Find Free Harris County Public Records: Marital, Criminal & Arrests

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Free Harris County Public Records Search

Access Harris County Records: marriage, divorce, warrants, arrests, probation, criminal, court, background checks, and all public records.

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Begin your search and find free Harris County public records on anyone through county and municipal agencies today.

Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Texas Public Information Act, public information pertaining to arrests, mugshots, criminal charges, marriages, divorces, background check reports, warrants, probation status, court documents, births, and deaths are readily accessible if you know where to look.^{1, 2}

To assist with this, the guide below details everything necessary to find free public records in Harris County, Texas.

Written or authored by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who possesses a Juris Doctorate in Law from Widener University School of Law and is a Licensed Attorney.

How To Run a Harris County Inmate Search for Free

Texas public records include free arrest logs for individuals that have been arrested or incarcerated in Harris County. County arrest records are maintained with local law enforcement agencies such as the county sheriff’s office, or local police departments. The options listed below are great free options for finding arrest records for people that live or have committed crimes in Harris County.

When planning to perform an arrest search, make sure you gather whatever information you have available — i.e. their full name, last location etc.. The more information you have the greater the likelihood of a successful search.

Search the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Inmate Roster for Recent Arrest Records & Mugshots

Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) is the primary custodian for arrest records. Once you have gathered your information, a fast and free way to get arrest records is to use HCSO’s Online Public District & County Criminal Records Inquiry.³

Their search tool allows you to input the following information:

• Last Name
• First Name
• Birth Date
• System Person Number (SPN)
• Social Security Number (SSN)

The search tool provides specific instructions on which combination of information you can enter so make sure you are inputting the information correctly.

Once you enter your information and click “Submit This Search” you will be provided that matches your search criteria along with their SPN and date of birth.

Once you select an individual you can get their jail records and other useful information. The HCSO arrest inquiry tool provides the following information:

• Number of charges found
• Jail
• Booking date
• Case number
• Charge
• Court
• Court date
• Bond amount
• Fine Balance Due

Unfortunately, you cannot find someone’s mugshot through the HCSO arrest inquiry. Also, if you want more specific information on the jail where the individual is located you can click on the jail link in their arrest record. From here you can get the specific address and contact information for that jail.

If you have additional questions, you can contact Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO).⁴ For additional questions or to make a direct inquiry for arrest logs and other information, contact the HCSO Incarcerated Person Information phone number at 713-755-5300 or visit them in person at:

Harris County Sheriff’s Office
1200 Baker Street
Houston Texas 77002

You can also email them at [email protected].

Those seeking information on arrests that were made in nearby counties can perform a free Texas state records search through our resource which provides guidance on finding all kinds of public records throughout the state (i.e. arrests, records of criminal history, warrants, and more).

Check With Local Police Departments in Harris County To See Who’s in Jail

Another way to get Harris County arrest records is to check with the local police departments and jails in some of the larger cities. While the law enforcement agencies in the major cities in Harris County do not have online tools to search police records, you can reach out to them directly to request a recent arrest report or other related information.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list, the information below provides helpful information for requesting arrest records from a couple of the larger cities in Harris County.

Houston, Texas:

The Houston Police Department (HPD) has an Office of Legal Services/Open Records Unit where you can request a variety of records.⁵ You can call them if you have any specific questions not answered below at 713-308-9178.

Here you can request arrest records, jail booking blotter, mugshots, offense reports and more. The HPD requests the following information be provided, if available when submitting a request for an arrest record:

• Date of arrest
• SSN
• Offense report number
• Type of offense.

The HPD releases arrest records through the Houston Public Information Request Center.⁶ You can also make a request through the following ways:

• Fax – 713-308-9150
• Email – [email protected]
• Mail

Houston Police Department
Edward a Thomas Building
Office of Legal Services
1200 Travis – 10th Floor
Houston Texas 77002

• In Person – use the address above except go to the 1st Floor where there is a drop box available.

Here is some additional information that you need to know before making an arrest record request with the Houston Police Department:

• The arrest record information provided by the HPD will not be certified.
• You should expect to wait up to 10 business days for your records request to be fulfilled. You may be able to get the record on the same day if you go in person.
• Make sure you provide a mailing address with all requests. Arrest records will not be emailed or faxed to anyone.

