Access Washington Background Records

Washington background information can be accessed from the criminal history and conviction records that are maintained by the WASIS or the Washington State Patrol Identification and Criminal History Section on the website https://watch.wsp.wa.gov/

These records that find a place on the website are sourced from court records and also from data of the criminal justice agencies that are scattered across the state. The information contained in the database takes into account sex offender information, conviction information and records of arrests that were made within a year and for which the decisions are still pending.  The files maintained by the authorities also contain details concerning arrests but these are not available for public dissemination.

Availability of Washington Background Records

The availability of the Washington background records to the public are controlled by the Criminal Records Privacy Act of the State. There is no such restriction imposed upon the availability of data that concerns conviction, but when it comes to non-conviction records, these are not made available for public reference.

As per Washington laws, Chapter 10.97.050(7), of the Revised Code of Washington(RCW), the information about the requestor needs to be maintained, including his or her full name, the date of the search and the reason and person towards whom the search was directed. These records cannot be relied upon solely as there are chances that searches based on name may yield incorrect results. There may be cases of mistaken identity where two people share the same name. In order to avoid such mistakes, the only way by which a criminal record can be identified as related to a concerned individual is through the process of fingerprint verification.

A search on the website of WASIS is likely to yield results that feature the names of the records of the people who come close to the search criteria entered.  If you come across a search response that says “no exact match found” or “no record”, it indicates that the Washington State Police records do not feature any such entry. A response that says “duplicate match” is indicative of the fact that there are two entries that are exactly similar to the criteria entered. For each search that you make, you need to pay a fee of $10.00, no matter whether there is any relevant outcome or not.

Any queries about Washington background information related to criminal history information can be mailed to crimhis@wsp.wa.gov . The requestor should provide his or her full name along with contact details like residential address as well as email address to ensure a prompt response.

As per the Revised Code of Washington 10.97.050, conviction records can be shared without any penalties being imposed on their dissemination. Conviction records constitute arrest records as well. As stated in the Privacy Act of the state, the Identification Section is liable to respond to queries and requests for criminal records information from any and everyone.

A background check becomes all the more necessary when it comes to recruiting people for organizations that are devoted to working for children, the elderly and disabled individuals as they are more vulnerable than others. Washington legislature understood the importance of this information and formulated the Child and Adult Abuse Information Act RCW 43.43.830-43.43.845. As per this state statute the organizations that work with the above mentioned category of people may conduct a background search before appointing any individual. A background check for an existing employee is also permissible by Washington Criminal Records Privacy Act, RCW 10.97.

Washington Sex Offender Information

Information about registered sex offenders in the state can be obtained from the website of the Washington State Sex Offender Information Center to http://ml.waspc.org/ and maintained by the police chiefs and sheriffs association. You can do a quick Washington background check for a sex offender suspect by first clicking on your county of residence on the virtual map provided on the home page of the website. You will be navigated to the websites of the respective county sheriffs where you can make a search for a sex offender in your neighborhood and thus ensure the complete safety of your family and loved ones.

Request for criminal history can be made through the website of the Washington State Patrol or by mailing a duly filled out background check form to the Washington State Patrol Identification and Criminal History Section or by mailing fingerprint cards.

Accessing Your Own Washington Background Record

During the course of your search, you may come across your own entry that contains incorrect data. You can expunge your records or request for a modification of the records, in compliance to RCW 43.43.730. You can do so making an appointment with the concerned authorities by calling them up at 360 534 2000. Expungement of records is only possible if they meet the criteria laid out in RCW 10.97.060.  Information pertaining to kidnap and sex offender registration can also be searched on the database, as per RCW 9A.44.130.

Washington Background Check: Forms and Contact

There are separate forms for making these requests. The forms are available on the following links.

Request for Child/Adult Abuse Information Act

https://watch.wsp.wa.gov/Help?Index=forms

Requests for Public Housing Background Check can be made to

https://watch.wsp.wa.gov/Help?Index=forms

Request for User Application Form can be made on the website

https://watch.wsp.wa.gov/Help?Index=forms

Request for Conviction Criminal History

https://watch.wsp.wa.gov/Help?Index=faq

These forms are to be filled out and then mailed to WATCH, Identification and Criminal History Section, Post Office Box 42633, Olympia, WA 98504-2633

A fingerprint based Washington background check can be done following the submission of an applicant fingerprint card along with the processing fee of $26 and send it to the Identification and Criminal History Section of the Washington State Patrol. If you are wondering where to get hold of a fingerprint card, then you can collect it from the office of your local Sheriff.  You need to mail the fingerprint card with a check of the requisite processing fee and mail it to

Washington State Patrol, Identification and Criminal History Section, P. O. Box 42633 Olympia Washington 98504

Upon the receipt of the card, the results are sent to the requestor within a span of a couple of weeks. At times it may even take as long as 4 weeks.