How to Find Old Mugshots and Archived Booking Records
There is no single official national archive containing every old U.S. mugshot. The best search path depends on where the arrest happened, which agency made the arrest, which jail handled the booking, how old the record is, and whether the photograph or arrest record is still public under that jurisdiction’s law.
Records Search
Court, Criminal, Marriage, Divorce, Property
Start with the original sheriff, jail or police records office. If the booking system no longer keeps older entries online, move to court records, public-record requests, state repositories, newspaper archives or—when the case was federal—PACER and the National Archives.
Choose the right archive first
Where Should You Look for an Old Mugshot?
The age of the arrest matters less than identifying the correct record custodian. A sheriff may hold the booking record, a city police department may hold the arrest report, a court may preserve the criminal case long after jail records disappear from public view, and an archive may eventually receive older historical records.
Sheriff or County Jail
Start here when the person was booked into a county jail. Look for an inmate archive, booking log, jail records unit or public-record request process.
Police Records Division
If city police made the arrest, the police records office may hold the arrest or incident report even when the jail no longer shows the old booking online.
Court or Clerk
Use the criminal court record when you need to confirm what happened after the arrest rather than merely finding the original booking photograph.
State Repository
Some states maintain criminal-history repositories, corrections databases or state archives. Access rules vary considerably by state.
PACER / Federal Court
Use PACER when the criminal case was in federal court. Older eligible federal court files may eventually be stored by the National Archives.
Newspaper & Library Archives
For older arrests reported in the press, local newspaper archives, libraries and historical newspaper collections may preserve photographs or arrest reporting.
| What you know | Best starting point | What you may find |
|---|---|---|
| County where the arrest happened | County sheriff or jail | Booking record, old roster, jail log, booking number or record-request instructions. |
| City police made the arrest | Police records division | Arrest report, incident report or agency record. |
| Court case number | Criminal court clerk | Case filings, charges, disposition and archived court records. |
| Federal criminal case | PACER or federal court clerk | Federal docket and available case documents. |
| Very old federal case | National Archives | Eligible permanently preserved federal court case files and related records. |
| Historical news coverage | Library or newspaper archive | Published arrest story, photograph or historical context. |
Practical search process
How to Find Old Mugshots Step by Step
Identify the exact arrest location
Start with the city, county and state where the arrest occurred. Mugshot and booking systems are usually local, so a nationwide name search can mix unrelated people and jurisdictions.
Estimate the arrest or booking date
Even an approximate year is useful. Old records may be organized by year, booking number, court term, archive box or retention period rather than by a modern online name search.
Identify the booking facility
Determine which jail or detention center processed the person. The arresting agency and the booking facility are not always the same organization.
Search the official jail or sheriff website
Look for labels such as Inmate Search, Booking Search, Arrest Search, Jail Roster, Booking Archive, Daily Log, Records Division or Open Records.
Ask for an archived booking record if the online search is current-only
Contact the records custodian and provide the full name, approximate booking date, date of birth when appropriate and any known booking or case number.
Search the criminal court case
The court docket may survive long after a jail removes an old inmate entry. Court records can also help confirm the correct arrest date, charge and case number.
Check archives or historical newspapers for older material
If the government record is no longer online, historical repositories, local libraries and digitized newspaper collections may provide another research route.
Verify the later outcome
Do not republish an old charge as though it were the final result. Check whether the case was dismissed, reduced, acquitted, convicted, sealed, expunged or otherwise resolved.
Local booking records
Start With the Jail or Sheriff’s Records Office
Many public jail websites are designed to show current inmates or only a short recent-booking window. When an older arrest disappears from the public roster, that does not automatically mean the underlying record was destroyed.
Search the agency website for a Records Division, Open Records, Public Records, FOIA, Sunshine Law or Records Request page. The exact legal name varies by state.
What to include in an old booking-record request
- Full legal name used at the time of arrest.
- Aliases or prior names if relevant.
- Approximate arrest or booking date.
- Date of birth when the agency permits it for identification.
- Booking, inmate or arrest number if known.
- Arresting agency.
- Specific record requested, such as booking sheet or booking photograph.
