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Checking Your Own Criminal History: A How-to Guide

All data is accurate as of June 6, 2023.

If you have, or suspect that you may have, a criminal history, and are less than 100% certain about all of the details, follow these steps.

  1. Immediately disclose what you DO know, or suspect, to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs. The Associate Dean can let you know if and how the information needs to be given to the Admissions Committee so that your law school application can be amended. In rare cases of serious omission, there may be an Honor Code violation for failure to report on your original law school application, and you’ll want that process to be completed before you apply to take your bar examination. The bar authorities put great weight on disclosure, so the initial disclosure is key. Finding all the details, possibly revising your initial disclosure, and obtaining the documents you will need for your bar application can come later.
  2. During your first summer break (or sooner if so advised by the Dean of Students), request a COMPLETE Record Check from each state in which you might have had a criminal history. You do not want to request simply an "on-line" record check, which includes only your adult convictions. Instead, you want a complete record check, which includes all arrests, diversions, expungements, and juvenile offender information. Each state will have slightly different requirements, but those for Kansas are typical:
    • To obtain your complete record check, mail a letter requesting the complete record check, including your fingerprint card (do not staple or bend the card).
    • See the below for a sample letter to request a complete record check.
  3. If you think your criminal history may warrant it, you may also request your rap sheet (or proof that one does not exist) from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. There are two options for requesting a certified FBI Background Check.
    • The first option is to request your records directly from the FBI. This takes about six weeks and currently costs $18.00. You will need to obtain a money order or certified check for payment. See https://fbi.gov.
    • If you need a quicker response, you can submit your request to an FBI-approved Channeler, which is a private business that has contracted with the FBI to submit your request on your behalf. Contact each Channeler for costs, processing times, and availability in your area. The cost varies by Channeler, but is usually about $50.
  4. How to get your fingerprint card: Both your state bureau of investigation and the FBI will require a fingerprint card with your request for your rap sheet. Many local police or sheriff departments can perform this service for you by appointment for a small fee. Call the department convenient to your locality to check availability. In Topeka, your two best options are:
    1. Topeka Police Department: Go to https://services.topeka.org/Departments/Police/Fingerprinting-Services/#schedule_an_appointment and schedule an appointment (Thursdays only). Fee is currently $10.00
    2. Kansas Bureau of Investigation: Call (785) 296-4038 to make an appointment to have your fingerprints taken at the KBI Headquarters Annex, 1631 SW Topeka Blvd., Topeka, KS 66612. The fee for fingerprinting is currently $10.00.
  5. Investigate. Once you receive your background checks, perform an internet search for each police department, sheriff’s office, or court listed in your rap sheet. You can usually request the records associated with each incident by phone; often you can choose to receive the records via email. Sometimes you will need to obtain the records in person. Each department will charge different fees for copies and research, but the cost is usually $20 or less.
    • If the department says that they no longer have any records of the incident, request that they send this to you in writing (email is fine), as the bar authorities will want this proof that you attempted but cannot obtain the records.
  6. Minor charges not showing up on state or federal rap sheet? Sometimes a student may remember getting a ticket for a minor incident that nevertheless was, or may have been, more than the “minor traffic infraction” that need not have been reported on your law school application (and that is unlikely to be needed on your future bar application). For example, in Kansas, having too dark a tint on your vehicle window may be a misdemeanor rather than an infraction. In these types of situations, the best method for checking your record is to request your own driving record from your state, or from the state in which you think the ticket may have occurred. Do an internet search for “checking my own driving record in [State].” Such a report currently costs $16.70 in Kansas. See https://www.kansas.gov/ssrv-mvr-ltd/.
  7. Still remembering being charged for something that isn’t showing up on the record searches above? Once in a great while, a student will remember being charged for something like soliciting or operating a business without a license that just isn’t showing up on the record checks. In that case, it probably was a municipal charge that was not picked up in the state records. Call the municipal court of the city in which the incident occurred and ask how to obtain municipal court records for that city.
  8. Disclose. Disclose any new information to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs as soon as possible.

Sample Letter to Request a Complete Record Check

(Download the sample letter as a Word file (15 KB).)

[date]

Kansas Bureau of Investigation
Attn: Criminal History Records Section
1620 SW Tyler
Topeka, KS 66612-1837

To Whom it May Concern:

I request a copy of my complete Kansas criminal history record. The reason for this request is that I am a law student at Washburn University School of Law and want to ensure that I have completely and accurately disclosed all of my criminal history to the school, including arrests, diversions, expungements, and juvenile offender incidents as required by the school and as will be required in the future by the Kansas Board of Bar Examiners under the authority of the Kansas Supreme Court when I apply to sit for the bar.

My identifying information is as follows:

  • Full name(s): [List all names you have ever used.]
  • Date of birth: [List all dates of birth you have ever used.]
  • Social Security Number: [List all social security numbers you have ever used.]

As conclusive proof of my identity, enclosed is my fingerprint card taken by [the KBI; Topeka Police Department, etc.] on [date].

Also enclosed is [personal check, money order, or cashier’s check] payable to the KBI Record Check Fee Fund for $45.00 ($35.00 for the record check, and $10.00 to have my rap sheet notarized.)

Please mail my Kansas criminal history rap sheet to: [provide full name and complete mailing address].

Respectfully,

[Your written signature]

Short URL for this page:
https://washburnlaw.edu/checkingcriminalhistory