There is more access now than ever to information regarding a persons background and people want to know, “What does a county court criminal search include and why is this the best source for criminal information?”
County Court and District Criminal Records can include: 
- Felonies
- Misdemeanors
- Petty Misdemeanors
- The county courts also handle many types of civil cases
County Court and District Criminal Records Will Not Include:
- Municipal Criminal Records (city)
- State Criminal Records
- Federal Criminal Records
- Driving Records (traffic violations, etc.)
Often times District Courts have jurisdiction over Felony cases but in some cases can share jurisdiction with the county courts. In most cases county courts have jurisdiction over “Class A” and “Class B” misdemeanors with some offenses that do involve jail time.
The reason county and district criminal records are the most accurate is because the final disposition (verdict of charge) is reflected on the county court record. Many times a criminal record will be scraped from the internet and stored in a database after a person is arrested. This charge may take months or even years before the case is closed and has a final verdict, which can be Guilty, Not Guilty, dismissed, etc.
What happens most of the time is after the judge has made a decision, the criminal record may never be updated on the national database. This means even if a case is thrown out a potential landlord or employer may still see the criminal charge, upon investigating the criminal charge at the county level, the final verdict will let them know if the case was a conviction or not.
There are many national databases, some are better than others about making sure they receive the updates when they are made available. Regardless of which national database is used, when hiring employees always confirm any criminal records found at the county court or district level. This will help ensure accuracy and compliance.