Arresting-agency records
Check the Police or Sheriff’s Arrest Report Separately
The law-enforcement agency that investigated or made the arrest may hold an incident report, arrest report, citation or probable-cause document even when a different agency operated the jail.
For example, city police can make an arrest while a county sheriff operates the detention center. In that situation, the police department may hold the arrest narrative while the sheriff holds the booking photograph and custody record.
| Record | Typical custodian | What it usually answers |
|---|---|---|
| Incident report | Investigating police or sheriff | What the agency recorded about the incident. |
| Arrest report | Arresting agency | Arrest-related agency information. |
| Booking sheet | Jail or detention center | Intake and custody information. |
| Mugshot | Usually booking agency | Photograph created during intake when retained and releasable. |
| Criminal case | Court clerk | Filed charges and later court activity. |
Long-term case records
Use Court Records When the Jail Archive Is Gone
Court records are often the strongest second route for an old arrest because the criminal case can remain available after the jail’s public-facing booking page has been removed.
Search the state or county judicial website for the court that handled the case. If online records do not reach far enough back, contact the clerk and ask whether older files are stored on-site, on microfilm, in a records center or with a state or local archive.
Useful court-search details
- Defendant’s full name.
- Approximate filing year.
- County or judicial district.
- Case number if known.
- Original arrest charge if known.
- Approximate arrest date.
Federal cases
How to Find Old Federal Arrest and Court Records
Federal criminal records follow a different path from county and city arrests. PACER provides electronic public access to federal district, bankruptcy and appellate court records and lets registered users search by a specific court or through the nationwide PACER Case Locator.
PACER
Use PACER when you know or suspect the criminal case was prosecuted in federal court. The Case Locator can help identify the court and case number when you do not know where the case was filed.
Open PACER ↗National Archives
The National Archives preserves older federal court records after eligible files are transferred from the courts. Its holdings include federal criminal case files, dockets, indexes and related judicial records.
Search NARA court-record guidance ↗For federal court files that have been transferred for permanent preservation, the National Archives explains that records can be located by the court and geographic area. Many older files are not digitized, so archive research can require identifying the correct NARA facility or ordering copies.
Historical newspapers
Search Newspaper and Library Archives for Very Old Arrests
Newspapers can be useful when researching an arrest from decades ago, especially when the original booking database never existed online. A local paper may have published an arrest story, police blotter entry, trial report or photograph.
The Library of Congress maintains Chronicling America, a free searchable collection containing millions of digitized historical U.S. newspaper pages from nearly every state and territory, with digitized content through 1963.
Search Chronicling America ↗Try several historical search formats
- Full name in quotation marks.
- Last name plus city or county.
- Name plus “arrested.”
- Name plus charge description.
- Name plus sheriff or police department.
- Approximate year plus location.
Your own criminal-history information
Use the FBI Identity History Summary for Your Own Federal Record Review
If your goal is to review criminal-history information associated with yourself, the FBI offers an Identity History Summary Check. It is based on fingerprints and can include certain information received by the FBI in connection with arrests and other fingerprint submissions.
This is not a public people-search database and it is not designed as a national mugshot archive. The FBI requires fingerprint-based identification before releasing an individual’s Identity History Summary.
FBI Identity History Summary information ↗When nothing is online
Use a Public-Records Request for an Archived Mugshot
If an agency still retains a booking photograph but no longer publishes it online, a public-record request may be the next step. The procedure and disclosure rules depend on the jurisdiction.
For local police, sheriff and county-jail records, use the applicable state or local public-records law and the responsible agency’s request process. Federal FOIA is for federal agency records; FOIA.gov specifically directs people seeking non-federal records to the appropriate state or local authority.
A useful request can be simple
Record requested: Booking photograph and booking record for [full name], associated with an arrest or booking on or about [date] in [county/city].
Identifiers: Include a date of birth, booking number or case number only when appropriate and available.
Format: Ask whether an electronic copy can be provided.
Troubleshooting
Why an Old Mugshot May Be Hard to Find
When the problem is an old image online
Finding an Old Mugshot and Removing One Are Different Tasks
If you are searching because an old mugshot continues to appear online, first determine who actually hosts it. A government booking page, newspaper archive, search-engine result and commercial mugshot website are different publishers with different correction and removal processes.
