San Mateo County, California Criminal Records

The public records of another individual are commonly researched by employers, and renters, in order to better gauge whether a person applying for a job or a home has a favorable character and past history. This process of researching public records for this purpose is called a background check. Public records accessed as part of a background check might also be looked up by a lending company, or even someone who knows the individual personally. This is done to find out details about that person’s past. Most records pertaining to someone’s criminal records are public domain unless they are for some reason declared sealed by a judge, and other records such as past employment and resident’s are also easy to obtain. It is of paramount importance that a thorough background check is performed on any person who is being considered for a position of high trust and integrity, like working with children or mentally disabled persons.

Court Records

When you are manually searching public records for the purpose of performing a background check, you should start with court records, as they can contain valuable information about local court and criminal proceedings. If you are doing a background check on someone living in San Mateo County, California, you can go through the local superior court system for the case and criminal records you need. There are two branches of the San Mateo Superior Court that deal in criminal cases, and you can find their contact information displayed below:

Northern Branch
1050 Mission Road, South San Francisco CA 94080

Telephone: 650-877-5773

Southern Branch

Hall of Justice and Records

400 County Center, Redwood City CA 94063

Telephone: 650-363-4711

With the exception of court holidays, the court is open to the public on Monday through Friday from 8:00am – 4:00pm. Those with Internet capabilities can also visit the court’s informational webpage located at the following link: http://www.sanmateocourt.org.

Public Records

The local sheriff’s office usually has criminal records local to that particular county, and since criminal records are public records, the general public can access them. If you need view the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office records, you can visit the sheriff at 400 County Center, Redwood City, California 94063. You also have the option of calling the sheriff directly at 650-216-7676. The sheriff also has a webpage for citizens with Internet access located at this hyperlink: http://www.smcsheriff.com.

Online Resources

Some background checks require in-depth information from that state’s department of corrections, such as whether a target individual is a parole absconder or has an active arrest warrant. To view the offender search webpage of the California Department of Corrections, click the following link: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/Inmate_Locator.html.

You can also request a personalized background check from the California Department of Justice if you need to view your own results. The only requirement is a payment of $25.00, by major credit card. Visit the California DOJ webpage by clicking here: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/security.php.

The California DOJ also does official background checks through fingerprint-based verification, and has details for this process on the following webpage: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/.

Any web user who wishes to view the names archived in the Megan’s Law sex offender registry can click the following link: http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/.