Houston has consolidated all of their city jails with Harris County so if you are looking for any additional information about a person arrested in Houston, check out the Harris County inmate tool.

Pasadena, Texas:

The Pasadena Police Department has a Records Division where you can request arrest records. You can submit a records request online which also provides you the ability to check the status of your request online.⁷ Here are some additional options for submitting a records request (note: all requests must be in writing):

• Visit in Person

Pasadena Police Department
1201 Davis Street
Pasadena Texas 77506

• Mail your Request

Pasadena Police Department
Attn. Open Records
1201 Davis Street
Pasadena Texas 7750

• Fax – 713-477-4976

Similar to requests in other cities, the more information you provide the easier it will be to find out if someone is in jail and what charges were brought against them. For additional information on Pasadena arrest records, you can call the Pasadena Police Department at 713-477-1221.

If you are looking for daily arrests or related information in any other cities you can try performing a Google search for arrest records in that particular city (e.g., search “Deer Park arrest records”).

How To Look Up Marriage Records & Divorce Records in Harris County Texas

Harris County marriage records can be found with their District Clerk of Court. One option is to visit in person to request a marriage record. Below is a directory of Harris County Clerk of Court locations with their address and phone numbers.

Office Location	Address	Phone Number
Downtown	201 Caroline Street, 3rd Floor Houston Texas 77002	713-274-8600
Baytown Annex	701 W. Baker Rd. Baytown Texas 77521	713-274-2248
Chimney Rock Annex	6000 Chimney Rock Road Houston Texas 77081	713-274-2929
Clay Road Annex	16715 Clay Rd. Houston Texas 77084	832-927-7230
Clear Lake Annex	16603 Buccaneer Ln. Houston Texas 77062	832-927-2910
Cypresswood Annex	6831 Cypresswood Dr. Spring Texas 77379	832-927-7290
Humble Annex	7900 Will Clayton Pkwy. Humble Texas 77338	832-927-2060
North Shepherd Annex	7300 North Shepherd Drive Houston Texas 77091	832-927-2050
Pasadena Annex	101 South Richey Street Pasadena Texas 77506	713-274-6230
South Belt Annex	10851 Scarsdale Boulevard Houston Texas 77089	713-274-6918
Wallisville Annex	14350 Wallisville Road, Suite 111 Houston Texas 77049	713-274-6925

The Harris County Clerk also provides a document search portal where you can search for marriage licenses and order either non-certified or certified copies.⁸ You can search using any of the following criteria:

• File Number
• Film Code
• Applicant 1
• Applicant 2
• Issued Date Range
• Married Date Range

Once you conduct your search, the results will provide you with the file number, applicant names, license statute, the Official who issued the license, the date the license was issued, and a link to the marriage license. To actually view a marriage license you will have to create a new user account. Once you create an account and log in you can view an unofficial copy of the marriage certificate.

If you want a non-certified copy it is free, however, a certified copy costs $5.00 plus $1.00 for each additional page, up to 10 pages (.10 cents per page if it goes over 10 pages). If you order your copy online you will receive the documents you requested via email shortly after your payment is processed.

Not only can you check if someone is married, the district clerk also provides a public repository for searching Harris County divorce records online. Once you sign up for an account you can perform a search for divorce records. From the search tool’s home page, there are several search options to choose from.

Select the “Civil/Family” drop-down menu. Before you enter any search criteria make sure you select the right case type. There are multiple divorce options (e.g. divorce with or without children) to choose from so, depending on what you know, you may have to run a few searches to get the divorce information you are looking for.

As far as search criteria, you can enter the following information:

• Case number
• Plaintiff/Defendant name (there are two unique options for searching names in case you do not know a person’s full name)
• Filed date range
• Specific court

Once you perform a successful search you will receive a list of results with the following information:

• Case number
• Case caption (e.g., parties’ names)
• File date
• Court
• Case region
• Specific type of action.

You can then click on the record you are looking for to get further detailed information, including the divorce decree and other related information.

