Search Lincoln County Background Check Records
A Lincoln County background check draws from criminal history data maintained by the Minnesota BCA and case records held by the district court in Ivanhoe, the county seat. Lincoln County sits in far southwestern Minnesota, and both the Sheriff's Office and the First Judicial District court serve the county from the same address in Ivanhoe. Free state tools cover most public record searches online, with in-person and mail options available for certified documents.
Lincoln County Overview
BCA Criminal History Search
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension runs the state's free public criminal history database. It is accessible online and does not require an account or any fee. You enter a first name, last name, and date of birth to search. The system returns conviction records from Minnesota courts, including cases handled in Lincoln County. This is the standard first step for anyone doing a background check in this county.
What you find depends on the 15-year rule. Minnesota Statute 13.87 sets the time limit for public access to conviction data. Records are public for 15 years from the date of sentence discharge. After that, they fall off the public search. Arrests that did not result in a conviction are also excluded from the BCA public database. That means a clean result may reflect the limits of the system, not necessarily the absence of any history.
Visit chs.state.mn.us to run a free search. The database pulls from courts and law enforcement across Minnesota and is updated on a regular basis. For Lincoln County specifically, arrests processed by the Sheriff's Office and convictions handed down by the district court both feed into the statewide system through the BCA.
The BCA Criminal History Search portal is the main free tool for looking up Minnesota conviction records by name and date of birth.
Mail requests for a certified BCA background check cost $15. You need a notarized form and send it to 1430 Maryland Ave E, St. Paul, MN 55106. Call 651-793-2400 with questions. Turn around is roughly two weeks. The certified result is more detailed and formally documented than the free online search, and some situations call for that level of verification.
Lincoln County District Court
The Lincoln County District Court is located at 319 N Rebecca Street in Ivanhoe, MN 56142. The phone number is 507-694-1353. The court handles criminal, civil, and family cases for Lincoln County and is part of Minnesota's Fifth Judicial District. Court records here include criminal complaints, plea agreements, conviction records, sentencing documents, and civil case filings.
| Address | 319 N Rebecca Street, Ivanhoe, MN 56142 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 507-694-1353 |
| Website | mncourts.gov - Lincoln |
The free MCRO portal at mncourts.gov/access-case-records/mcro covers Lincoln County cases from July 2015 forward. You can search by name or case number and view docket entries, case types, and available documents. For cases before that date, the older Remote Public Access system at pa.courts.state.mn.us shows docket-level data without attached documents. Older paper records are kept at the courthouse and require a direct request to staff.
The Minnesota Courts site has current hours, contact details, and case search links for the Lincoln County District Court in Ivanhoe.
Under Minnesota Statute 13, government records are presumed public. Most Lincoln County court records fall under that presumption. Sealed records, juvenile files, and some family court documents are restricted, but standard criminal case records are open to anyone. You do not need to state a reason when requesting public records from the court.
Note: MCRO document access begins with cases filed after July 2015; for older Lincoln County records, call the court directly at 507-694-1353.
Lincoln County Sheriff's Office
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office shares the 319 N Rebecca Street address in Ivanhoe with the district court. The phone number is 507-694-1664. The Sheriff handles law enforcement for the county, makes arrests, and sends fingerprint records to the BCA in compliance with Minnesota Statute 299C.10. That statute requires fingerprinting of all persons arrested for felonies, gross misdemeanors, and certain misdemeanors. Those prints become part of the statewide criminal history database.
Arrest records from the Lincoln County Sheriff are partially public. Statute 13.82 makes the basic facts of an arrest available: the time, location, charges, name of the arresting officer, and final disposition. The underlying case file and investigative materials may have access restrictions. If you want arrest records for a particular event, contact the Sheriff's Office and make a formal data request under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.
The Sheriff does not run public background checks. The BCA database and court records systems are the correct tools for that purpose. Local law enforcement submits data to those systems so that arrests and convictions from Lincoln County appear in statewide searches.
DOC Offender Locator and Statewide Tools
The Minnesota Department of Corrections provides a free public tool called the Offender Locator. It shows whether someone is currently incarcerated or under DOC supervision in Minnesota. Search at coms.doc.state.mn.us/PublicViewer by name, date of birth, or offender ID. Results reflect current status only. Completed sentences do not show. People on county probation rather than DOC supervision also do not appear.
Used together, the BCA search, MCRO court lookup, and DOC Offender Locator give you three separate angles on a Lincoln County background check. The BCA covers conviction history up to 15 years. MCRO shows case documents from 2015 forward. The DOC tool shows current custody status. None of these require an account or a fee, and all three are available any time.
The DPS BCA background check page explains what public criminal history searches cover and how to request certified records when needed.
For a broader view of how background checks work in Minnesota, the DPS BCA information page lists all available check types, explains the fee structure for certified requests, and clarifies what each tool returns. It is a useful reference if you are new to searching Minnesota public records.
Note: The DOC Offender Locator shows active supervision only and should be used alongside the BCA and MCRO for a complete Lincoln County background check.
Data Practices and Public Access
The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act is the framework that governs access to all public records in the state. It is codified under Statute Chapter 13. The core rule is simple: all government data is public unless a specific law says otherwise. This applies to Lincoln County court records, sheriff arrest logs, and other agency records. The burden is on the government to justify any denial of access, not on the requester to justify why they want the information.
Expungement changes what is public. Under Minn. Stat. 609A, a court can seal a criminal record. Once sealed, it does not appear in BCA searches or on MCRO. The record still exists and law enforcement agencies can access it, but the public cannot. If you run a search and find nothing, it is possible the record was expunged, is outside the 15-year window, or was for a charge that did not result in conviction. A clean result in a public search does not guarantee a completely clear history.
Communities in Lincoln County
Lincoln County includes communities such as Ivanhoe, Tyler, Lake Benton, and Hendricks. None of these cities qualify for a dedicated background check page. All criminal cases from Lincoln County are filed and maintained at the district court in Ivanhoe.
Nearby Counties
Lincoln County borders several counties in southwestern Minnesota. Each has its own court and sheriff. Records are filed at the county where the case occurred.