To look up criminal charges in Utah, you have two separate systems to work with. Court case information — charges filed, hearings, judgments, and outcomes — is broadly public and searchable online through the state judiciary’s Xchange portal. A full compiled criminal history, which links a person’s arrests and dispositions across agencies, is held by the Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) and is not open to general public search: you can pull your own, but getting someone else’s requires their signed release or a legally authorized purpose.
Knowing which system answers your question saves time. If you want to know whether a specific person has been charged and what happened in that case, start with the courts. If you need a formal background report on yourself, go to BCI.
Searching Utah Court Cases Through Xchange
Xchange is the Utah judiciary’s public search tool for case records from district and justice courts. Anyone can use it. A search returns the names of the parties, the assigned judge, the attorneys, the documents filed, hearings held, judgments entered, and the outcome of closed cases. Minute entries from public hearings, along with judgments and orders, stay visible unless a judge specifically restricts them.1Utah State Judiciary. Xchange Public Case Search
You can search by name, case number, or other criteria. Xchange offers three ways to pay:
- Guest account: a $10.00 initial deposit, with searches at $0.35 each and documents at $1.00 each. No account is created, and any unused credit is forfeited.
- One-time use account: same $10.00 deposit and per-search pricing, but you can create an account to preserve unused credit.
- Monthly subscription: $25.00 setup fee plus $40.00 per month, which includes 500 searches. Additional searches are $0.35 and documents remain $1.00.2Utah State Judiciary. Subscribing to Xchange and Xchange Fees
For a one-off check on a name or case, the guest or one-time account is enough. The monthly subscription is aimed at employers, landlords, and attorneys running frequent searches.
Viewing Your Own Case for Free
If you are a party to a criminal case — the defendant, plaintiff, or another named participant — you can view your case documents at no cost through the MyCourtCase portal. Registration requires an email address, your case number, and a government-issued ID. If your ID was issued outside Utah, you’ll need to email a photo of it along with your case number to the court to complete registration.3Utah State Judiciary. My Court Case
MyCourtCase covers nearly all case types in district and justice courts, open or closed. Juvenile cases have a separate portal. Involuntary commitment and essential treatment cases are excluded entirely. If you are not a party — for example, a victim, a researcher, or a member of the public — you’ll need to use Xchange instead.
Checking Whether Someone Is Incarcerated or on Supervision
The Utah Department of Corrections runs a separate offender search tool that shows people currently incarcerated by the department or on state probation or parole. It won’t show people awaiting trial or held in county jails, so it isn’t a complete picture of who is in custody in Utah.4Utah Department of Corrections. Offender Search
Getting Your Own Criminal History From BCI
For a full statewide criminal history compiled from arrest records, charges, and dispositions across agencies, you need to go through the Bureau of Criminal Identification. The application form, sometimes called the Right of Access application, is available on the BCI website.5Utah Department of Public Safety. Criminal History Records Forms
Bring a valid government-issued photo ID when you apply. Utah driving privilege cards are not accepted.6Utah Department of Public Safety. Obtain a Copy of Your Own Criminal History Record You can apply in person at BCI’s office at 4315 South 2700 West, Suite 1300, in Taylorsville, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or mail your completed application and fee to the same address. No appointment is required.
The fee is $20.00 for an in-person request, payable by cash, personal check, Visa, MasterCard, money order, or cashier’s check.6Utah Department of Public Safety. Obtain a Copy of Your Own Criminal History Record The authority to charge that fee comes from Utah Code 53-10-108, which directs BCI to set processing fees under state fee-setting procedures.7Utah Legislature. Utah Code 53-10-108 – Restrictions on Access, Use, and Contents of Division Records
If you can’t afford the fee, GRAMA encourages agencies to waive fees when your legal rights are directly affected by the record and you cannot pay. The statute uses “encouraged” rather than “required,” so agencies have discretion, but a denial can be appealed through the same process used for a denied public records request.8Utah Legislature. Utah Code 63G-2-203 – Fees
Looking Up Someone Else’s Criminal History
You cannot request another person’s BCI criminal history the same way you’d pull up their court case on Xchange. Dissemination of compiled criminal history information is restricted by statute. For a private individual to obtain someone else’s report, the subject of the record must sign a Third Party Release form authorizing BCI to share it.5Utah Department of Public Safety. Criminal History Records Forms
Some categories of requesters can access these records without the subject’s consent: criminal justice agencies, qualifying employers running background checks for positions involving fiduciary trust or the care of children or vulnerable adults, government agencies screening employees or volunteers, and other entities specifically authorized by statute or court order.7Utah Legislature. Utah Code 53-10-108 – Restrictions on Access, Use, and Contents of Division Records If you’re not in one of those categories and the person won’t sign a release, Xchange is your realistic route: you’ll see the court cases even though you won’t get the compiled report.
What You Won’t Find: Juvenile and Expunged Records
Most juvenile court records are not open to the public. There is one significant exception: when a minor 14 or older is charged with an offense that would be a felony in adult court, the petition, any disposition orders, and the delinquency history summary become available to anyone who asks, unless a juvenile court judge closes them for good cause. Probation officer records and social or clinical studies tied to juvenile cases are never open to the public and require the court’s consent to inspect.9Utah Legislature. Utah Code 78A-6-209 – Court Records – Inspection
Expunged records also drop out of public view. Once a Utah court expunges a criminal record, it seals all case-related records; no one can access them without a court order, and the person whose record was expunged can legally answer that the arrest or conviction never happened.10Utah State Judiciary. Expunging Adult Criminal Records If a search on Xchange turns up nothing on someone you’re sure had a case, expungement is one reason why.
Fixing Errors You Find in Your Record
Mistakes in criminal history records are more common than people expect. A dismissed charge may still show as active, a case may be attributed to the wrong person, or an expungement may not have been processed. If you pull your own history from BCI and find something wrong, you can contest it using the Record Challenge Form on the BCI website.11Utah Department of Public Safety. Utah Criminal Records Forms
Pulling your own record before you apply for a job, professional license, or housing is often worth the $20.00 just to catch problems early. Correcting a record after it has already cost you an opportunity is harder than fixing it in advance.