Access Free Lake County OH Public Records: Search Resource

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Free Lake County Public Records Search

Access Lake County Records: marriage, divorce, warrants, arrests, probation, criminal, court, background checks, and all public records.

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There are many reasons someone may want to find Lake County public records. One reason may be to access criminal history such as court dates, prisoner information, warrants, arrests and probation details. Other types of public records people commonly look up include property information and records of marriage, divorce, birth, and death.

These public records and more can be obtained through free online searches, in-person requests and background check reports. The Freedom of Information Act (a federal law) and Ohio’s Public Records Act facilitate access.

While individuals are required to have access to these records, it’s vital to know where to find them and how to perform a record request or search.

This resource will provide details on efficiently finding these public records in Lake County, Ohio. It will also guide you on the different rules and requirements for tracking down public records so you’re equipped with the most reliable tools and knowledge.

This resource was written by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who holds a Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.

How To Perform a Search for Recent Lake County Ohio Arrest Records (Free)

There are two primary types of searches a person can conduct to find out if someone is in jail. The first is to perform a general search for Lake County arrest records. This can be done through the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the adult detention facility they maintain.

Searching at the county level provides you with a broad search of all arrestees in Lake County. If a person is currently incarcerated in the Lake County Detention Facility and you have sufficient information to identify them, a search at this level is a great place to start.

The second option is to narrow your search to specific local police departments that serve cities throughout  the county. This is a great choice if you are trying to obtain incident or police reports and you know the arresting agency. This may be the only way to access any data if the person was arrested in the last 24 hours and you need the information immediately, as county databases can lag.

Below is information to assist you in performing either type of search in Lake County, Ohio.

Look Up Arrest Records Through the Lake County Sheriff’s Office

If you are looking for Lake County bookings and arrest information, you can either view the Jail Roster offered by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) or contact them directly.¹ While the LCSO is responsible for the county jail, they do not provide an online search tool.

The jail data provided by the sheriff’s office contains a dated PDF of individuals incarcerated in the Lake County Adult Detention Facility, in alphabetical order by last name. This report is provided on a daily basis, and a searcher can access these reports for a period of 7 days.

The jail records include a mugshot, the person’s name, and their date of birth. This jail report will also provide the charges that were brought against the arrestee, bond information and their current status. Finally, you can also view when the person was booked and released and the number of days they have spent in custody.

On this same page, there is a report that details released inmates for the current year, as well as a spreadsheet of released inmates for each year dating back to 2010. These reports will also provide the person’s booking date as well as the date they were released from jail.

For additional information, you can contact the LCSO by phone at 440-350-5601 or in person at the address below:

Lake County Sheriff’s Office
104 E. Erie St.
Painesville, Ohio 44077

Obtain Arrest & Police Reports via Lake County Local Police Departments

Whether you are looking for a recent arrest report or are trying to confirm arrest information uncovered during a county search, you may need to contact a local police department in Lake County.

As the arresting agency, municipal departments be able to provide greater detail than what was provided by the county sheriff or jail. Below is the contact information for several city police departments throughout Lake County:

Police Department	Address	Phone Number
Mentor Police Department	8500 Civic Center Blvd. Mentor, Ohio 44060	440-974-5760
Willoughby Police Department	36700 Euclid Avenue Willoughby, Ohio 44094	440-953-4212
Painesville Police Department	28 Mentor Ave. Painesville, OH 44077	440-392-5840
Eastlake Police Department	35150 Lakeshore Blvd. Eastlake, OH 44095	440-951-1400
Willowick Police Department	30435 Lakeshore Boulevard Willowick, Ohio 44095	440-585-1234
Wickliffe Police Department	28730 Ridge Rd. Wickliffe, Ohio 44092	440-943-1234
Willoughby Hills Police Department	35405 Chardon Rd. Willoughby Hills, Ohio 44094	440-942-9111
Madison Township Police Department	2065 Hubbard Rd. Madison, OH 44057	440-428-2116
Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Department	5860 Andrews Rd. Mentor-on-the-Lake, Ohio 44060	440-257-7234
Kirtland Police Department	9301 Chillicothe Rd. Kirtland, OH 44094	440-256-3333

Note: Different police departments vary in their hours of availability and how they process records requests. To be best prepared, click on the links provided or contact them by phone to get more information on requesting any records. 

Conducting a Free Public Criminal Record Check in Lake County Ohio

Perform a free criminal record check of public records in Lake County to learn more about any convictions a person has. You can conduct a general public criminal records search, or you can focus on specific information regarding outstanding warrants or probation.

