Virginia State Police CCRE at a Glance
The Central Criminal Records Exchange, or CCRE in Virginia, is Virginia's sole central criminal-recordkeeping agency apart from records assigned by law to a few other departments. Virginia law places it within State Police and directs the exchange to receive, classify, and file criminal-history information and supply reporting forms. Virginia's CCRE sits in the Virginia State Police Criminal Justice Information Services Division.
The same Virginia division includes the Civil and Applicant Records Exchange, known as CARE, the Biometric Records Section and AFIS, the Virginia registry, the Firearms Transaction Center, VCIN, and other statewide services. CARE in Virginia handles civil and name-check work. Virginia's CCRE Research and Resolution handles disposition research, challenges, and expungements. Virginia's CCRE Search, Photos and Bookings works with arrest cards, fingerprint checks, delayed bookings, pardons, and rights-restoration entries.
Virginia State Police reported that CARE in Virginia processed 242,342 name-based and 314,346 fingerprint-based checks in 2024, a total of 556,688 transactions in Virginia. Those are checks, not unique people or a count of all Virginia repository records.
Virginia State Police CCRE History
Virginia's record system predates Virginia CCRE. Virginia State Police instituted an arrest-record system in 1945. The Virginia General Assembly created CCRE in 1966 as a separate Attorney General entity with 155,000 fingerprint records from Virginia State Police and corrections. Mandatory Virginia arrest fingerprints and clerk disposition reports began on January 1, 1968. CCRE transferred to Virginia State Police in 1970.
Automation in Virginia followed. A computerized Virginia State Police network came online in 1985, then AFIS, Livescan, and electronic reporting expanded the identity-based file. By 2018, Virginia State Police received 449,287 electronic court dispositions. The noncriminal-justice section became CARE in Virginia in 2021 after annual name and fingerprint work exceeded 500,000. In 2025, Virginia's CCRE reorganized its research, resolution, search, photo, and booking work. In 2026, the Virginia agency also took a major role in identifying and routing records eligible for automatic sealing.
Note: Virginia's historical figures measure different record events and transactions, so they should not be treated as counts of unique people.
What Checks Virginia State Police Offers
Virginia State Police products differ by identity method, legal authority, scope, and delivery. The ordinary SP-167 is a consent-based Virginia name search. The Virginia web interface generates a request; it does not show an immediate public result. Fingerprints can support a broader personal Virginia review when charges, dismissals, or pending events matter. Statutorily eligible programs may use Virginia and FBI fingerprint channels. The requester must follow the Virginia product that matches the legal purpose.
| Product | Who May Order | What It Returns | Published Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| SP-167 | Subject or general requester with notarized subject consent | Ordinary name result based on Virginia conviction data | $15 |
| SP-167 Combination | Same consent route | Virginia criminal history plus Virginia registry name search | $20 |
| Fingerprint-supported SP-167 | Subject following current VSP capture instructions | Can support charges, dismissals, and pending charges | $15 check plus capture |
| SP-230 or NCJI | Virginia entities authorized by statute | Usually conviction data; fuller scope only when law allows | $15 or $20 combination |
| Authorized Virginia and FBI search | Person in a qualifying statutory program | Virginia and FBI files through fingerprints | $27 plus capture |
| Qualified nonprofit volunteer | Organization with the required statutory documentation | History or history and registry combination | $8 or $16 |
| Virginia Rap Back | Eligible authorized agency after fingerprint enrollment | Continuing arrest and disposition event notice | $12 enrollment and $12 yearly, check separate |
Virginia State Police states that normal SP-167 processing is about 15 business days after receipt and offers no expedited or same-day service. Electronic SP-230 responses usually arrive within 72 hours. A Virginia remote online notary option currently adds $25.
Why Virginia State Police Uses Consent
Virginia does not offer an open name box that instantly returns public rap sheets. Code § 19.2-389 limits Virginia criminal-history dissemination to listed people, entities, and purposes. The public SP-167 route works through the record subject's notarized consent. Its online generator prepares the form and payment information, then Virginia State Police processes the mailed request.
That design in Virginia can surprise a reader who sees an online form and expects a live database. The official result may say that no Virginia conviction data was found, but Virginia State Police warns that such a result does not rule out an arrest record. A Virginia name-index check can also miss identity detail that fingerprints resolve. For a known charge, a Virginia court search and certified disposition may answer the question faster and with more context.
Note: The SP-167 interface creates a request for Virginia State Police processing; it is not an instant public criminal-history portal.
The Path Into the Virginia State Police Repository
Code § 19.2-390 is the reporting spine. State and local officers report qualifying felony arrests, reportable misdemeanors, capias or failure-to-appear arrests, and service of another jurisdiction's warrant. Fingerprints and an Offense Tracking Number link the arrest cycle to what happens next. Clerks, prosecutors, corrections officials, and the Secretary of the Commonwealth report dispositions and later events.
Data flow: County or City Arrest › Fingerprint Submission › Virginia State Police CCRE › Court Disposition Reporting › Virginia Rap Sheet
A clerk report can include names and aliases, conviction locality and date, birth date, Virginia Code section, Virginia Crime Code, and the tracking number. Corrections officials report release status. CCRE compiles those contributions into an identity-linked statewide history. It does not replace the original pleadings, orders, docket entries, financial details, jail intake, or police narrative held by the source office.
Note: Virginia State Police compiles contributor reports, while the source locality retains the original case, booking, and incident documents.
Virginia State Police Orphan Dispositions
A disposition may reach CCRE but fail to attach to the right arrest. Missing booking data, an incorrect Document Control Number, a bad Offense Tracking Number, late transmission, or a name variation can break the link. Virginia State Police created the Orphan Disposition File in December 2021 to retain such unmatched court results instead of losing them.
