Find Criminal Records in Goodhue County

A Goodhue County background check lets you search criminal history records, court case data, and public records from this southeast Minnesota county along the Mississippi River. Red Wing is the county seat and home to both the Sheriff's Office and the District Court. Free online tools from the state BCA and the court system cover most searches, and you can get certified copies or older records directly from the county offices.

BCA Criminal History Search

The BCA Criminal History Search is the most direct way to start a Goodhue County background check. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension runs this free public database. You search by name and date of birth. The system returns conviction records from Minnesota courts statewide. Goodhue County courts and the Sheriff's Office both report to the BCA, so local cases show up in the same statewide database.

Under Minnesota Statute 13.87, conviction data is publicly available for 15 years after the sentence ends. After that period, the record is no longer shown. Arrest records that did not lead to a conviction are excluded from public view entirely. This rule applies to every Goodhue County case just as it does across the state.

Search at chs.state.mn.us for free. Results are statewide, covering Goodhue County cases along with records from any other Minnesota county. You do not have to know which court handled a case to find it here.

The BCA Criminal History Search is a free statewide tool for finding Minnesota conviction records, including those from Goodhue County courts in Red Wing.

For a certified background check document, send a notarized form and $15 to the BCA at 1430 Maryland Ave E, St. Paul, MN 55106. The process takes about two weeks. Call 651-793-2400 with questions. The certified document is an official signed version of the same database results available for free online.

Note: Both the free online search and the $15 mail-in check draw from the same BCA database. The difference is the form and the official nature of the output, not the underlying data.

Goodhue County District Court Records

The Goodhue County District Court is part of the First Judicial District. The courthouse is at 454 W 6th Street, Red Wing, MN 55066. Phone: 651-267-4800. The Court Administrator manages all case files and handles public records requests. Goodhue County's court is a full-service district court covering criminal, civil, family, and probate matters. Records are accessible online for recent cases and through direct contact for older files.

Minnesota Court Records Online gives free public access to Goodhue County cases from July 2015 forward. Go to mncourts.gov/access-case-records/mcro and search by name or case number. You can see case type, party names, docket history, and dates. Most criminal and civil records are publicly viewable without any special access requirement.

The Minnesota Courts directory for Goodhue County lists the courthouse address, phone number, and links to case search tools for the Red Wing location.

For records before July 2015 or for certified document copies, contact the Court Administrator directly at the Red Wing courthouse. Staff can locate cases by name or case number and produce copies. The Remote Public Access system at pa.courts.state.mn.us provides docket-level access to Goodhue County cases without requiring a trip to Red Wing.

Minnesota law under Minn. Stat. 13 treats government data as presumptively public. Court records in Goodhue County follow that default rule. Sealed cases, juvenile records, and some restricted family matters are exceptions. Routine criminal and civil records are open to anyone who asks.

Goodhue County Sheriff's Office

The Goodhue County Sheriff's Office is at 430 W 3rd Street, Red Wing, MN 55066. Phone: 651-267-2600. The Sheriff provides law enforcement across Goodhue County, handles arrests, and operates the county jail. Under Minn. Stat. 299C.10, the Sheriff must fingerprint everyone arrested for a felony, gross misdemeanor, or targeted misdemeanor. Those fingerprints go to the BCA and become part of the statewide criminal history database used in background checks.

Arrest data from the Sheriff's Office is partially open under Minn. Stat. 13.82. The time, place, charges, and final disposition of an arrest are public. Investigative materials and other arrest file details may be restricted. Contact the Sheriff's Office to request specific arrest records and cite the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act as the legal basis.

Other Goodhue County Record Sources

The Minnesota DOC Offender Locator is a free tool for checking current incarceration and supervised release status in the state corrections system. Use it at coms.doc.state.mn.us/PublicViewer. It shows only current status and does not include completed sentences. Pair it with the BCA and MCRO for a complete Goodhue County background check.

Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) is the free public case search tool for Goodhue County and all other Minnesota district courts, covering cases from July 2015 forward.

Expungement affects what searches reveal. Under Minn. Stat. 609A, a court can seal a criminal record through expungement. Sealed records are removed from public databases. A clean result in the BCA or MCRO may mean no record, or it may mean any existing records have been sealed. Law enforcement and certain licensing agencies retain access to sealed records.

For a complete reference on how Minnesota background checks work, see the DPS BCA page at dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca/Pages/background-checks.aspx. All the tools and rules described there apply equally to Goodhue County records as to any other county in the state.

Nearby Counties

Goodhue County is in southeast Minnesota along the Mississippi River. The counties below share borders with Goodhue County and manage their own criminal records through local courts and the statewide BCA system.