While arrest records contain a snapshot of the original charges against an individual, a criminal record can provide detailed information from the person’s arrest through to their sentencing and any appeals. Below is detailed information on how to find criminal records and perform specific tasks such as a warrant search.

Related to this, you can also learn about background check reports and how to obtain one.

Searching Criminal Records in Lake County Ohio via the Clerk of Courts

To search for Lake County criminal records with the Court of Common Pleas, you can use the Clerk of Courts eServices Tool.² The Court of Common Pleas has jurisdiction over criminal felony cases. These are serious crimes that are typically accompanied by a prison sentence.

Their online tool can be used to perform a Lake County case search for criminal records by case number, name and other search criteria. When performing a search, unless you have the exact case number, start by selecting “Criminal” under the Case Type option.

Next, you can enter whatever criteria you have available, whether that be the person’s name, the case number or even an attorney. Users of this tool can then decide if they want to browse all cases or if they want to restrict it to certain case statuses. For instance, you may only want to look up a particular person’s criminal record for active cases.

Finally, you can choose to filter your search results by setting a date range for when the criminal case was filed.

To perform a generalized lookup for certain types of criminal records, you can also search solely by case type. This allows you to review up to a six-month range for criminal cases having a particular case status (e.g., active, closed etc.).

Once you perform a search with this tool, the results will provide you with the case number, file date and the initial action that led to the criminal charges. Here, you can also see the person’s name and date of birth. For additional criminal record information, click on the case number.

At the top of the page, you’ll see the case summary as well as the next scheduled event, if applicable. The remaining criminal record information is separated into four distinction sections as follows:

Party: This section contains the defendant’s address as well as contact information for their attorney. You can also view the disposition of the case and the date the case was resolved here.

Charge: View the specific charge(s) (including the criminal statute). In addition, you can see the offense location, date of offense and information on the individual’s conviction. There is also a link for sentencing information.

Details on (1) costs or fines, (2) license suspension, (3) jail time and (4) probation will be located here as well.

Event: This section will detail every event that has happened in the case with the date, time, type of event and the result. For instance, you can view this section to see motions filed and whether or not they were granted by the judge.

Docket: Provides information on case filings as well as miscellaneous actions taken during a case. For court filings, the search tool provides you with the option to view an image of the original document.

You can also look for these Lake County court records in person. Before you visit, you can call the Court of Common Pleas at (440) 350-2500 to ask them any questions you may have regarding searching court records. You can then go in person to the below address:

Lake County Court of Common Pleas
47 North Park Place
Painesville, Ohio 44077

Verify if Someone Has a Criminal Record in Lake County Ohio Through the Local Municipal Court

You can also look up someone’s criminal record with local municipal courts. Municipal courts handle misdemeanors, which are less serious criminal offenses that usually only result in probation or fines.

The municipal court is also responsible for traffic cases and the preliminary hearing for felony cases. Preliminary hearings are used to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to be tried by the Court of Common Pleas.

Two of the three municipal courts in Lake County have their own online search tool, which you can access here: Painesville Municipal Court and Mentor Municipal Court. Both have similar search options, allowing you to look for Lake County public records pertaining to criminal history by name, case number or ticket number.

To search criminal records, make sure you deselect the other options where it asks what type of case you want to search. Then, you can enter all relevant details. If performing a name search, you can enter either a full or partial name.

From the results list, you’ll see the case number, name, criminal violation and the date filed. You then have the option to either select “case” or “docket” on the right-hand side.

When you click on “case”, you can view detailed information about the charges brought against the person and its final disposition. When you select “docket,” you’ll be shown a date-by-date listing of every event that occurred during the case.

You can also reach out to the municipal courts to see if there is an option to search Lake County judicial records in person. Below is the contact information for the municipal courts in Lake County:

Court	Address	Phone Number
Mentor Municipal Court	8500 Civic Center Blvd. Mentor, Ohio 44060	440-974-5744
Painesville Municipal Court	7 Richmond St. Painesville, Ohio 44077	440-392-5900
Willoughby Municipal Court	4000 Erie St. Willoughby, Ohio 44094	440-953-4150

How To Determine if You or Someone Else Has a Warrant Out for Arrest in Lake County OH

A person can look up Lake County warrants using the Clerk of Courts eServices Tool. Your first step is to perform a criminal record search on the person you want to gather warrant information about.

From there, you can navigate to the “Event” section. This section will detail every event that occurred in a particular criminal case. If a person has a warrant for their arrest (or had one in the past), it should be listed in this section along with the judge who issued the warrant.

