How to Check Criminal History in El Paso County
Begin by defining the record sought. A current jail entry comes from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. Filed state charges and outcomes come from District or County Court. A statewide fingerprint-supported history comes from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, or CBI. An incident narrative remains with the agency that wrote it.
- Gather the full name, birth date, known aliases, case or report number, and approximate event date.
- Search the free EPSO inmate tool when current county custody is the first concern.
- Request the court register of actions and the disposition or sentence order for filed charges.
- Use CBI ICHC for a Colorado-wide name check, or the authorized fingerprint channel when required by law.
- Ask the arresting or reporting agency for its incident report, then correct any error at the source that can verify it.
The official El Paso County government directory provides the county-level starting point.
Its department links help readers avoid sending a court request to a police records desk.
El Paso County Criminal Record Map
El Paso County criminal history flows through several linked systems. Police create an arrest or incident report. Jail intake checks warrants, takes identification photographs and fingerprints, and builds booking and custody data. If prosecutors file a case, the court creates a register of actions and keeps the charging paper, minutes, outcome, and sentence. Fingerprints establish or update the arrest cycle in CBI's state history, while court outcomes should flow back later.
Record flow: Arresting Agency › El Paso County Jail › District Attorney › District or County Court › CBI Repository
A missing outcome in CBI can result from data that was not received. It does not prove that the court lacks a disposition. Obtain the court document and follow CBI's correction process.
Official Colorado Background Checks
The CBI Biometric Identification and Records Unit is Colorado's central criminal-history repository. Its Internet Criminal History Check, or ICHC, sells a Colorado-only name-based result for $6 per downloaded match. A manual name-and-date-of-birth result that can be notarized costs $13. Common names can produce several candidates, each billed separately. The online result cannot be notarized.
Public ICHC excludes juvenile arrests at age 17 or younger unless handled as an adult, traffic arrests under age 16, and sealed arrests. Only current sex-offender registration is noted. Fingerprint checks use Colorado Applicant Background Services through IdentoGO or Colorado Fingerprinting. Vendor sites and hours change, so CBI directs people to the vendor schedulers instead of publishing a fixed El Paso County location list.
The official CBI overview distinguishes name-based and fingerprint services.
That distinction matters when a certified or fingerprint-supported product is required.
El Paso County ICHC Search Choices
CBI recommends a first name, last name, and birth date. Adding a Social Security number may narrow results, but too narrow a search can miss a record tied to different biographical data. Search known aliases when reviewing your own El Paso County criminal history.
| Field | Use | Caution |
|---|---|---|
| First and last name | Core name match | Try known variants |
| Date of birth | Separates common names | Bad source data can affect a match |
| Social Security number | Optional narrowing field | A narrow query can omit mismatched data |
| Individual path | Public name-check route | Each downloaded match costs $6 |
The official ICHC portal is the state name-search interface.
Careful input reduces the risk of paying for several unrelated common-name matches.
Types of Criminal Records in El Paso County
No single El Paso County criminal record contains every fact. Each custodian creates a record for its own task, and each uses different identifiers.
- Incident and arrest report: the creating agency records time, location, officer, alleged offense, and narrative.
- Booking record: EPSO records identity, custody location, bond, holds, warrants, court dates, and release information.
- Court case: the clerk keeps charges as filed, hearings, motions, pleas, disposition, and sentence.
- CBI CHRI: the repository compiles fingerprint-supported Colorado arrest cycles and reported outcomes.
- Corrections and registry records: CDOC tracks state custody or supervision, while CBI and local agencies maintain registration data.
An arrest is not a conviction. A booking charge may also change after prosecutor review. The El Paso County criminal court case file is the stronger source for the filed charge and final result.
Three El Paso County Record Offices
Three Colorado Springs addresses explain much of the local system. Court files and probation are on Tejon Street. Sheriff reports are on Vermijo Avenue. Booking and custody begin on East Las Vegas Street. Going to the right counter prevents delay.
Court Clerk
270 S. Tejon Street, Room S101
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
719-452-5000
EPSO Records Unit
27 E. Vermijo Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
719-520-7177
County Jail
2739 E. Las Vegas Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
719-390-2000
The Judicial Branch location page confirms the court building.
Room S101 is the public clerk location for state court files.
What an El Paso County Criminal Record Shows
The fields depend on the source. Read identifiers first, then connect charges to their final disposition. Never infer guilt from an arrest or an open charge.
| Name and identifiers | Name, aliases, birth date, sex, race, and physical descriptors when the source publishes them. |
|---|---|
| Arrest and booking | Report or booking number, location, custody site, bond, holds, and release data. |
| Charges and statutes | Alleged or filed offense, degree, class, and Colorado statute citation. |
| Court activity | Case number, division, hearings, minute orders, motions, and pleas. |
| Disposition and sentence | Dismissal, plea, verdict, judgment, sentence, restitution, or supervision terms made public. |
| Restrictions | Redactions, sealing, juvenile limits, and protected victim or private data. |
CBI does not hold the underlying police narrative. The sheriff does not hold a CSPD report simply because the event happened within El Paso County.
El Paso County Jail Search Fields
The free EPSO inmate search accepts either last name or booking number. Results list a clickable booking number and first, middle, and last name. Detail can show birth date, physical traits, custody building, court date and division, degree, case number, bond type and amount, release date, holds, and warrant data.
| Search field | Format | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Last Name | Text | Optional if booking number is used |
| Booking Number | Text | Optional if last name is used |
| Search | Action | Returns current matching booking rows |
The public detail does not render a mugshot, booking time, arresting agency, charge narrative, officer, pod, or magistrate. EPSO warns against official action without Booking Desk confirmation at 719-390-2151. Current county custody is also distinct from CDOC state custody.
