Access Marshall County Background Check Records
A Marshall County background check draws from criminal history data managed by the Minnesota BCA and court case records held by the district court in Warren, the county seat. Marshall County is a large, rural county in far northwestern Minnesota, part of the Ninth Judicial District. The BCA online tool and the state court records portal handle most searches, with the Warren courthouse available for in-person requests and certified documents.
Marshall County Overview
Minnesota BCA Criminal History Search
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension operates the state's free public criminal history database. You search by name and date of birth at chs.state.mn.us. The system pulls conviction records from courts across Minnesota, including Marshall County. No account is required and the online search costs nothing.
The 15-year rule governs what appears in the BCA database. Under Minnesota Statute 13.87, conviction data is publicly accessible for 15 years from the date of sentence discharge. After that, the record no longer shows in public searches. Arrests that did not lead to convictions are excluded entirely. A blank BCA result can reflect the limits of the 15-year window, a prior expungement, or the absence of any qualifying Minnesota conviction record.
The BCA Criminal History Search portal provides free access to Minnesota conviction records, covering cases from Marshall County courts among others statewide.
For a certified BCA background check, send a notarized form and $15 to 1430 Maryland Ave E, St. Paul, MN 55106. Processing takes about two weeks. Call 651-793-2400 with questions. The certified version comes with formal documentation and is used when a standard online result is not sufficient.
Marshall County District Court
The Marshall County District Court is located at 208 E Colvin Avenue in Warren, MN 56762. The phone number is 218-745-4851. The court is part of Minnesota's Ninth Judicial District and handles criminal, civil, family, and probate matters for the county. Court records are maintained by the Court Administrator and are available to the public consistent with state data practices law.
| Address | 208 E Colvin Avenue, Warren, MN 56762 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 218-745-4851 |
| Website | mncourts.gov - Marshall |
Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) gives free access to Marshall County case documents filed from July 2015 forward. Search at mncourts.gov/access-case-records/mcro by name or case number. The system shows party information, case type, docket entries, and linked documents for most cases. Older cases may appear in the Remote Public Access portal at pa.courts.state.mn.us with docket lines only and no document images.
The Minnesota Courts directory page for Marshall County provides courthouse hours, contact information, and links to online case search tools for the Warren courthouse.
For older records not in MCRO, contact the Marshall County District Court at 218-745-4851. Staff can search by name or case number and quote copy fees. Some older records are in paper form only. Under Minnesota Statute 13, court records are presumed public. You do not need to give a reason to access them, but staff may ask what case you are looking for to help with the search.
Marshall County Sheriff's Office
The Marshall County Sheriff's Office is at 208 E Colvin Avenue in Warren, MN 56762. The phone number is 218-745-5411. The Sheriff's Office can also be reached through its website at co.marshall.mn.us/departments/sheriff. The office handles law enforcement across this large rural county and processes arrests for the jurisdiction.
The Marshall County Sheriff's Office website lists contact details, current services, and department information for this northwest Minnesota county.
Under Minnesota Statute 299C.10, the Sheriff must fingerprint all persons arrested for felonies, gross misdemeanors, and targeted misdemeanors. Those fingerprints go to the BCA and become part of the statewide criminal history record. This is the mechanism by which a local Marshall County arrest connects to the statewide database you search through the BCA system.
Arrest records are partially public. Statute 13.82 opens the basic facts of an arrest to the public: the time, place, charges, officer name, and final case disposition. Underlying investigation files are usually not public. If you need arrest-level data for a specific incident in Marshall County, submit a data request to the Sheriff's Office under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. The Sheriff does not conduct public background checks. Use the BCA and court tools for that purpose.
Note: The Sheriff's website is a good first contact point for questions about local law enforcement records before submitting a formal data request.
MCRO and Court Document Access
MCRO is Minnesota's online public portal for court records. It covers all 87 counties, including Marshall. To search Marshall County cases specifically, go to mncourts.gov/access-case-records/mcro and search by party name, then filter results by county. The system returns case summaries with docket entries. Where documents are available, you can read and download them at no charge.
The MCRO portal is the primary free tool for accessing court documents from Marshall County and all other Minnesota county courts.
For criminal cases in Marshall County, MCRO often includes the original complaint, plea records, and sentencing orders for cases from mid-2015 forward. Probate and civil cases appear as well. If the document you need is not available in MCRO, either because it is an older case or has restricted access, the next step is to call the district court directly and ask staff to locate and provide copies.
DOC Offender Locator
The Minnesota DOC Offender Locator is a free tool that shows current DOC supervision status. Search by name, date of birth, or ID number. The tool shows who is currently incarcerated or on supervised release through the Department of Corrections. Marshall County residents under active DOC supervision appear in the results.
This tool does not show completed sentences or local probation. It reflects only active DOC-level cases. For a complete Marshall County background check, combine this with the BCA criminal history search and an MCRO court records lookup. Those three free resources together cover conviction data, current DOC status, and case-level documents.
For an overview of the whole Minnesota background check system, the DPS BCA background checks page explains each tool, what it covers, and how to request certified records. That page is a good reference if you are new to Minnesota public record searches.
Communities in Marshall County
Marshall County includes Warren, Argyle, Grygla, Newfolden, Middle River, and other small communities. Warren is the county seat. None of the cities in Marshall County meet the population threshold for a dedicated background check page. Criminal cases from across the county are filed and maintained at the district court in Warren.
Nearby Counties
Marshall County borders several other counties in northwestern Minnesota. Each county maintains its own court and sheriff's office for local records.