Top Choice
Instant Checkmate
Criminal-record and social-profile search option.
View RecordsCriminal Records
West Virginia Criminal Records
Choose West Virginia circuit or magistrate court records, obtain the relevant case document, or follow the State Police route for a background check.
Choose a West Virginia court record or history check
West Virginia’s Judiciary court-access page provides separate circuit and magistrate searches covering all 55 counties. Start there for a prosecution, docket or filed order. The State Police criminal-history process is a separate service for a background-check requirement. Before ordering, ask whether the recipient needs a particular judgment, a certified court copy or an agency history result; those outputs are not interchangeable.
Keep the county and court level with each case reference. An online entry can help identify the proceeding without supplying the document itself or establishing a complete history. The magistrate system expressly warns about completeness and accuracy and directs users to the filing court clerk to validate the information.
Search circuit cases and assess document charges
Follow the Circuit Courts link to WVPASS. The Judiciary’s launch notice describes free registration and searching, with publicly available circuit documents dating to 1999. It lists regular public downloads at $0.25 per page plus a card-processing charge. Review the current transaction total before downloading; the published launch price does not establish today’s final processing charge.
Sealed filings and juvenile cases are outside the access described in that notice. For an earlier case or a missing image, contact the circuit clerk in the county of filing with the case number, approximate year and specific document requested. Ask separately about certification and delivery if the document will be used as official proof. A downloaded public image should not be assumed to satisfy that requirement.
Use the magistrate index to reach the correct clerk
The magistrate search instructions allow a first name, last name or case number and describe a maximum of 30 returned records. If a broad name search is inconclusive, use the known case identifier or more precise identifying information where the interface permits. A capped result list is not proof that every case for a person has been displayed.
Magistrate documents are not available as online images in this system. Call or visit the magistrate clerk in the filing county for the paper you need; the Judiciary says a legally required copy fee applies. Its Court Information By County directory supplies clerk contacts. Identify the order or entry rather than requesting an undefined complete background check from that clerk.
Arrange the State Police check through IdentoGO
State Police directs applicants to IdentoGO rather than headquarters or an ordinary law-enforcement fingerprint visit. Use the West Virginia enrollment page or the State Police-listed scheduling number, 855-766-7746. The Criminal Records Section number is 304-746-2418 for questions about that service. Obtain the requesting organization’s purpose and enrollment instructions before making the appointment.
The State Police page states that release requests under West Virginia Code 15-2-24(d) require authorization signed and acknowledged by the record subject. Do not assume that public court access permits an unrestricted State Police check on somebody else. Follow the service-specific identification, authorization and payment instructions; a single universal fee or turnaround is not stated in the sources reviewed here.
Check the enrollment product and any out-of-state route
IdentoGO’s state page provides links to schedule, change an appointment or check status, plus Cardscan and Out of State Instructions. Start with those instructions if you cannot attend a West Virginia enrollment center. Its separate personal FBI History Check is labeled for personal use, not employment or licensing submission. Choosing that product merely because it is nationwide could leave an organization’s requirement unmet.
Retain the enrollment confirmation and use its status route for that transaction. For a court document, follow up with the county clerk instead. Keeping the two requests distinct avoids asking the fingerprint provider to retrieve a judgment or asking a magistrate clerk to confirm delivery of an agency background check.
Resolve the disputed record at its source
For an unclear court outcome or possible wrong-person match, compare the case number, charge, dates and available identifiers, then ask the filing clerk to validate the entry. State what is uncertain rather than converting an arrest or pending proceeding into a conviction. An absent search result also cannot establish a complete clear history.
For expungement research, State Police describes first obtaining the background check, then contacting the Circuit Clerk where the arrest originated and filing the relevant court papers. Eligibility requires its own review. State Police sends its completion notice to the Circuit Clerk and directs expungement-status communication through that office, not phone status inquiries to Criminal Records.