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Fairfax County Criminal Records
Distinguish Fairfax General District and Circuit Court records, understand the General District retention statement, and avoid treating a police check as a universal history.
Start with the record product, not just the person’s name
| Question to answer | Best official starting point | What it does not replace |
|---|---|---|
| Was there a specific Fairfax General District case? | General District Criminal Copy Requests. | A court-file request is not a statewide criminal-history search. |
| Do you need a Fairfax Circuit felony filing, order, or certified disposition? | Circuit Court Criminal Division. | A police history summary is not the filed court order. |
| Do you need your own FCPD local charge history? | Fairfax Police Central Records. | The published scope is Fairfax County adult charges where FCPD responded and/or charged; it is not Virginia-wide. |
| Is the task a Virginia criminal-history check? | Virginia State Police SP-167. | A state history does not substitute for a certified copy from the Fairfax clerk when exact disposition wording is required. |
Check General District retention before chasing an old file
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01
Confirm the court
Use the summons, case number, docket reference, or disposition to verify that the matter was actually in Fairfax General District Court rather than Circuit Court.
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02
Give the clerk a usable locator
GDC copy instructions prefer the case number. If it is unavailable, provide the defendant’s full name and date of birth.
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03
Account for the ten-year rule
Fairfax GDC retention guidance says most criminal case records are retained for ten years and then destroyed, with specific exceptions. Records held at County Archives are requested through the clerk rather than directly from the archive.
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04
Ask for the exact output
If the file still exists, specify the document needed. If it was destroyed, the court says it may issue a letter describing the destruction/retention rule instead of a case copy.
Three “criminal record” requests can produce three different answers
Local police history
Fairfax Police says its $10 check concerns adult Fairfax County charges where FCPD responded and/or charged. Two valid IDs are required and one must contain a photograph. The department says a person can obtain only their own criminal record.
Virginia criminal history
VSP accepts SP-167 requests from individuals and the general public. This is a Virginia history product; signatures/notarization are part of the process and there is no same-day service.
Court disposition or filing
For a case-specific judgment, order, or other filed material, stay with the responsible Fairfax clerk. Circuit lists $0.50 per page and an additional $2 when certification is requested for its criminal copies.
Do not read a missing Fairfax result as proof of no history
A missing record can reflect scope or retention
A General District file may be beyond its retention period; the FCPD product is limited to specified Fairfax police activity; and the Virginia State Police product is a separate statewide history. When the consequence depends on the exact outcome of a prosecution, locate the court and obtain the disposition from that clerk if available.