Marin County, California Criminal Records

A background check is the process of searching criminal records databases, court records, and other public records for detailed information on an individual applying for a job. In addition, a background check can be performed by a private citizen on another individual, for personal or professional reasons. Most companies are not allowed to offer employment to a registered sex offender or a convicted felon, so conducting a thorough background check in that regard is crucial. Background checks are also mandatory for any individual working closely with children, elderly people, and mentally handicapped individuals. In some cases, residents can sometimes even request criminal background checks on county individuals from the county clerk’s office. Almost all background checks will cost the researcher some sort of vendor or processing fee.

Court Records

Most basic background checks consist of using public records from county sheriff’s and local courthouses to ascertain criminal histories. To petition the Marin County Superior Court for records, you can visit the court in person at 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, California 94903. You can either contact the court by telephone at 415-444-7000, or e-mail at criminal@marincourt.org. For in-person visits, court hours are from 8:30am-3:30pm. If you prefer to visit the courthouse online, you may do so by visiting them at the following address: http://www.marincourt.org/home.cgi.

Public Records

When doing a background check on a local Marin County individual, the county sheriff can be an invaluable resource for obtain a criminal record, if they have one. You can find the Marin County Sheriff’s Office located at this address: 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, California 94903. If you wish to call the sheriff, the telephone number is 415-499-7282, and the e-mail address is rdoyle@co.marin.ca.us. To access the sheriff’s full-service county website, which has a local sex offender search, click the following link: http://www.marinsheriff.org/default.aspx.

Online Resources

At some point while initiating a background check, you may need to find out whether a target individual is a parolee of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The DOC has a county web page set up for searching offenders that you can use by visiting this web address: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/Inmate_Locator.html.

If you are California resident, and you wish to do a background check on yourself, should you suspect that the information contained in it is not up to date, you can request one online from the California Department of Justice. The California DOJ has a webpage setup with details and instructions on the process at the following link: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/security.php. Web users should note that each background check costs $25.00, which you can pay with a major credit card.

The California DOJ also has webpage where county users can order their fingerprint-based background check, should it be required in some official capacity by business or other organization. Results are usually returned within 72 hours of submission. Click the following link to begin the process: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/.

To guard against inadvertently offering employment to a registered offender, you will need to check the Megan’s Law sex offender database beforehand. The registry is located at the following link: http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/.