In Minnesota, criminal records are maintained in an effort to provide the public with information, but most importantly for law enforcement and court records. The state is not an open records state. This implies that Minnesota laws do limit who can access the information on these records. Though other states do allow for the general public to conduct records searches, it is not possible to get full records in this state as a third party. However, there are options for gathering some information from these agencies.
 

The state does have a computerized system that gathers information from local law enforcement agencies. Local courts and police officers gather this information when the illegal actions occur. When a person is arrested for a crime, it is then recorded and sent to the state. The official records of a person will contain a great deal of information including information covering all charges, convictions and arrests, as well as overturned cases, pending cases and those instances where the individual was found not guilty. This information is not available to the public, though.
 

The Department of Public Safety manages these files at a state level. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension governs this agency. If an individual wishes to gather these records, he or she must be doing one of the following activities. The individual must be hoping to obtain a record of him or herself. If the individual wishes to gather information about another person, the requestor must have a written and notarized document providing permission from the individual to the requestor to gather this information.

This is true for attorneys as well as for any employer conducting a thorough background check on the individual that will include a criminal background check. If that information is available, individuals can contact the agency below to get the Minnesota criminal records.
 

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

Minnesota Department of Public Safety

1246 University Avenue

St. Paul, Minnesota 55104
 

For further information about the process or about the individual's record, it is possible to call the agency at 651 642-0610. The agency does run a computerized system right now, but it has been collecting and maintaining accurate records since the 1950's in paper form. These are available through the central repository, which is also a part of the above named agency. Additional resources for criminal records include the Minnesota Department of Corrections. This agency maintains records for any individual that has been an inmate in the state's facilities. A search conducted by the inmate number can be made.
 

Minnesota criminal records do contain a great deal of information, but they do not contain information about crimes committed in other states or through the federal government. These are separate records. It is not possible to gain copies even with written permission from the individual for any sealed record or any juvenile record on file with the state. These records are only attainable if they come from a judge that orders the seal opened. It is rare for this to happen, though.

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