Ohio runs court records at the county level — no unified state portal. Franklin County Court of Common Pleas (General Division) handles felony, civil over $15k, and Domestic Relations cases through the Clerk of Courts (CIO portal). Misdemeanors, evictions, and small claims live at Franklin County Municipal Court (Columbus and surrounding municipalities run separate municipal courts).
Guided record check
Run this in order.
Start with the systems most likely to change your read of a person. Then cross-check custody, registries, and paper-trail sources before you go wider.
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01 · The docket layer
Start with courts
3 sources
Run county and statewide court portals first. Civil, criminal, family, and lower-court systems are often separate, so this is where most missed records happen.
Franklin County Clerk of Courts CIO portal. Covers civil and criminal cases filed in the Court of Common Pleas General Division and domestic relations cases in the Domestic Relations Division. Search by plaintiff or defendant name, court, or case number. Free, no login.
This is your felony, civil-over-$15k, and domestic relations search for the Columbus metro. CIO does NOT include misdemeanors, evictions, or small claims. Those live at Franklin County Municipal Court (separate clerk at fcmcclerk.com). If you are vetting someone and want eviction history, you have to search the municipal clerk separately. Domestic Relations cases including divorce filings ARE covered by CIO. The disclaimer page is a click-through, not a barrier.
Franklin County Municipal Court covers Columbus and parts of unincorporated Franklin County. Handles civil suits up to $15,000 (including eviction / Forcible Entry and Detainer cases), misdemeanors, parking, and traffic. The Clerk publishes monthly F.E.D. reports listing all eviction filings — uniquely transparent.
This is your eviction history search for the Columbus metro. The Franklin Municipal Clerk publishes monthly Forcible Entry and Detainer (F.E.D.) reports as downloadable CSVs covering the current month plus the prior 12, so you can pull eviction filings in bulk. For a single name search, use the case search at fcmcclerk.com/case/search by first and last name. Misdemeanors live here too, separately from the felonies that go to the Common Pleas Clerk row above.
Franklin County Sheriff inmate information system. Covers both Franklin County Corrections Center I (downtown, 370 S. Front Street) and FCCC II (2460 Jackson Pike) under one consolidated database. Returns mugshot, charges, case number, bond, and projected court dates.
Two jail facilities, one search. Inmates rotate between FCCC I and II based on classification, so do not rely on facility location alone — use the consolidated booking find. Useful when someone has dropped off the map and you want to confirm whether an arrest happened. Charges and bond amount tell you how serious; case number ties to the Clerk of Courts portal for the prosecution that follows.
Ohio's statewide sex offender registry. Covers all 88 counties — each county sheriff feeds the system. Search by name or by geographic radius around an address. Public, no login.
If you are vetting someone in Ohio, this is the first registry to check. The address-radius search is the version to use when you only have a partial picture: enter an address, get every registered offender within a mile. Names search returns current address, work address, and vehicle info. The registry is fed by all 88 county sheriff offices, so coverage is statewide and updates in near-real-time.
Franklin County Auditor's public property database. Search by owner name, address, parcel ID, or subdivision. Returns ownership, assessed value, parcel detail, and tax history. Covers all of Franklin County including Columbus and surrounding suburbs.
Ohio calls assessors county auditors, so when you search "Franklin County assessor" you will not always find this. The owner-name search is the fastest way to confirm whether someone owns property in the Columbus metro. Cross-reference any address you have ever been given against the address attached to the parcel: if they do not match, the recorder usually tells you why (a deed transfer, a lien, a foreclosure).
Franklin County Recorder's online public records search. Over 11 million records covering deeds, mortgages, liens, plats. Deed index online from 1914-01-02; mortgage index from 1970-01-02; pre-1914 deed index books also accessible.
Recorders surface property ownership, mortgage history, and the things people try not to talk about: tax liens, mechanics liens, divorce-related property transfers. Search by name first. If you find a mortgage but no recent satisfaction filing, that is worth knowing. Login as Guest from the publicsearch portal to start. Records go back to 1914 in the searchable deed index — pre-1914 is in scanned books at the office.
ODRC Offender Search covers anyone currently incarcerated in Ohio state prison, currently under Department supervision, or judicially released. Search by last name alone, first plus last, or offender number with prefix (A or R for male, W for female).
