State and Federal Inmate Search

Every state has either a Department of Corrections or a Bureau of Prisons that indexes inmates that have served time in the state’s prison system.  With very few exceptions, this information is available to third parties.  This search is a valuable supplemental tool for use along with a standard criminal history search, especially in those states where a statewide criminal record search is not available. 

California, for example, has many metropolitan areas that include several different county governments.  Since California does not offer a statewide criminal search, the most appropriate county or counties must be singled out for criminal searches.  An inmate search through the California Department of Corrections is not a criminal history search since it only includes prison inmate data, but it is statewide in scope and could very possibly uncover criminal activity in counties that would not have been searched otherwise.  The State Inmate Search does not include individuals who spent time in a county or city jail; only those taken into custody by the state prison system.

The State Inmate Search covers at least seven years, has a quick turnaround time, and is $7 per state.  Please contact an ESS representative for additional information and how you can add this search to your Employment Screening Services Pre-employment  Report.

*** A Federal Inmate Search is also available.  This search is similar to the State Inmate Search except it is conducted through the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which maintains an index of persons who have entered into the federal prison system.  The vast majority of crimes are prosecuted at the state/county level, but if an individual were convicted of a federal crime, such as mail fraud, the individual would be tried at the federal level. A person sentenced to prison for a federal crime will become a federal inmate.  The Federal Inmate Search covers the entire United States and U.S. territories. It would not include inmates of a state prison, county, or city jail.  Please call ESS for additional information.