Search Santa Cruz County Criminal Records

Criminal records in Santa Cruz County are managed by the Superior Court and the county sheriff. The court is based in the city of Santa Cruz and handles all felony and misdemeanor cases filed in the county. About 270,000 people live in Santa Cruz County. It sits along the central California coast between San Francisco and Monterey. The court runs an online portal where you can search criminal cases by name or case number. The sheriff operates the county jail and publishes a jail viewer tool. Between these two systems, you can find most of the criminal record data available to the public in this county.

Santa Cruz Court Criminal Case Search

The Santa Cruz County Superior Court runs a public portal for case lookups. You can access it at portal.santacruzcourt.org. The system uses Tyler Technologies' Odyssey platform. Search by defendant name, case number, or date range. Results show case numbers, charges, filing dates, and disposition info. Both felony and misdemeanor cases are in the system.

The court portal shown below is the starting point for any criminal record search in Santa Cruz County.

Santa Cruz County charges a $15 search fee for record requests that take the clerk more than 10 minutes. Copies cost 50 cents per page. If you want a full criminal record packet with all the standard documents, that runs $47. Certified copies are $40. Visit the clerk's office at 701 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, or call (831) 420-2200 for questions about getting copies. You can also search online first to grab case numbers before going in person.

Santa Cruz Sheriff Jail Records

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff operates the main county jail. The sheriff publishes a jail viewer tool at jailviewer.co.santa-cruz.ca.us that shows who is currently in custody. You can search by name. The results show booking date, charges, bail amount, and housing location. This tool covers only people currently held in the county jail. It does not include people who have been released or transferred elsewhere.

The California courts website offers general guidance on accessing public records across all 58 counties, including Santa Cruz.

For someone who has been sent to state prison, you need to use a different tool. The CDCR runs the CIRIS inmate search for anyone in state custody. It shows the person's CDCR number, age, current facility, admission date, and parole hearing dates. This is a statewide database that covers inmates from every county, including Santa Cruz.

Note: The jail viewer may lag a few hours behind real-time bookings. If you just heard about an arrest, it might not show up right away.

State Criminal Records for Santa Cruz

The California DOJ maintains the statewide criminal history repository. Anyone can request their own RAP sheet. You need to go to a Live Scan location and submit fingerprints. The state fee is $25. Find a nearby location through the DOJ Live Scan locator. Processing takes 48 to 72 hours when no record is found. Records flagged for review take longer. You can track the status at applicantstatus.doj.ca.gov with your ATI number.

The sex offender registry at meganslaw.ca.gov lets you search for registered sex offenders in Santa Cruz County. The registry is run by the DOJ under Penal Code Section 290.46. You can search by name, address, or ZIP code. Not every registered offender appears on the site. Some are listed only by ZIP code, and others are excluded based on their offense type.

Record Clearing in Santa Cruz County

California has several laws that let people clean up their criminal records. The main one is Penal Code Section 1203.4. If you finished probation, you can petition to have your conviction dismissed. File the petition with the Santa Cruz Superior Court. The case stays on your RAP sheet but gets marked as dismissed. It helps for jobs and housing applications. You must not be on probation for any other case when you file.

Arrest records that did not lead to a conviction can be sealed under Penal Code Section 851.87. You do not need to show you were innocent. The sealed record drops off most background checks. This is a big deal for people who got arrested but never charged. Proposition 47 and Proposition 64 also offer paths for certain drug and theft convictions. Both require filing a petition. Legal aid organizations in the Santa Cruz area can help with the paperwork at no cost if you meet their income guidelines.

Note: Record clearing does not happen automatically in most cases. You have to file the right paperwork with the court and wait for a judge to approve it.

How to Get Criminal Records

Getting criminal records in Santa Cruz County starts with the court's online portal. That gives you case numbers and basic filing data. For full documents, go to the clerk's office in person. The courthouse is at 701 Ocean Street in Santa Cruz. You can also call ahead at (831) 420-2200 to ask about availability and what you will need to bring.

• Online portal at portal.santacruzcourt.org for case data
• Clerk's office for full document copies
• Standard copies at 50 cents per page
• Criminal standard packet at $47
• Jail viewer for current booking information
• Live Scan for your own RAP sheet ($25 state fee)

Police reports come from the agency that made the arrest. The Santa Cruz Police Department handles reports for the city. The sheriff covers unincorporated areas and smaller towns. Watsonville Police handles that city. Each agency has its own request process and fees. Court records and police reports are separate things held by separate offices.

Nearby Counties

Cases sometimes involve neighboring counties. These pages have more criminal record information for areas near Santa Cruz.