How To Access Harris County Criminal Records

If you want to look up Harris County criminal records, start by searching at the county level where the person was arrested or convicted of a crime. Criminal records are a great way to get information on court hearings, arrest logs, where someone is incarcerated, and much more.

Here are the best ways to perform a free criminal record check in through local agencies who host Harris County public records. 

Use the Harris County District Clerk’s Records & Documents Online Search Tool

The Harris County District Clerk provides an online tool to search criminal records throughout the entire county.⁹ Here you can look up someone’s criminal record through Harris County’s judicial records. However, much like the District Clerk’s other search tools you will need to register for an account before you can begin your search.

Once your registration is approved, follow these steps.

1. Navigate to the district clerk’s search tool.
2. Select “criminal” from the initial search options. Note: If you would simply like to check the most recent filings you can click on a link at the top of the criminal section that will pull up a search of the current day’s filings.
3. Enter search criteria. If you are not sure how to best conduct a search you can check out their document search hints page where they provide detailed information on performing a search through their public index of criminal cases.

Once you enter your search criteria the results will display the case number, defendant’s name, date filed, current status/disposition, and type of action/offense. Once you click on the defendant’s name you will have access to a significant amount of information regarding the individual and their criminal record.

Here is an exhaustive list of everything that the Harris County District Clerk provides with their criminal records:

• Summary – here you can get a case summary, a description of the defendant (along with their date of birth and address), the current presiding judge’s contact information, and a link to preview the docket sheet.
• Appeals
• Bonds
• Case Activities – this includes detailed information on every event that has occurred throughout an individual’s case. Information includes the date of the event, type (e.g., court order, grand jury action, etc.), and a brief description of what occurred.
• Bookings/Holds – this section provides the arrest date, arrest location, and booking date.
• Criminal History – this section details every criminal case ever brought against the Defendant in Harris County. In addition, this section will provide the case number, filed/booked date, court number, case status, and disposition.
• Witness records
• Parties (Active and Inactive) – this may include any judges or attorneys that were part of the case.
• Restitution
• Settings – these are the major court hearings for an individual (e.g., arraignment, probable cause hearing, etc.).
• Court Registry
• Related Cases
• Aliases
• Payment Plan – this includes how much the defendant is required to pay, the total paid, past due, and the judgment date.
• Images – here you can view all non-confidential criminal documents that have been filed by either the defendant or the prosecution.

The Harris County Criminal Justice Center is home to 23 criminal district courts and 16 criminal courts of law. If you would like to request criminal records in person, you can go to their main location at:

Harris County Criminal Justice Center
1201 Franklin Street
Houston Texas 77002

You can use the Harris County Criminal Court at law directory to contact these specific courts.¹⁰ For more information on district courts, visit the District Clerk’s Criminal Courts page.¹¹

Access the Harris County Sheriff’s Case Search Tool

While they are not the custodian of criminal records, HCSO provides a Harris County case search tool.¹² In order to use this search tool you need to have specific information. This includes providing at least one of the following:

• Offense/Incident Number
• SPN
• Case Type with Harris County Case Number

If you choose this method you can use HCSO’s arrest inquiry tool to get any case numbers you would like to look up on their case search.

The HCSO search tool provides the following information:

• Name
• SPN
• Release reason/date/time
• Sentence end date
• Case number (also whether a felony or misdemeanor)
• Court
• Next court hearing and reason
• Case results

Inspect Criminal Records Through City Municipal Courts

Some city-level courts, such as Houston, allow you to request criminal records directly from them. Houston municipal courts provide a couple of options to request public information.¹³ You can do this online through their GovQA Portal.

Here you can click “Submit a Request” and Select “Municipal Courts.”

To submit a request you will need to register for a free account. The Houston Municipal Court also provides a section where you can check your requests as well as search Harris county public records archives in the city of Houston.

You can also make requests either in person or by mail. To make a request in person go to the following address:

The City of Houston Municipal Courts Public Information Office
1400 Lubbock Street
Second Floor, Room N203
Houston, TX 77002

You can go in person any time from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. For any additional questions, you can contact the Public Information Request office directly at 713-247-5479. You can also mail your request to the address above.

