Criminal General Information

Customers with a specific case number may call (713) 755-7812 to obtain summary information about that particular case at no charge. For criminal information select appropriate option.

Name Only Query

Customers with only a name and date of birth may call (713) 755-7812 to obtain a criminal record search for that name and date of birth. A fee of $5.00 is charged for this service. An additional fee of $1.00 is charged for written confirmation or a certificate of the search. All major credit cards are accepted for this transaction.

Customer Service

Walk-In Assistance

Customer Service is located on the third floor, room 3138, at the Criminal Justice Center 1201 Franklin, to assist walk-in customers during regular business hours with criminal record searches, Certificates of Record Search and Disposition, viewing of case files, obtaining copies of documents, and filing documents. The fee for a Certificate of Record Search is $6.00. The fee to obtain copies of documents is $1.00 per page, whether certified or not.

After-Hours Filing

A file mark clock and locked deposit box is located on the 1st floor of the Criminal Justice Center, 1201 Franklin for filing documents during non-business hours.

Criminal Background Checks by Phone

If your want to obtain a Letter of Disposition (Criminal Background Check), our Call Center at (713) 755-7812 can charge your credit card and mail this to you. Please note, any other documents requested from our office for criminal felony or misdemeanor cases cannot be obtained through our Call Center.

Fax Copy Requests

Copies can now be requested via fax request with credit card pre-payment. Please fax requests to (713) 368-3946 using our Fax Express Form, or please review our Fax Filing Brochure.

Written requests

Customers may request record searches or copies of documents by mail. The party's full name, date of birth, and if known, the case number, must be provided. There is a charge of $1.00 per page of copies, plus an additional $5.00 when a record search is required. (Personal checks are not accepted). Please include a U.S.money order or cashier's check for the total amount due, made payable to Theresa Chang, Harris County District Clerk, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope. Send to the mailing address listed in Location & Hours of Operation to the attention of Criminal Correspondence Section.

Appeal/Post Conviction Writ

All criminal cases from the County Criminal Courts at Law and the Harris County District Courts lie within the First and Fourteenth Court of Appeals. However, cases where the death penalty has been assessed lie within the Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. There are two major components of an Appellate Case: (a) the Clerk’s Record, which is prepared by Post Trial Services and (b) the Court Reporter’s Record, which is prepared by the Court Reporter and is the written record of all oral conversations in the court room. Once the notice of appeal has been filed, the court clerk sends the case file to Post Trial Services for the preparation of the clerk’s record. This record consists of documents identified by the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedures and any other court ordered documents, which are copied, numbered, indexed and bound. The original record is then forwarded to the proper Court of Appeals or the Court of Criminal Appeals and the copy(s) is available for interested parties to check in and out. The court reporter files an original court reporter's record with the appeal court and a copy(s) with Post Trial Services to be checked in and out by the interested parties. There are no filing fees. The clerk processes all motions and orders until the case is mandated at which time, the case is sent to the Records Center.

Article 45.042 Code of Criminal Procedure states appeals from a municipal court shall be heard by the county court. It is the responsibility of the District Clerk to notify all concerned parties when the transcript is received in the District Clerk's Office. The transcript is composed of copies of documents from the original trial. The clerk will also notify all parties when briefs are due to be filed, as well as when briefs are filed. The defendant, attorney, and attorney for the municipality file briefs. The clerk will notify the parties of the court's final ruling, which is referred to as the court's mandate or court's order.

If the defendant or attorney appeals the ruling of the County Criminal Court at Law, written notice of appeal must be given and it becomes the responsibility of the clerk to assign the case to the 1st or 14th Court of Appeals and forward the transcript to the appropriate appellate court, also notifying the concerned parties.

Appeal Information

The Appeal Section is located on the third floor, room 3180, at the Criminal Justice Center 1201 Franklin. Personnel in this section will assist customers with questions concerning cases on appeal. This is also where attorneys of record check out and check in appellate records. The contact number is (713) 755-7812. Customers may also file appeal documents or request copies from appeal cases in this section.