Do not pay a third-party service simply because it claims it can “erase” a public arrest record everywhere. A removed webpage does not automatically remove the underlying government or court record.
Contact the record custodian
If the government record contains inaccurate identity or disposition information, use the agency or court’s correction process.
Check the applicable order
A sealing or expungement order can affect official access, but its scope depends on the jurisdiction and the specific order.
Search by age of record
Where to Look Based on How Old the Arrest Is
| Approximate age | First places to check | Likely limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Days to months | Current jail roster, recent booking archive, arresting agency | Person may already have been released. |
| 1-5 years | Jail archive, police/sheriff records, criminal court search | Current-custody systems may no longer show the booking. |
| 5-20 years | Court clerk, records division, state repository, local archive | Older records may be offline or stored in another system. |
| Decades old | State/local archives, historical newspapers, libraries, court archives | Photographs may not have survived or may never have been digitized. |
| Older federal case | PACER, federal clerk, National Archives | Some old criminal documents are not publicly accessible electronically. |
Accuracy before reuse
Verify the Case Outcome Before Sharing an Old Mugshot
An old booking image freezes one moment in the criminal-justice process. The person may later have been released without charges, had charges dismissed or reduced, been acquitted, completed a sentence, obtained record relief or had the matter resolved in another way.
When accuracy matters, connect the booking record to the later court case and verify that you have the correct person.
- Confirm full name and jurisdiction.
- Compare the booking date.
- Find the related court case where publicly available.
- Check the disposition rather than repeating only the initial charge.
- Respect sealed, expunged and legally restricted records.
- Do not infer guilt from the booking photograph.
Common questions
Old Mugshots and Archived Arrest Records FAQs
How can I find an old mugshot online?
Start with the sheriff, jail or detention center that handled the booking. If its public system only shows current inmates, look for a booking archive or records-request process and then check the related criminal court record.
Is there a national database of old mugshots?
No single official U.S. database contains every local booking photograph. Most city and county mugshots are controlled by local agencies, while state and federal records use separate systems.
Can I find a mugshot from 10 or 20 years ago?
Possibly, but an arrest that old may no longer appear in the current jail website. Contact the records office, court clerk, state or local archive, or historical newspaper collection for older material.
Why did an old mugshot disappear from the jail website?
The public system may only display current or recent bookings, the agency may have changed software, the record may have been restricted, or the agency may no longer publish booking photographs online.
Can I request an old mugshot from a sheriff’s office?
You can ask the responsible agency whether the booking photograph is retained and publicly releasable. Availability depends on state law, agency policy, retention schedules and any applicable record restrictions.
Does a court file contain the mugshot?
Not necessarily. A court file can help confirm the criminal case and disposition, but the booking photograph is commonly held by the jail or booking agency rather than the court.
How do I find an old federal criminal case?
Use PACER to locate federal court cases and dockets. For older federal files that have been transferred for permanent preservation, consult the National Archives or the relevant federal court clerk.
Can I use the FBI to look up another person’s old mugshot?
The FBI Identity History Summary process is not a public mugshot name-search service. It is a fingerprint-based process primarily used by individuals to obtain their own FBI identity-history information.
Can historical newspapers help me find an old arrest?
Yes. Local newspaper archives and collections such as the Library of Congress Chronicling America collection can help with older arrest reporting. Newspaper coverage should still be checked against court or official records when the final outcome matters.
Does an old mugshot prove someone was convicted?
No. A mugshot documents a booking event. It does not establish guilt, conviction or the final outcome of the criminal case.
Official Research Resources
Because old mugshots are maintained by many different jurisdictions, there is no single government source for every search. These national resources are useful when the research reaches federal courts, historical archives, federal identity-history records or historical newspapers.
- PACER — Public Access to Court Electronic Records
- U.S. Courts — Find a Federal Case
- National Archives — Federal Court Records
- National Archives — Law Enforcement Records
- FBI — Identity History Summary Checks
- FOIA.gov — Federal Records Request Wizard
- Library of Congress — Chronicling America
USA-Mugshots.com is an independent informational website and is not a sheriff’s office, police department, court, archive, the FBI or another government agency. Access to old booking photographs depends on the jurisdiction, age of the record, retention policy and applicable law. Verify important findings through the responsible official source.