You can also view the date and time the warrant was issued.

Another option to find out if someone has a warrant is to check the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s Most Wanted List.⁶ On this page, you can find someone’s mugshot, name and the reason they are wanted for arrest. In addition, this public index provides the person’s date of birth and last known address.

Finally, you can search at the municipal court level. Both the Mentor Municipal Court and Painesville Municipal Court have an Active Warrants List.^7,8 You can view these lists to see warrants that were issued by that particular municipal court.

These Active Warrant lists provide you with individuals that have current warrants (delayed up to 24 hours), including the person’s name, the date the warrant was issued, the agency involved and the reason for the warrant. You can also click on the case number to get the person’s full criminal record.

How To Access Probation Records & Determine Who Is Under Supervision in Lake County

One of the primary places to obtain probation records is through the Lake County Clerk of Courts. They maintain case files that include probation documents, orders, and status updates.

Thus, if you are looking for a way to find probation records for a particular person, you can start by performing a criminal record search with the Clerk of Courts Case Search Tool. Your first step is to perform a criminal record search with whatever applicable information you have available. Details were provided in an earlier section on how to perform a criminal record search.

Once you find the criminal record you want to search, you will want to navigate to the “Charge” section. From there, you can scroll down and click on the link for the sentencing information.

At the bottom of the sentencing information is a section on probation. If a person is on probation, the criminal record will provide information on the type, the start and end date and the total number of days a person was sentenced to remain on probation.

If you need additional probationer details, you may also try reaching out to the Municipal Probation Departments at the address and contact information provided below:

Painesville Municipal Court
Probation Department
104 E. Erie St. 
Painesville, Ohio 44077

Phone: 440-392-5869

Willoughby Municipal Court
Probation Department
4000 Erie St.
Willoughby, OH 44094

Phone: 440-953-4150

Mentor Municipal Court
Probation Department
8500 Civic Center Boulevard
Mentor, Ohio 44060

Phone: 440-974-5744

How To Get a Background Check Report in Lake County Ohio

Background checks are one way to acquire public records information, particularly concerning a person’s criminal history. In fact, a lot of what has been discussed in this article are steps you can take when conducting a personal background check.

Personal background checks consist of searching for records online and in person with the various record custodians mentioned in this article. Personal background checks are not done for any official legal or business reasons but, rather, are conducted to learn more about a particular person.

While personal background checks are conducted for broad and generalized reasons, professional background checks are for specific reasons. Examples of when you may need a professional background check include:

• A screening step when adopting or fostering a child
• A prerequisite before obtaining a firearm’s license
• A recurring process for people who work with children or older adults (including volunteers)
• As a requirement due to certain Ohio state or federal statutes
• As part of the employment or tenant screening process
• To obtain a security clearance with the federal government

A professional background check cannot be directly requested at the county level. However, you can request a statewide background check from the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI).⁹ To do so, you can contact any agency or company on the BCI’s webcheck locations list to schedule an appointment or ask questions about what is needed to submit a background check request.

To acquire a background check in the county, you can start the process through the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. They are one of several WebCheck locations in Lake County for processing background checks with the BCI.

If you do not live in the state and need an Ohio background check, you are required to submit a fingerprint card to the address listed below:

Bureau of Criminal Investigation
P.O. Box 365
London, Ohio 43140

The fee for requesting a background check through the Lake County Sheriff’s Office is $40 for either submission of an Ohio BCI or nationwide FBI background check.

If someone needs more information about requesting a background check, they can visit the BCI’s Frequently Asked Questions Page. They can also call them at 877-224-0043. You can also direct any question about the background check appointment to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 440-350-5858.

How To Search Ohio Criminal Records Through State & Federal Resources

If someone has a criminal record, but you cannot find information on them using Lake County resources, you may have to broaden your search range to track down all Ohio criminal history information.

You can utilize both federal and Ohio public records. This allows you to not only expand your search, but also narrow your search to specific types of offenses if needed, such as searching an online directory for registered sex offenders.

Here are your options for searching criminal records for free in Ohio and with the federal government:

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction Offender Search: Use this offender search tool to find individuals with an Ohio criminal record. This tool includes people who are currently incarcerated and those under probation.

Supreme Court of Ohio: Can be used to find cases that have been adjudicated by the Supreme Court of Ohio.¹¹ This will include a mixture of cases, including criminal.

Ohio Sex Offender Registry: Allows you to perform a search for convicted sex offenders. This tool can be used to search by name, address and other search criteria.