Public Access Laws for El Paso County Criminal Records
Colorado uses several laws and court rules rather than one open-everything rule. Public access depends on the record, its custodian, and any sealing or redaction requirement.
Key Colorado rules:
C.R.S. 24-72-200.1 et seq. governs administrative records under the Colorado Open Records Act.
C.R.S. 24-72-301 et seq. governs criminal-justice records and custodian decisions under CCJRA.
C.R.S. 24-72-304 supports public inspection and dissemination of criminal-history information.
Chief Justice Directive 05-01 governs access, exclusions, fees, and corrections for court records.
C.R.S. 24-72-703 through 710 establishes adult sealing paths.
Sealed cases, juvenile categories, private identifiers, victim information, and active-investigation content can be missing or redacted. Public availability never establishes guilt or permits harassment.
El Paso County Sheriff Report Requests
The EPSO Records Unit releases available deputy reports and sheriff criminal-justice data. It does not perform background checks. Useful request keys include case-report number, incident date and time, location, incident type, names, deputy name, and requester phone. Ask CSPD, Fountain, Monument, State Patrol, or a campus agency for a report it created.
The standard report fee is $8 for review, redaction, and up to ten pages, then $0.25 per extra page. EPSO aims to respond within 72 hours, though some requests take up to ten days. CORA administrative research, retrieval, and redaction costs $32 per hour after the first free hour.
The official Sheriff's Office site leads to its records and jail services.
The sheriff is the source for EPSO reports, not a substitute for city police or court files.
El Paso County Charging Decisions
The Fourth Judicial District Attorney handles felony, misdemeanor, juvenile, diversion, and specialty prosecution services for El Paso and Teller Counties. An arresting officer's allegation is not necessarily the charge filed by prosecutors. The court complaint or information records that next step.
The Fourth Judicial District Attorney site identifies the local prosecution office.
The DA services page explains its case and diversion work.
Specialty or diversion paths can create docket events beyond a simple plea and sentence.
El Paso County Warrant Channels
No official public countywide active-warrant name search was found. Call El Paso Combined Court at 719-452-5000, option 6, review the case record, and use an EPSO CCJRA request when appropriate. The jail detail shows only warrants tied to a current returned inmate. It is not an active-warrant list.
Colorado Springs Municipal Court has a separate warrant counter in Room 108 at 224 E. Kiowa Street, 719-385-6153. A municipal process does not clear or disprove a District or County Court warrant. Call the issuing court before appearing.
Sealed, Expunged, and Restricted Records
Colorado generally calls adult relief sealing. Expungement chiefly applies to juvenile delinquency records. Separate form families cover no-charge arrest or non-conviction matters, automatic sealing objections, county or district convictions, municipal cases, multiple cases, and juvenile expungement.
Non-conviction relief may cover acquittal on all counts, completed diversion after filing, a completed deferred judgment with all counts dismissed, or a vacated conviction, subject to the official criteria. Many qualifying cases have automatically sealed since 2022. Conviction eligibility contains many exclusions, so use the current Judicial Branch forms rather than a broad promise.
A conviction petition costs $224 and a non-conviction petition costs $0. After an order, send it to CBI. CBI stopped charging its own sealing fee on July 1, 2024. Rerun your own CHRI afterward to confirm processing. Sealing restricts public access but does not erase every lawful government copy.
El Paso County Custody Boundaries
The county jail holds local pretrial detainees and may also hold people for state parole, military, or federal agencies. Custody location alone does not prove which court is prosecuting a matter. In May 2025, EPSO reported 139 sentenced people awaiting CDOC beds, showing why a sentenced person may remain in the county search.
The Colorado Department of Corrections provides the state offender-search entry for sentenced custody and supervision.
Use EPSO for current county booking detail and CDOC for the state corrections layer.
Criminal Records by City in El Paso County
The three largest incorporated cities have distinct police and municipal channels. City reports remain with the agency that created them, while county booking, state court, and CBI layers may also apply.
Colorado Springs Criminal History
Colorado Springs Police uses Accela for many records requests and has a separate municipal court.
Fountain Criminal History
Fountain Police accepts records contacts by local channels while county jail and state court records stay separate.
Monument Criminal History
Monument Police provides an official record form, and the summons identifies the correct court.
Colorado Springs police records can be requested online, but forensic photos and body-camera material follow distinct routes. The Colorado Springs State Public Defender office is another local justice-system contact.
The office serves eligible people in the local state-court system and does not act as a public record custodian.
El Paso County Probation and Parole
A sentence to probation should first be verified in the El Paso County court's sentence order. Fourth Judicial District Probation then supervises cases from Suite W200 in the Judicial Building. Officer assignments, treatment details, drug testing, home contacts, and internal assessments are not automatically public. When the prosecution files a motion to revoke probation or the court issues a new warrant, that event may appear in the criminal case docket.
Parole is different. It follows a prison sentence and runs through the Colorado State Board of Parole and the Colorado Department of Corrections Division of Adult Parole, not the county Judicial probation office. The CDOC locator can show a state custody or supervision slice, but it does not replace the sentence order or release decision. VINELink may provide notice, yet it remains a supplement to the agency that owns the record.
Recovery Court can produce more frequent docket entries than ordinary probation because it combines post-conviction treatment, close supervision, testing, and regular court review. Read those review events in sequence with the plea and sentence. A program status line by itself does not state whether every charge was dismissed, reduced, or left unchanged.