Napa County, California Criminal Records

A background check involves utilizing public records to determine a person’s moral fitness and character for a position of trust and responsibility. Background checks can be as simple as checking an individual’s past employment history, or as extensive as looking into their military and credit records. Background checks are also done for personal reasons, if one person wishes to know more detailed background information about a friend, acquaintance, or family member. Potential employers, lending companies, and even volunteer organizations will conduct a background check on a person they are considering for a position. Most background checks rely on court and criminal records, although some vital and property records are used in certain instances.

Court Records

At some point while in the process of using public records to do a background check, you will need to petition the local court system for criminal records. The Napa County Superior Court allows residents to perform case lookups and court records searches, either in person or online. The courthouse is located at 111 Third Street, First Floor, Napa, California 94559. You can call the court at 707-299-1100, or fax the court at 707-253-4673. The court clerk is available from 8:00am – 5:00pm, Monday thru Friday. You can also use the case and criminal records searches at the court’s website, which is located at the following link: http://www.napa.courts.ca.gov/Index.htm.

Public Records

The most frequent use of public records in a county background check is by far the use of local criminal records on file with the sheriff of the county. To gain county criminal records from the Napa County Sheriff’s office, you can go to their location in person at 15315 Airport Blvd, Napa, California 94558. You can also contact the sheriff by phone, fax, or e-mail. The sheriff’s telephone number for non-emergencies is 707-253-4509, the fax number is 707-253-4193, and the e-mail address is sheriff@countyofnapa.org. The sheriff also has a website setup to provide information to online visitors located at the following link: http://www.countyofnapa.org/Pages/Sheriff.aspx?id=4294969803.

Online Resources

To rule out that any individual for whom you are doing a background is a recent parolee, you can look their name up on the California Department of Corrections webpage. The California DOC has a search tool for Internet users located at the following webpage: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/Inmate_Locator.html.

If you visit the California Department of Justice online, you can do your own personal background check through their website. You may find that you need to know what sorts of information your background check contains, and wish to order your own. You will be required to pay $25.00 by credit card before you begin, however. Visit this webpage for more details: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/security.php.

Alternately, you may be required by a company to furnish your own official fingerprint-based background check before you are hired or certified. The California DOJ has a webpage setup for order these types of personal background checks as well, located here: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/.

Http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/ is the link to California’s sex offender registry, named Megan’s Law. Note that you will have to agree to the lengthy disclaimer before using.