U.S. Sex Offender Search Tool: Like Ohio’s sex offender registry, the federal government’s search tool allows you to find registered sex offenders by name and address. However, this search tool can be used to search throughout the entire United States.

Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP): For individuals incarcerated through the federal system, you can use this search tool provided by the Bureau of Prisons. Here, you can search for inmates located in federal prisons throughout the country.

The above resources provide a complete package of tools for searching a variety of federal and Ohio state criminal records.

How To Acquire Lake County Court Documents & Cases

The Clerk of Courts eServices Tool is a public records repository for various types of Lake County court documents from the Court of Common Pleas.

You can search these court records by case type, case number, name and more. In addition, you can narrow or broaden your search by selecting a case status or a filed date range.

You can also search by party type and filter the results by their date of birth or death. As far as what records you can search, here are some examples of the types of records available:

Court of Appeals – cases that have been appealed from the municipal courts.

Foreclosure – court documents on properties that went through the foreclosure process.

Criminal – complete criminal felony case records. Felonies are serious criminal cases that, if convicted, result in prison time.

Civil – various types of civil cases (e.g., contract disputes, personal injury etc.) where the amount in controversy is greater than $15,000.

Domestic – cases involving divorce, parental rights (i.e., custody), spousal support and child support.

Juvenile – cases involving persons under 18 (these records are largely confidential). Juvenile cases also include matters involving adults accused of child abuse, nonsupport and other matters involving minors.

Judgment Lien – court records in which a lien was placed against a person’s property for a judgment issued against them.

Another option is the Lake County Probate Court’s Search Tool. This tool can be used to search for estate and guardianship cases as well as several other types of cases under its jurisdiction. Here are a few examples:

• Conservatorship
• Name Change
• Special Needs Trust
• Release of Assets

You can search for court documents with the municipal courts located in Lake County as well. Online searches are available with the Painesville Municipal Court, Mentor Municipal Court and Willoughby Municipal Court.

You can use these online tools to search court records for various types of cases such as traffic, criminal, civil and small claims. You can also contact any of the municipal courts to see if their records are available to search in person.¹⁴

How To Retrieve Lake County Vital Records: Marriage, Divorce, Birth & Death Certificates

Interested parties can search Lake County public records for information on births, deaths, marriages and divorces. Since Ohio is an open records state, most of these vital records are available to the general public.

Whether you want to check if someone in Lake County is divorced, see if they’re still married, or request an official birth certificate or death certificate, vital records are a valuable public resource.

Vital records can help establish a person’s identity if they need to submit official paperwork or for certain legal matters, such as when a person goes to probate an estate. Vital records can also be helpful if you want to perform a search of your family’s heritage or genealogy.

Whatever the purpose of your search, it is important to understand how to find these records, as they are held by different custodians. Additional information will also be provided for making a request for an official copy of these vital records.

Verify Someone’s Marital Status (Divorced or Married) via the Lake County Probate Court & Clerk of Courts

For Lake County marriage records, you can search for information through the Lake County Probate Court’s Search Tool. To search someone’s marital status, first select “marriage license” under the case type. Then, enter the party information and a date range for when you believe the marriage occurred.

After searching, you can view a list of relevant marriage license records. You can view the parties, the date the marriage license was filed and the case number. You can then click on the case number to get additional information about the person’s marriage license.

To request a copy of a marriage record, you will have to fill out a Request for a Certified Copy of a Marriage Record.¹⁵ A requester will have to provide the following types of information to make a request.

• Parties names (maiden name if applicable)
• The date they were married
• Number of copies of the marriage record being requested
• Phone number for contacting the requester

If a person is making your request in person, they can bring it to the below address:

Lake County Probate Court
25 N. Park Pl. 
Painesville, Ohio 44077

If they are mailing your marriage request, they can send it to the address below:

Lake County Probate Court
Attn: Marriage Records
P.O. Box 490
Painesville, Ohio 44077

If you have any further questions about costs or how to find out if someone is married in Lake County, you can contact them by email at [email protected] or by phone at 440-350-2326.

You can search for Lake County divorce records by searching through the Clerk of Courts eServices Tool. To perform a search, first select “divorce” under the case type. Next, enter either the case number or the person’s name.

Similar to other searches, you can narrow the results by entering a date range for when the case was filed.

The results will provide the date the divorce case was filed, the parties involved as well as whether the divorce involved children or not.

If you click on the case number, you can view detailed information about the parties to the divorce, including their address and attorney. You can also view the “Events and Docket” section to see detailed information about the case, including when the divorce decree was issued.

Marriage and divorce records can also be acquired through the Ohio Department of Health’s Vital Statistics Division, and older records can be accessed from the Ohio History Connection Archives & Library.