Just make sure you mark your envelope “Attn: Open Records Department” to make sure it goes to the right office. Finally, you can fax your request to 713-247-4775.

Note: The Public Information Office recommends that you provide the following information when making a request for court records:(1) full name of the Defendant; (2) birth date; (3) TX driver’s license (if available); (4) citation/case number; and (5) your personal contact information.

State Resources To Find Texas Criminal Records

To expand the search for all Texas criminal records, here are your primary options:

• Texas Department of Public Safety – The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Crime Records Division allows you to conduct a criminal history conviction name search as well as a sex offender search.¹⁴
• Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Here you can perform an inmate information search and get a summary of their criminal record information.¹⁵
• Texas Appeals Management and eFiling System – this search is limited to criminal cases that have been appealed.¹⁶
• Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) – if you are looking for someone incarcerated in federal prison you can use this search tool.¹⁷
• National Sex Offender Registry – in addition to the Texas sex offender registry, you can use this nationwide search tool to search for criminal records information on convicted sex offenders.¹⁸

See the Texas Records Page criminal and arrest records guide for additional information on state resources that host public criminal records.¹⁹

How To Conduct Background Checks in Harris County Texas

Many people understand the general concept of a state background check yet the use of background checks can vary greatly. When most people think of background checks they think of professional background checks. However, even the use of professional background checks is fairly broad.

The necessity of a professional background check can range from applying for a job to getting approval to adopt a child. There are plenty of other reasons as well such as the purchase of a firearm and individuals working in a job that requires interaction with minors.

When it comes to someone requesting a professional background check they may only conduct a very basic name-based search in Harris County (known as level 1). You will have to search at the state level for ways to obtain a nationwide fingerprint search (known as level 2).

Regardless of which type of professional background check is being requested, there are rules that need to be followed. For instance, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires someone to get your consent before they request a background check.²⁰

In addition, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission makes sure you are not being unlawfully discriminated against because of the results of a background check.²¹

Personal background checks are not as well known as their professional counterpart. Personal background checks are not used for the specific reasons above but, in a nutshell, are simply used to learn more information about someone else.

You do not need a particular reason to conduct a personal background check, you just need to avoid using the information you have to do anything illegal. For instance, you cannot harass someone simply because you find something in their criminal record that you find disagreeable.

Personal background checks can be performed informally through third-party online search tools or by making formal public record requests with the appropriate federal, state, or local agency. I.e. you can search public records hosted by government agencies to perform a personal background check or public records search.

The Harris County District Clerk of Court provides an online background check service. However, it is important to note that their background checks are limited to Harris County and do not include federal records, records from other Texas counties, or other states.

You can perform a Harris County background check by entering any of the following information:

• Defendant Identification Number
• Case Number
• CDI (e.g., misdemeanor, felony, etc.)
• Name
• Date of Birth

This is not a formal background check in which you receive a certified copy for your records. After performing this search you will find the same information outlined in the section above pertaining to searching Harris County criminal records with their District Clerk.

You can also get formal state-level background checks through both the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services or through the Texas Department of Public Safety. ^{22, 23}

How To Find Warrant Information in Harris County

People search Harris County bookings for a variety of reasons. Sometimes you have a very specific purpose in mind such as figuring out if someone has a warrant. This could be an arrest warrant although bench warrants and fugitive warrants can often be searched as well.

Harris County Sheriff’s Office provides an online tool to perform your own Harris County warrant search.²⁴ If you use this search tool it’s important to know that it is limited to warrant information on Class A and Class B misdemeanors as well as other specific warrants issued by the Harris County Criminal Court at Law.

You can search Harris County warrants by name (including partial name), system person number (SPN), or date of birth. On the search page, you will see the individual’s SPN and name. Once you select an individual you can obtain the following additional information:

• Race
• Sex
• Date of birth
• Offense description
• Case number
• Bond

It does not provide any further details about the type of warrant or when the warrant was issued.

You can also try searching for warrants using the District Clerk of Court’s general court case search tool. While this is not the most direct way you can search for criminal cases here.

