Criminal Records

Criminal Records Information and Access

The Maryland State Archives has in its possession a wide variety of criminal records from all 23 counties, Baltimore City, and the Courts of Appeal. Access to these records varies according to jurisdiction, court and time period; what follows is a guide to modern criminal records at the Maryland State Archives.

For more information about expungements, visit the Expungements FAQ page.

DISTRICT COURT DESIGNATIONS

In the left hand column, we have listed the county name, the district number assigned to that court, the county abbreviation and the letter which is used to designate that county as part of the case numbering system used by the court since 1983.

DISTRICT COURT RECORDS

In the center column, we have listed the record series number (with a link to the inventory, where an online inventory exists), the name of the agency (if the agency was not the district court), the series title, the years for which we have records in the series, a designation as to which facility the records are stored in and notes or explanations on how best to use the series. HF, OR and CW designations indicate documents under Hall of Records jurisdiction but housed at off site storage facilities. MSA or no designation indicates records stored at the Maryland State Archives.

The modern District Court System was established in July 1971. Prior to that time each county had a number of lower level courts, each with their own methods of creating and storing records. When these courts ceased to exist, their records went a number of different places. Many of them came to the Maryland State Archives for storage. These records were listed under the name of the originating court. Some records were incorporated into the records of the district/circuit court, sent here and are listed under the name of the district/circuit court. Some records still remain in the custody of the district/circuit court. Others may well have been lost. We have listed the records that we possess for the various lower level courts in the District Court section of the guide.

DISTRICT COURT INDICES

The right column lists any indices that we possess for a record series. These may be dockets or electronic format. This does not include the CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SYSTEM and the MARYLAND JUDICIAL SYSTEM CASE SEARCH. The MARYLAND JUDICIAL CASE SEARCH may be accessed from courts.state.md.us.

In addition, many of the dockets created by courts that existed prior to July 1971 contain volume indices.

Many of the indices are still in the possession of the district court. Should you need to contact a district court please see List of Maryland District Courts.

DISTRICT COURT RECORDS ON MICROFILM

The District Court system has created a centralized records management center in Annapolis to be responsible for the many records the courts have created over the years. This facility is known as the District Court Record Center or more familiarly as the District Court Warehouse.

For a number of years, the record center has been microfilming and destroying files. They create two master rolls of film. They send one to the Maryland State Archives and keep one for their use. They access the records on the film through a Kodak records accessioning system, known as KARS. As records are expunged, they are removed from the computerized records accessioning system. Since the expunged record is still on the film, this is a restricted record series. Any District Court or the Maryland State Archives can obtain a fax copy of a file from the District Court Record Center. We can also make copies directly from the film, by obtaining the roll and frame numbers from the District Court Record Center. 

THE DISTRICT COURT RECORD CENTER DOES NOT DEAL DIRECTLY WITH INDIVIDUALS. FOR ACCESS TO THEIR RECORDS, PLEASE CONTACT THE NEAREST DISTRICT COURT OR THE MARYLAND STATE ARCHIVES.

CIRCUIT COURT RECORDS

The Maryland circuit court system was established in 1851. The Circuit Court Criminal Records guide follows the same format as the District Court Criminal Records guide. The left column shows the name of the county, the center column lists the criminal records we possess, and the right column lists indices in our possession. Again, some of the individual dockets have volume indices.

In order to contact a circuit court for assistance, please see the List of Maryland Circuit Courts.

DISTRICT COURTS

CIRCUIT COURTS

COURTS OF APPEAL

DISTRICT COURT RECORDS AT THE ARCHIVES

CIRCUIT COURT RECORDS AT THE ARCHIVES

COURTS OF APPEAL

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