The Mythical Nationwide Criminal Records Check

There is no such thing as a national criminal records check. In reality, there are thousands of separate criminal indexes maintained at the federal, state, county, and city levels throughout the United States. To conduct a nationwide search would require accessing each individual index. There is one "nationwide" criminal database, the FBI’s Interstate Identification Index or “III” (triple i). However, this FBI database is NOT public record and cannot be legally accessed by anyone other than criminal justice agencies. Even if III records were available as public record, they typically do not contain a complete list of arrests for a particular individual. This is because not all arrests at the local level involve fingerprinting, and without fingerprint cards the arrest record cannot be included in the III.

County/City Level Criminal Checks
A local criminal history check with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office will include notations of adult arrests made by the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office for criminal offenses and local arrest warrant information. Requests for Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office local criminal history checks can be made by mail or in person M-F, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM at the Hall of Justice by submitting a Criminal History Request Form and a $10 fee.

Information on how to request a Lincoln Police Department public criminal history check can be obtained at http://lincoln.ne.gov/city/police/ or by calling (402) 441-7210.

Statewide Criminal Checks
It is possible to search statewide for criminal records by contacting the Nebraska State Patrol; however, a county/city level check may also be necessary. This is because county/city law enforcement agencies may possess criminal history records that are not on file with the state. The most thorough approach is to search both the statewide index and at the county/city level in the jurisdictions where the subject has lived.

Nebraska Traffic Offense Records
Information regarding driver’s histories for the State of Nebraska may be obtained online at http://www.dmv.ne.gov/dvr/drvrec/drivrecreq.html or at:

Federal Criminal History Checks
Information on how an individual can request a copy of their own FBI III criminal history record can be requested by mail from: