Washington Criminal Records: Criminal Records Guide

There is no need to pay a third-party people-search website before checking the correct government system. Start with the record type, because a booking record and a criminal case disposition are not the same thing.

The Clerk’s Public Records Hub provides specific court search methods. You can open the search page without creating an account to inspect public records. Registration is available for additional account-based functions, including eligible electronically certified document orders.

1. Open the Clerk’s official Court Records Search. Use the direct Manatee County Clerk portal, not the separate Official Records search intended for recorded documents such as deeds.
2. Choose “Person’s Name” if you do not know the case number. Enter the name using the portal’s requested format. Check alternative spellings or former names when appropriate.
3. Choose “Case Number” when you have a docket number. Preserve the entire case number from the summons, arrest paperwork, court notice or previous case record. This usually narrows results substantially.
4. Use “Case/Filing Type” for category-based research. If the person’s name is unknown or you are researching a class of cases, use the court’s case-type and date controls rather than guessing an identity.
5. Review matching case results. Check the court case number, party name, filing date, case type and case status. Do not assume that two records with similar names involve the same person.
6. Open the relevant case and read its history. Look for charges, hearings, motions, pleas, sentencing entries, judgments or dismissals. Later docket entries may change the meaning of earlier events.
7. Look for available court documents. Some images are publicly viewable. Others may require a View on Request procedure, or may be confidential and unavailable to the public.
8. Contact the Clerk when official documentation is required. For certified judgments, dispositions, older materials or an unclear case, use the Public Access and Research Division or Criminal Division contact details below.

Clerk’s Public Access and Research instructions

Manatee County is part of Florida’s Twelfth Judicial Circuit, which serves Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties. It is important to choose the correct case category when searching criminal court records.

The Twelfth Judicial Circuit’s official Criminal Division page explains the court’s criminal jurisdiction and publishes division-specific information, forms and hearing resources.

The case status and docket history matter more than the first charge shown on a search-results page. Use the full case history to understand the proceedings.

For recent arrest or booking information, use the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Arrest Inquiries tool. It is a different system from the Clerk’s criminal case docket.

How to search the Sheriff’s booking system

1. Open Arrest Inquiries. Visit the official Sheriff arrest search.
2. Read the disclaimer. The Sheriff’s information describes bookings and does not establish the final outcome of court proceedings.
3. Use the available search controls. Follow the portal into the booking search and enter the relevant name or available identifier.
4. Compare possible matches. Look at the available booking date, arrest information, charge, booking number or custody status.
5. Check the court disposition separately. If prosecution followed, use the Clerk’s Court Records Search to verify the corresponding criminal case.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Records Section offers countywide adult background checks. Unlike a search of a particular court case, this is a request for background information maintained through the Sheriff’s local records process.

Important July 2026 change to Sheriff’s public records

The Sheriff’s Records Section reports that legislation effective July 1, 2026 expanded confidentiality for victims’ and qualifying family members’ personally identifying information. That information may be redacted from released records.

The Sheriff’s guidance explains that a case number may be more useful than searching by protected victim information. Eligible victims or family members can review the identity-verification instructions for requesting their own protected information.

The Manatee County Clerk does not perform statewide Florida criminal-history checks. To search Florida’s central criminal-history repository, use FDLE’s official criminal-history services.

The Manatee County Clerk offers electronically certified court records through its Public Records Hub. That is especially useful if you need a certified criminal disposition, judgment or order without visiting the courthouse, provided the document is eligible.

1. Open Court Records Search. Visit the Clerk’s official portal and locate the criminal case.
2. Register if needed for ordering. Use the portal’s registration option and follow its account confirmation instructions for additional record services.
3. Open the document. Identify the disposition, judgment or other specific record required.
4. Choose “Certified Print” when available. The Clerk’s published court-certification instructions describe adding the desired record to the shopping cart.
5. Complete checkout. Review the document and payment details before ordering.
6. Save the certified document. Follow the portal’s delivery and verification instructions. Keep the electronic certificate intact.

What if a document has a lock icon?

The Clerk identifies some records as View on Request (VOR). Click the lock icon and follow the provided request instructions, including the email field where required. The Clerk says such requests are typically processed within approximately 24 hours, but that timing is not guaranteed.

A lock icon that permits a VOR request is different from a document marked confidential. The latter may be unavailable to general-public users even after a request.

The following fees are taken from the relevant county and state agency schedules. Confirm the exact charge for your request before submitting payment, particularly for online certified documents or special processing.

Verify the Clerk’s published copy and search fees

A missing result can reflect the wrong portal, an incomplete identifier, a restriction on public access or an older record requiring assistance from the custodian.

Florida law restricts public access to qualifying sealed, expunged and juvenile records and to protected personal information. Not every document in an otherwise public criminal case is available remotely.

For record sealing or expungement, the Manatee Clerk directs applicants to FDLE’s eligibility and application process and then the appropriate court procedures. Eligibility is fact-specific and depends on the applicable law and record.

Manatee Clerk criminal sealing and expungement information

A Manatee County trial court case and a later appellate case can have separate docket numbers. Florida appellate dockets are available through the state’s Appellate Case Information System (ACIS).

Federal prosecutions do not appear as ordinary Manatee County criminal trial cases. Federal court records must be searched through PACER or the appropriate federal court.

Public criminal case information requires careful interpretation. An arrest, an accusation, a pending charge and a conviction are different legal events.

• Confirm identity using reliable details, not name alone.
• Read the final disposition rather than relying on the initial charge.
• Check for appeals, reversals, dismissals or later orders.
• Respect sealed, expunged and protected records.
• Do not use an informational court-search website as a substitute for authorized consumer reporting.

FTC guidance on employment background checks