Request Lake County Death & Birth Records or Certificates Through the General Health District

Find birth records by using the Lake County Probate Court’s Search Tool. Here, you can perform a search by entering a person’s information and selecting “Registration of Birth” for the case type. The results page will show the name of the person, date of birth and when the record was filed.

When you click on the case number, you can get additional information about the birth record.

To request either a birth or death record, you can go through the Lake County General Health District.¹⁶ You can go in person to request a record without an appointment, any time from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM, Monday through Friday.

You can make a request for either a birth or death certificate in person or by mail using their Application for Certified Copies Form. Their office is located at:

Lake County General Health District
5966 Heisley Rd.
Mentor, Ohio 44060

Death certificates less than 5 years old will not have the social security number included. If you need a death certificate with the social security numbers, you will also need to submit a non-redacted form and proof of your relationship to the decedent.

The cost of either a certificate of birth or a certificate of death is $21.50. If you have any questions about the process for requesting a birth or death record, you can email them at [email protected] or reach them by phone at 440-350-2549.

Furthermore, to obtain birth and death certificates, the Ohio Department of Health Vital Statistics Office is another option, while historical birth and death records are housed at the Ohio History Connection Archives & Library.

Viewing Lake County Property & Tax Records for Free

A great option for searching Lake County public records regarding property and tax information is to use the Auditor’s Property Search Tool. There are three options for searching property records using this tool: (1) Parcel ID, (2) Owner name, and (3) Address.

Once you enter your preferred search criteria, you can view a list of results with the above information listed. When you select the property record you’d like to research, information is broken down into several different sections.

Check out general parcel information such as the property class, neighborhood and owner information. You can see the tax rate for the property too. In addition to the tax rate, you can see the current taxes due and whether there are any delinquencies.

Another piece of information when viewing a property record is the assessed value of the property. If you need additional information, you can also contact the Lake County Auditor by phone at 800-899-5253 or at the address below:

Lake County Auditor
105 Main St. 
Painesville, Ohio 44077

Note: This online search tool provides you with the option to view multiple property records at once. Select as many property records you would like to view and click “Go” on the right-hand side of the screen. 

If you want to search for property records filed with the Lake County Recorder, you can use their Public Records Search Tool. Utilize this search tool to find deeds, mortgages, assignments and other property-related records that have been recorded in Lake County.

A search can be performed by either a name or specific document number. You can also look up a particular parcel or tract. Results can be narrowed down by setting a filing date range.

Once you perform your search, you can view identifying information regarding relevant property records, such as the party name(s), type of document and recorded date. Click on the property record to view additional information, as well as a PDF of the original document filed with the Lake County Recorder.

For additional information, you can contact the Lake County Recorder by phone at 440-350-2510 or email them at [email protected]. You can also visit them in person at the below address:

Lake County Recorder
105 Main St. 
Painesville, Ohio 44077

An Overview of Citizens’ Rights in Obtaining Lake County Public Records

While you now have the tools to perform multiple types of public record searches, it is important to educate yourself on how to ethically and responsibly use the information you find. Just because you have the ability to access information by performing a free public records search does not mean that there are no restrictions on how that information is used.

Ethical and legal use of public records largely depends on how the information is being used. There is a different set of rules for personal use as opposed to professional use.

For personal use, there are few restrictions. As long as you are using the information to learn more about a person and not for any professional purposes, you are free to use that information however you like. In addition, you can check public records for information about a person without requesting their consent.

The only restriction individuals must be aware of for personal use of public records is that the information cannot be used to commit a criminal act. That means, for example, no stalking, harassing or blackmailing a person based on information you uncover during a search.

When it comes to personal use, you have rights beyond using online search tools or finding records in person. You can also submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. This type of request is especially helpful if you want public records in which there is no available medium to search for the records on your own.

When dealing with professional use, there are more restrictions, which also means more rights for a person being searched. These additional restrictions are imposed for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the professional use of public records often has a tangible impact on the person being searched (e.g., determination of employment or ability to rent a property).

For professional use, consent is always required. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) handles claims when, for instance, an employer runs a background check without asking for a person’s consent. You can report a violation to the FTC if this occurs or if you are rejected because of a public records search and you were not sent the required notices.²⁰

In addition, you have protections against discrimination provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and rights through the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) if your consumer information is being accessed.

Knowing how to efficiently search for public information is a great skill set to possess, but it’s equally important to use Lake County public records responsibly once you find them; you can also expand your search to find statewide Ohio public records on anyone.