State prison only. If you suspect someone served time in a county jail, use the county sheriff inmate roster instead. The search shows last recorded address, not current location, so a release-and-relocate combo can leave the record looking fresh when the person has moved on. Records persist after release, so this is also where you confirm whether someone in your life has a state prison history.
Ohio SOS Business Search. Direct search by business name with filters for All, Active, Cancelled, or Dead status. Returns entity type, registered agent, filing history, and officers/incorporators where filed.
If someone has told you they own a business in Ohio, this is where you confirm it. Filter on Cancelled and Dead too: a long list of dissolved entities tied to the same registered agent or officer is a pattern worth knowing. The free monthly business reports list new filings, trademarks, and dissolutions, useful for tracking activity over time.
Ohio Secretary of State statewide voter registration lookup. Returns current registration status, polling location, and voting district. Address verification is the primary use here.
Voter rolls are one of the most reliable address-of-record sources in any state. If someone is registered to vote in Ohio, this returns where the state mailed them their last ballot. Useful for confirming an address you suspect, or for catching a move you were not told about. The lookup is statewide; for additional polling and ballot detail, also check the county Board of Elections row.
Ohio's primary unified professional license verification system. Covers most licensed professions including counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, nurses, and many others through participating regulatory boards. Returns license status and disciplinary history where on file.
If someone tells you they are licensed in Ohio in a regulated profession, this is your verification. Beyond license status, the lookup surfaces disciplinary actions, which is the more useful signal: suspensions, revocations, or restrictions. Note the system migrated for the Real Estate division in January 2026 to a new vendor, so realtor lookups may surface separately under the Department of Commerce. Attorneys are licensed by the Supreme Court of Ohio (separate registry), not eLicense.
Franklin County Board of Elections voter lookup. Returns registration details, polling location, and sample ballots. Covers all of Franklin County including Columbus.
County BOE confirms what the state lookup shows, plus polling place and sample ballot detail. The address-of-record on a voter registration is one of the most current address signals available, more reliable than commercial people-search tools especially in fast-growing Columbus suburbs (New Albany, Dublin, Hilliard) where databases lag. Pair with the OH SOS statewide lookup for cross-confirmation.
Ohio Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics. State office holds birth records since 1908-12-20 and death records since 1972-01-01. Earlier records live at the Probate Court of the county where the event occurred. $21.50 search fee per record (charged whether or not located).
The fee is per-search, not per-found-record, so confirm the right county and event date before paying. Online ordering was temporarily unavailable as of May 2026 due to a system upgrade; mail and in-person paths still work. Over 100 local offices statewide accept in-person same-day requests, often the fastest path. For pre-1972 deaths or pre-1908 births, skip ODH and go directly to the Probate Court of the county where the event occurred.
The Supreme Court of Ohio licenses and disciplines attorneys (eLicense does NOT cover lawyers). Search by name, registration number, or geographic location. Returns attorney status (active, suspended, retired) and a summary of any disciplinary action taken by the Court.
If you have ever been told someone is a lawyer in Ohio, run the name here. Status alone is the easy part. The harder part is the disciplinary summary: this directory shows when the Court has issued a sanction. For deeper history including pending cases and full opinions, go to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel at odc.ohio.gov. The Board of Professional Conduct online docket also tracks active cases.
Federal District, Appeals, and Bankruptcy courts. Over 1 billion documents filed. $0.10/page (capped at $3.00/document); free if quarterly charges under $30. Account required for search. Confirmed live 2026-05-03.
PACER catches federal cases the state DOC and state courts will not. Account required, small per-search fees. Worth using for white-collar, federal drug, immigration, and bankruptcy.
All federal prison inmates, current and historical from 1982. Search by name (with race/sex/age filters) or inmate number. Note: search backend showed intermittent error during 2026-05-03 verification — likely temporary. If main tool is down, try https://www.bop.gov/mobile/find_inmate/byname.jsp as fallback.
All 50 states aggregated, plus DC, US territories, and tribal nations. Search by name or location. DOJ-operated. Named after Dru Sjodin. Also links to abuse reporting resources. Confirmed live 2026-05-03.