Alameda County Criminal Records

Start with the criminal case, then order its documents

Alameda County, California, provides criminal case information through its Odyssey Portal. The court describes online coverage for cases with activity since 2005, without public document downloads. Use a result to identify the case and court, then order the actual filing through Criminal Record Requests. The civil, family and probate eCourt portal is a different service, so its empty results do not answer a criminal-record inquiry.

The court’s official pages disagree about registration: Court Records Request and Information describes free public Odyssey access without registration, while Public Portals says public access requires registration. Follow the current portal prompts and ask the criminal records office if access is unclear. Do not confuse registration for a search with the separate copy-request account and payment process.

Choose the record that answers your question. A complaint or indictment shows what was charged; judgment and sentencing minutes address the court’s action. CRM-500 also lists plea agreements and abstracts of judgment. Ask the receiving organization whether it requires a plain copy, certified copy or specially signed letter before placing the order. A case summary should not be substituted for a required court document.

Prepare an online or mailed copy request

The criminal request service requires the defendant’s first and last name plus either the case/docket number, or the defendant’s birth date together with the arrest date or conviction date. It can accept requests involving multiple defendants and documents. You receive an email acknowledging receipt, followed by an itemized bill if records are found or a notice if they cannot be located. An account enables all features, including web payment.

For a paper request, use CRM-500 separately for each defendant and case number or arrest/conviction date. Identify each document, quantity and certification choice and give your return contact information. The form provides mail or pickup delivery choices; online criminal copies are mailed. A mailed records search is available, but court staff do not conduct research requests by phone or email. Calls are useful for locating the right records office.

Budget for pages, certification and the required format

The court’s posted CRM-500 lists plain copies at $0.50 per page or side and certified copies at $40 plus the page charge. If you cannot calculate the total, its instructions allow a check payable to Alameda County Superior Court with a $75 not-to-exceed authorization in the memo; the clerk enters the actual charge within that limit and returns a receipt. This is an authorization ceiling, not a flat $75 price.

CRM-500’s second page also lists a $10 offsite retrieval fee, search charges in ten-minute increments at $15, and postage. Certain government agencies are exempt from the marked charges. These items can increase the total beyond the copying and certification price; ask the clerk which apply to your request and use the itemized calculation rather than treating page charges as the complete bill.

Use the portal’s itemized bill for an online order; the court identifies Visa and MasterCard for online criminal requests. Do not mail cash or card details. The cited criminal copy instructions give no fixed completion promise, so ask about an urgent recipient deadline before ordering. The site’s September 24–28, 2026 maintenance notice describes a past window, not proof of a continuing outage.

A signed immigration letter has its own mail route

A letter requiring an actual signature and court seal for immigration must be requested by mail, not through the criminal-copy portal. Address it to East County Hall of Justice, 5151 Gleason Drive, Dublin, CA 94568, Attn: Criminal Division. Include the requester’s name, complete mailing address and phone number, the defendant’s name, docket number and birth date, and a U.S.-bank check or money order payable to Alameda Superior Court for $1 per letter.

Locate older files and records that are not public online

If you know the courthouse, contact it directly. Otherwise, the court lists East County Hall of Justice at 925-227-6700 and René C. Davidson Courthouse at 510-891-6009 among its criminal records contacts. Many criminal records opened since 1974 can be researched in person; older felony cases require criminal-division assistance. Public terminals can expose available public documents that the remote index does not show. Confidential material remains restricted.

For a transcript less than ten years old, CRM-500 directs you to the court reporter line at 510-627-4942 rather than ordering it from the clerk. Identify the hearing date and request the reporter’s name if needed. Keeping the hearing reference separate from the case number avoids ordering ordinary minutes when a verbatim transcript is required.

When the question is your statewide history or a correction

A local court file is not a statewide criminal-history report. California DOJ allows individuals to review their own history, not order another person’s history through its record-review service. California residents use Live Scan form BCIA 8016RR and pay a $25 DOJ fee plus the provider’s rolling fee; a DOJ fee waiver may be available. To challenge a returned history, follow BCIA 8706 with supporting proof. The personal-review product is not for visa or immigration use.