VCIN history queries also search the orphan file. Potentially disqualifying orphan results may be sent to federal NICS. Virginia law now calls for periodic reports of unapplied records to the Office of the Executive Secretary, clerks, Commonwealth's Attorneys, and arresting agencies. This is why an OCIS court result and a CCRE response can disagree without either system serving the same purpose. The correct fix starts with the official disposition and the contributor that owns the source data.
Virginia State Police Check Ordering Steps
Start by defining the needed slice. SP-167 is the general consent-based Virginia product. A known case status belongs with the court. A fingerprint-supported self-review is stronger when identity or nonconviction events are in doubt. An authorized program supplies its own service code and capture instructions.
- Open the official VSP request generator and select the correct form and purpose.
- Enter the subject's name, aliases if used, race, sex, date of birth, and other requested identifiers. Protect optional Social Security information in saved copies.
- Complete Section 1 and sign it before a notary. If another recipient will receive the result, that recipient completes and notarizes Section 2.
- Select the $15 history or $20 history-and-registry combination. Use an accepted card, business or certified check, money order, or eligible VSP account. Personal checks are not accepted.
- Mail the request to CARE, P.O. Box 85076, Richmond, VA 23285, and allow the stated processing time. Compare each returned event with the source court record.
Form fields also include delivery name and address, contact details, payment method, conditional nonprofit information, and a purpose field that can change later questions. The current interface exposes confirm and generate actions plus a remote-notary choice.
Virginia State Police Fingerprint Channels
Virginia State Police fingerprint services support core purposes such as challenges, expungements, pardons, rights restoration, and specified programs. Virginia State Police charges $10 for the first card and $5 for each additional card. A visitor brings two original identity documents, including at least one approved photo ID, and should verify that the chosen VSP or local location handles the intended purpose.
Fieldprint is Virginia's contracted electronic collection and transmission vendor for eligible entity accounts. Its capture price is program-specific, so no universal Fieldprint amount should be assumed. Authorized Virginia and FBI searches list $13.75 for the state file and $13.25 for the FBI file, totaling $27 before capture. These channels exist for defined statutory programs. A personal FBI Identity History Summary follows the FBI's separate subject-only process.
Note: Confirm that a fingerprint site accepts the intended Virginia program before visiting because capture and transmission options vary by purpose.
Comparing Virginia State Police and County Records
A VSP check and a county file answer different questions. CCRE gives a statewide compiled history based on contributor reports. A local court holds the docket and original orders. An arresting agency holds its incident material, while a jail keeps booking and custody entries. Neither level replaces the other.
| Question | Virginia State Police Check | County or Independent-City Record |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Reported events from across Virginia | One locality and one source office |
| Identity basis | Name or fingerprints, depending on product | Case number, name, booking ID, or incident facts |
| Detail | Compiled arrest and disposition lines within release rules | Docket activity, orders, pleadings, jail intake, or police narrative |
| Timing | Depends on contributor reporting and matching | Often changes as the local case or custody event moves |
| Best use | Reviewing a statewide Virginia history | Confirming the original event, status, and documents |
Use the Virginia county and independent-city directory to find the locality that created the entry. Virginia has independent cities, so confirm the actual jurisdiction rather than defaulting to a surrounding county.
Virginia State Police Rap Back
Virginia Rap Back is not a public subscription to watch a person. It is an authorized-agency service tied to fingerprint enrollment. An eligible agency can receive later arrest and disposition event notices after the underlying statutory enrollment. VSP lists a $12 enrollment fee and $12 annual subscription, separate from the initial check fee.
The program shows how VSP's role extends beyond a one-time SP-167 response. It uses fingerprint identity to connect later reportable events. Access, retention, and use remain governed by the qualifying program and security rules. A general requester cannot convert an ordinary consent form into Rap Back access.
Virginia State Police Sealing Notices
Virginia's automatic and petition sealing framework took effect July 1, 2026. CCRE gained operational responsibility for identifying and routing eligible automatic-sealing cases. VSP also launched an electronic seal-order notification system for known state and local record holders. Registered agencies can retrieve notices and suppress affected records in their own systems.
This added a restriction function to a repository built around collection and dissemination. A sealed record can remain available for specific governmental purposes named in Chapter 23.2 while leaving ordinary public access. The change does not repair a missing or wrongly linked disposition by itself. Official sealing eligibility can fail when the needed arrest or court event was never reported to CCRE, which makes source correction and accurate tracking numbers especially important.
Note: Virginia sealing limits public access but preserves the specific government access and uses authorized by Chapter 23.2.
Virginia State Police Record Error Corrections
Virginia Code § 9.1-132 gives a person or the person's attorney a right to inspect the person's criminal-history information and seek correction. Misidentification and substantive errors take different routes. For misidentification, VSP compares fresh fingerprints and states that written confirmation is available within five workdays at no fee. For a wrong event or disposition, the arresting agency or disposing clerk must verify the source correction.
- Obtain your own VSP response, using fingerprint support when identity or omitted nonconviction data is the issue.
- Compare each questioned event with the disposing court's signed or certified order and the source agency record.
- For a false identity match, have VSP or a local law-enforcement agency take comparison prints and verify identity on agency letterhead.
- Send the evidence to the CCRE manager. Under 6VAC20-120-70, CCRE marks the file as challenged, obtains source review, corrects supported errors, and gives required notice to prior recipients.
- If needed, request written agency-head review and follow the DCJS administrative appeal route within the stated 30-day windows. Confirm the result on a fresh official copy.
CCRE can coordinate the review but cannot accept a substantive change from an unrelated source. Start with the clerk when the disposition is wrong. Start with the contributing arrest agency when the arrest data is wrong.