To focus your search on individuals with warrants, scroll down to the bottom of the search, and for the “Defendant Status” drop-down menu you can select “Warrant or Citation issued.”

How To Look Up People on Probation in Harris County Texas

Harris County public records does not include a dedicated search for people on probation. However, if you are trying to find out if someone is on probation in Harris County your best option is to use the general search tool provided by the District Clerk of Courts.

You can do a general search but you will have to review the dockets to find information about an individual’s probation status.

There are options to narrow down your search. For instance, in the defendant status section of the search tool, you can select to only search for Defendants that are currently on probation.

In addition, you can narrow the information you are looking for by selecting to search certain case statuses such as those that are “pending completion of probation.”

For additional information on individuals under supervision in Harris County, you can try calling the Harris County Community Supervision & Corrections Department at 713-696-2000. You can also submit an information request with this department to [email protected].

How To Look Up Court Records in Harris County Texas

You can perform a general search for Harris County Court records by using the search tool provided by the District Clerk of Court. Here you can search civil, family and criminal cases by clicking on the various case types at the top of the website. You can also perform the following types of searches here:

• Party Inquiry
• Historical search (for legal documents dating back to 1837)
• Trial Judgments
• Special Minutes
• Dockets

Here are a couple of additional options for searching Court Records in Harris County:

• Texas Appeals Management and eFiling System – here you can search cases on appeal.
• Harris County Justice Courts Cases – here you can search Justice of the Peace Court records if you are a party to the case.²⁵
• Houston Municipal Court – request court records from Houston’s municipal court.

How To Get Other Vital Records Such as Birth or Death Certificates in Harris County

If you are looking for birth or death records in Harris County, you can use the vital statistics search tool provided by the Harris County Clerk’s Personal Records Department.²⁶ Here you can select to search either birth or death certificates by name.

The online search tool has birth certificates starting from April 7, 1942 and death certificates from February 2, 1961. The search tool provides you with some basic information but does not provide a copy of the birth or death certificate.

However, the online search tool will provide you with the following information:

• File number
• Name
• Gender
• Place of birth
• Birth Date
• File Date
• Film Code Number

With this information, you request a copy of someone’s birth certificate through Harris County’s partnership with Vital Check.²⁷

To request a birth or death certificate directly from the County Clerk’s Personal Records Department you have to be an immediate family member.

This can include parents, spouse, children, and siblings. Requests can be made in person at any of their office locations throughout Harris county.²⁸

For birth certificates, the cost is $23.00 and death certificates are $21.00 (plus $4.00 for every additional copy). You must provide a cashier’s check or money order in this amount payable to “Harris County Clerk” along with a completed Application for Certified Copy of Texas Birth or Death Certificate.²⁹

Certain Birth and Death Certificates can be obtained in the specific city where someone was born or passed away. Here are additional options for obtaining a birth or death certificate:

• Houston Birth and Death Certificates – The Houston Health Department can provide birth and death certificates for people born or deceased in Houston.³⁰
• Baytown Birth and Death Certificates – the Baytown City Government provides a Citizen Self Service for requesting birth and death certificates.³¹

How To Search for Property Records Through the Harris County Clerk of Court

Harris County Property Records can be found in a couple of different locations depending on exactly what you are looking for. For property deeds, the Harris County Clerk of Court has a Real Property Document Search Portal.³²

Here you can search by several different criteria including:

• Grantor
• Grantee
• Trustee
• Subdivision
• Date Range
• File number.

For property maps and appraisal records from 2009 – present, you can search online through the Harris County Appraisal District.³³

For records between 1998-2008, you can email a request to [email protected] or call them at 713-812-5800.

For anything earlier than that you will have to contact the Harris County Archives.³⁴ Finally, for property tax records you can perform a search with the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector.³⁵

In summary, Harris County arrest records can be searched through the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. If you need criminal records you can search through the Harris County District Clerk.

If you are looking for marriage or divorce records you can contact the District Clerk of Court while the Harris County Clerk’s Personal Records Department maintains their vital records.

The Harris County District Clerk of Court provides a summary of where you can obtain most public records within the county, however, there are varying agencies for each record and this guide outlines everything necessary to find Harris County public records for free.³⁶