How to Check Someone's Criminal Record in New York

New York State has some of the strictest privacy protections around criminal records in the country. Unlike Florida or Texas, New York significantly limits public access to criminal history information — which makes knowing your options especially important.

NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS)

The official repository for criminal records in New York is maintained by DCJS. However, unlike many other states, DCJS does not offer a public search portal. Criminal history records are only available to authorized entities — employers with the subject's consent, licensing agencies, and law enforcement.

If you are an individual trying to check someone's background for personal reasons (dating, roommate, business partner), DCJS is not an option.

New York Court System (WebCriminal)

The New York State Unified Court System operates WebCriminal, a free online portal that allows public searches of criminal case records in New York City's five boroughs. You can search by name and date of birth to find cases filed in NYC Criminal Court and Supreme Court (criminal term).

For courts outside New York City, the WebCivil portal covers civil cases, and some county courts offer their own search tools. However, coverage is inconsistent across the state's 62 counties.

NYC Open Data and Arrest Records

New York City publishes certain data through its Open Data portal, including some law enforcement statistics. However, individual arrest records are generally not available through this channel. The NYPD does not publish booking photos or arrest logs the way many southern and western states do.

New York's Strong Sealing Laws

New York has aggressively expanded record sealing in recent years. Key provisions include:

• CPL 160.50 — Cases that end in dismissal, acquittal, or certain adjournments are automatically sealed
• CPL 160.59 — Individuals with up to two convictions (only one felony) can apply to have records sealed after 10 years
• Marijuana-related convictions — Under the 2021 MRTA, many past marijuana convictions have been automatically expunged
• Clean Slate Act — Enacted in 2023, this law automatically seals many conviction records after a waiting period

These laws mean that a New York criminal record search may return fewer results than the same search in other states — even if the person has a history.

Federal Records in New York

New York has four federal judicial districts: Southern (Manhattan), Eastern (Brooklyn), Northern (Albany), and Western (Buffalo). Federal cases — including financial crimes, drug trafficking, and racketeering — are searched separately through PACER and are not affected by state sealing laws.

Skip the courthouse visits. A CROW report searches court records across multiple jurisdictions in one search.

Why CROW Matters for New York Searches

Given New York's restrictive access policies, a multi-source approach is essential. CROW searches available court records across all New York jurisdictions plus federal courts, other states where the person has lived, and additional public record databases. This compensates for the gaps that New York's privacy laws create in any single-source search.