Post Conviction Writ of Habeas Corpus

The document filed is called the petition or application for Writ of Habeas Corpus. It is for criminal conviction relief in cases where the conviction is final, the appeal has been affirmed and the applicant is asking the Court of Criminal Appeals to review the conviction and grant relief for any defects. When the application is filed with our office, the clerk sends notification to all interested parties. After the state and defense briefs are filed, the clerk then prepares the clerk's record, which consists of documents identified by the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedures and any other court-ordered documents. These documents are copied, numbered, indexed, and bound. The original is then forwarded to the Court of Appeals in Austin and the copy(s) is kept in the section for interested parties to check in and out. The clerk processes all motions and orders until the case is mandated, at which time the case is sent to the Records Center.

This section also processes post conviction writs of habeas corpus. The application for a post conviction writ of habeas corpus must be filed on the proper form, which the applicant may obtain online at the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Bond Information

When a defendant is bound by bail to appear in court and fails to appear, a forfeiture of bail and judicial declaration is taken in the manner provided in Article 22.02, Texas Criminal Code of Procedure. When the court determines a defendant has failed to appear in accordance with the Judge’s orders, a nisi judgment is issued. A nisi judgment is a temporary judgment that can be made final unless, within the prescribed time, the defendants justify to the Courts otherwise. Although these proceedings are based on criminal case elements, Bond Forfeiture cases (also known as scire facias) are a civil matter and subject to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

Clerk support in Criminal Bond Forfeiture:

Generate the Bond Forfeiture case in the Countywide JIMS database
Assemble the physical case file folder
Generate nisi judgments to be signed by the judge
Generate and serve citations to the parties of the case
Generate cost bills and fees
Receipt Bond Forfeiture judgment payments
Process Abstract of Judgments and Executions filed by the District Attorney’s Office

When a Cash bond is deposited with the Harris County Sheriff in a criminal matter, a cash bond refund may be in order if the defendant has successfully complied with all conditions of the bond and the criminal case is closed. Our cash bond clerks prepare the refund order and route it to the court for the judge's signature. Upon receiving the final order, it is forwarded to the County Auditor's Office for processing. When that process is complete, the County Treasurer issues the refund check to the depositor at the physical address noted on the cash bond. Any change of address or cash bond assignment should be completed prior to the conclusion of the criminal case. The cash bond assignment allows the cash bond refund to be issued to another party named in the assignment form. This form must be notarized or the depositor must appear in person with proper identification to file the assignment.

Cash Bond Refunds

Cash Bond Deposits are refunded to the depositor if the defendant has successfully complied with all conditions of the bond and the criminal case is concluded. The refund order is prepared and signed by the judge, then forwarded to the County Auditor’s Office. When their process is complete, the County Treasurer will mail the refund check to the depositor at the address noted on the cash bond. Any change of address should be completed prior to the conclusion of the criminal case.

The change of address form for cash bond refunds is available by clicking the link.

The cash bond contact numbers are:

District Clerk - (713) 755-7812
County Auditor - (713) 755-4138
County Treasurer - (713) 755-5120

Cash Bond Assignment

Cash bond assignments may also be filed with the District Clerk on the third floor, room 3180. The cash bond assignment will cause the cash deposit to be refunded to another party named in the assignment form. This form must be filed with the District Clerk prior to the conclusion of the criminal case and it must be notarized, or the depositor must appear in person with proper identification to file the assignment. The Cash Bond Assignment form is available by clicking on the link listed here.

Occupational Driver's License

Filing Process

Petitions for an Occupational Driver's License may be filed in the Criminal Customer Service Section located on the third floor, room 3138. An Occupational License Case Information Sheet must also be included with your petition (Rule 15, Harris County Criminal Courts at Law Rules of Court).

Filing Fee

Filing Fee: Beginning April 1, 2008, filing an occupational driver's license is $212.00 (521.242 Transportation Code and 133.154 Local Government Code).

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