Public Criminal Records Michigan

Start with the public Michigan criminal-history repository

Michigan State Police offers the Internet Criminal History Access Tool, ICHAT, for a name-based search of its public criminal-history repository. Use the Access ICHAT link on the MSP Criminal History Records page. Agencies in all 83 Michigan counties must report felonies and serious misdemeanors punishable by more than 93 days; that reporting scope is different from every local court paper or police incident.

MSP’s current public-record guidance lists $10 per ICHAT search, payable at checkout. Its registration tutorial allows a one-time guest search; otherwise users register before logging in. Prepare the person’s full name, relevant aliases or former names, date of birth, sex and race as requested by the search form. Check the entries before paying because a mistaken name or birth date can change the result.

Read a no-match result within ICHAT’s limits

ICHAT does not include suppressed records or warrants. MSP also excludes federal, tribal, traffic, juvenile and local misdemeanor records, and criminal histories from other states. Its privacy notice confirms that nonpublic information and information prohibited from dissemination will not be released. A public no-match therefore cannot establish that the person has never been arrested or that every possible record has been checked.

For an out-of-state event, use that jurisdiction’s records service. For a warrant question, ICHAT is not the designated source. For a restricted record, use only a route for which you are eligible. A public search does not create a right to see information excluded from public release.

Use the case reference to answer a court-outcome question

Compare the returned identifiers with the person you intended to search. A similar name is not enough to combine separate histories. Separate an arrest or pending charge from its recorded disposition, and identify the relevant count when a case has several charges. Keep the search date and submitted identifiers with your result so a later inquiry concerns the same search.

When you need the actual judgment or proof of a court action, contact the court of record with the case number and document description. MSP’s public-record guidance specifically includes checking with the court of conviction as a way to determine what remains on a record. Ask whether an ordinary copy or a certified court document meets your purpose before paying for another repository search.

Treat OTIS as a corrections-supervision search

OTIS covers people currently under Michigan corrections supervision and those within three years of discharge. It excludes county-jail and city-lockup prisoners, jail-only sentences, and people arrested and convicted but not yet sentenced. Its absence of a person does not prove an absence of criminal history; it describes a different collection.

For an inaccurate or outdated OTIS entry, the corrections department lists [email protected]. Identify that particular entry and the suspected error. A correction to a supervision listing and a correction to a State Police arrest or court segment are handled through different sources.

Choose a formal fingerprint product when required

For a personal Michigan fingerprint record check, MSP’s instructions use RI-008 for residents or FD-258 for nonresidents, a purpose letter with return/contact details, and $30 by check or money order payable to the State of Michigan. Mail to MSP, CJIC, P.O. Box 30266, Lansing, MI 48909-7766. The response goes to the fingerprinted person.

That procedure supplies one original certified/notarized response; additional originals are $1 each. MSP publishes three to five weeks for processing and mail delivery. The personal-review option can include information absent from ICHAT, so follow the receiving organization’s precise requirement rather than assuming a public printout is equivalent.

Get the requesting agency’s instructions for a statutory check

For employment or licensing when fingerprints are legally required, MSP directs applicants to obtain the RI-030 Livescan request from the employer or licensing agency, complete sections II and IV and use an approved Livescan provider. State/FBI charges and a possible vendor service fee apply. MSP lists seven business days or less for this process, with results sent to the requesting agency. Do not substitute the personal mail-in product or an ICHAT search without checking that requirement.

Send a correction to the agency that reported the segment

MSP routes an erroneous arrest segment to the arresting law-enforcement agency, a charge error to the prosecuting attorney, and a judicial error to the named court. Identify the disputed segment and supporting order or other evidence. Agencies can update electronically; MSP must verify changes supplied by someone other than the reporting agency. Assistance is at 517-241-0606 or [email protected].