state prison, the CDCR's CIRIS tool is the right resource. You can search at ciris.mt.cdcr.ca.gov by name or CDCR number to find someone in the state prison system. The screenshot below shows this statewide tool.

The county jail holds people who are awaiting trial, serving short sentences, or waiting for transfer to state prison. At any given time, the Santa Clara County jail houses a few thousand inmates across its facilities. The Main Jail in downtown San Jose is the primary intake point. Elmwood in Milpitas holds medium and minimum security inmates. Both facilities are part of the same sheriff's system, so a single search should cover both locations.

California State Criminal Records

Santa Clara County residents can access the state criminal history database through the California DOJ. Get your own RAP sheet by visiting a Live Scan location and paying the $25 processing fee. Santa Clara County has many Live Scan sites across San Jose, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, and other cities. Use the DOJ locator to find one. The process takes about 15 minutes at the scanning location. Results come back in 48 to 72 hours if no record exists.

Employers and licensing agencies in Santa Clara County use the same DOJ system for background checks. Tech companies in Silicon Valley run a high volume of background checks on new hires. The DOJ processes roughly 2 million state-level checks per year across California. Track yours at applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov.

The sex offender registry at meganslaw.ca.gov covers Santa Clara County. Search by name, address, or zip code. Given the county's large population, urban areas like San Jose and Sunnyvale tend to show more results than smaller communities in the southern part of the county.

Clearing Criminal Records in Santa Clara

Santa Clara County courts handle record relief petitions under several California statutes. Penal Code 1203.4 is the primary tool for people who have completed probation. You petition the court to withdraw your guilty plea and dismiss the case. File at the same courthouse where the case was heard. The conviction shows as "dismissed" on your RAP sheet. It does not erase the record entirely, but the changed status matters to employers and landlords who run background checks.

Arrest record sealing is possible under PC 851.87 when no conviction resulted from an arrest. This became available statewide in 2018. You do not have to prove innocence. Proposition 47 resentencing applies to certain older drug and theft felonies that can now be classified as misdemeanors. Proposition 64 marijuana relief covers cannabis convictions from before legalization. The Santa Clara County Public Defender and organizations like the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley assist with these petitions.

Note: Record relief under PC 1203.4 does not restore gun rights or remove sex offender registration requirements if those apply to your case.

How to Get Criminal Records in Santa Clara County

There are several ways to get criminal records in Santa Clara County. The court has one set of records. The sheriff has another. And each city's police department has its own. The right approach depends on what you need. Here are the main paths.

• Online case search at santaclara.courts.ca.gov
• Hall of Justice clerk's office at 190 W Hedding St, San Jose
• Copies at 50 cents per page, certified copies at $40
• Sheriff inmate information at (408) 299-2305
• San Jose Police records through sanjoseca.govqa.us
• Your own RAP sheet via Live Scan ($25 DOJ fee)

San Jose Police Department records can be requested through their portal at sanjoseca.govqa.us. The SJPD Records Section is at 201 W. Mission Street, San Jose, CA 95110. Call (408) 277-8900 for questions. Other cities in the county like Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View, and Palo Alto each have their own police departments with their own records processes. Always start with the department in the city where the incident took place.

Court records cover the formal criminal case from the point charges are filed through sentencing and beyond. Police reports cover the original investigation and arrest. These are held by different agencies. If you need both, you will have to make separate requests to the court and the police department involved.

Cities in Santa Clara County

Santa Clara County includes Silicon Valley's largest cities. Criminal cases from these cities go through the Santa Clara County Superior Court system.

Nearby Counties

Santa Clara County borders several other Bay Area and Central Valley counties. Check these for related criminal record information.