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Virginia Criminal Records Check
Prepare a Virginia SP-167 criminal-history request with the required consent, recipient details and notarized signatures.
Choose SP-167 for an individual Virginia check
Virginia State Police offers an individual criminal-history request through form SP-167. Use the VSP Criminal History Record Check page to enter its form service, choose the appropriate form and purpose, verify the details, generate the document and print it. Creating the form online is not the same as submitting a completed signed request. Keep the organization’s requirements with your packet so the search type and recipient match the actual need.
SP-230 is for approved Virginia agencies, not an alternative an individual can choose to avoid SP-167 consent requirements. VSP’s Forms page also describes SP-325 for eligible employee or volunteer national fingerprint checks under the National Child Protection Act; it requires an established VSP account and an accompanying fingerprint card. If an employer directs an authorized check, use its process rather than independently substituting a personal request.
Understand what a name search returns
VSP’s detailed SP-167 instructions and annotated form say that without fingerprints the ordinary request returns Virginia convictions. To include Virginia charges, dismissals and pending charges, the instructions call for a completed fingerprint card with SP-167. This is a Virginia product, not an all-state or FBI search. Ask the recipient which level is required before choosing a cheaper or more convenient name-only option.
The general FAQ describes a “complete Virginia criminal history,” but that phrase should be read with the more specific name-search limitation on the form. A response stating that no conviction data was found does not exclude an arrest record. Preserve the exact result category and the method used; do not rewrite a limited result as an unrestricted clearance.
Complete identification, consent and the return destination
Enter the subject’s name, date of birth, race and sex, and complete other identifying fields requested by the generated form. VSP’s SP-167 field instructions also include a Social Security number field; follow the actual form’s requirements and send identifying information only through the official request process. The subject notarizes the release in Section 1. A different recipient notarizes Section 2; for a self-request returned to yourself, the general instructions require only Section 1 notarization.
Check that the name and address in the return section belong to the intended recipient and that the generated form is legible. Do not write in the results area reserved for State Police. For a visa purpose, choose the appropriate VISA option and follow VSP’s certified-letter instructions; the FAQ says a certified letter accompanies that completed request. Do not assume that every ordinary search includes the same certification.
Budget the search and separate service charges
The published charge is $15 per criminal-history search or $20 for a combined criminal-history and sex-offender-registry search. These are different products, not two delivery speeds. Fingerprint collection, notarization and postage can be additional costs. VSP accepts a business check, certified check or money order payable to Virginia State Police, or the form’s Visa/Mastercard payment option; personal checks are not accepted.
Eligible nonprofit volunteer requests have a published $16 combination rate and require documentation identifying the nonprofit, its address, tax-exempt identification number and volunteer purpose. The older instruction sheet and the annotated example label the $8 reduced option differently. Confirm the correct service and supporting documentation with [email protected] before relying on that rate. A nonprofit affiliation alone is not a reason to select a reduced fee.
Mail the finished packet and allow processing time
The general instructions give Virginia State Police, Civil & Applicants Records Exchange, P.O. Box 85076, Richmond, VA 23285 as the mailing destination. The annotated form is a Safety Inspection example and contains special routing notes for that program; do not copy those special instructions into an unrelated individual request. Follow your generated form and any program-specific instructions that actually apply to you.
VSP’s FAQ gives about 15 business days in some answers and 15–20 business days from receipt in another. Plan for that published range plus mailing time, rather than treating 15 days as guaranteed. There is no same-day or expedited processing. Dropping a form at 7700 Midlothian Turnpike, North Chesterfield, VA 23235 does not make the result immediate; the FAQ requires two IDs and exact cash or money-order payment for drop-off.
Follow up with the submission details
Keep a copy of the generated form, the date sent, mailing evidence and payment record. If processing has exceeded the published period and your payment has cleared, VSP directs status inquiries to [email protected] with the searched person’s name and date of birth, submission date and whether the check cost $15 or $20. Use that official contact for the request, and avoid distributing identifying details in public posts.
If you cannot generate or print the form, the VSP Forms page gives the same background-check help address and recommends an up-to-date browser. Obtain a usable generated form before arranging signatures; an incomplete printout, missing recipient or unsigned payment instrument can leave the packet unready for processing.
Separate a record correction from a court-document request
For something incorrect on the history, VSP’s FAQ directs you to the arresting agency. Identify the disputed event and keep copies of supporting documents. For documentary proof of a prosecution’s outcome, obtain the relevant court filing separately and retain the case reference with the VSP response. VSP says it does not supply a police report for a charge through this criminal-history service, and its own arrest reports are not publicly releasable through that route.
If a national check is required, return to the VSP guidance for its FBI referral or the requesting organization’s authorized fingerprint program. A Virginia no-record response, a court docket search and a national fingerprint result answer different questions. Compare the issuer, search method, dates and authorized recipient before submitting the result for employment, adoption, school, housing or travel.
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Virginia State Police - Criminal History Record Check
Virginia State Police provides state criminal-history record checks through defined request methods and forms.
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