Minnesota Busted Mugshots
Minnesota busted mugshots are public data under state law. You can search for booking photos, arrest records, and jail rosters from all 87 counties without paying a fee. The Minnesota Department of Corrections runs an online offender search tool. Each county sheriff posts a jail roster too. Court case details show up on the free Minnesota Court Records Online system. If you want to look up busted mugshots for a specific person, you can start with the state databases or go straight to the county where the arrest took place. Most of these tools work around the clock.
Minnesota Busted Mugshots Overview
Minnesota Busted Mugshots Search Tools
The state gives you several free tools to look up busted mugshots and arrest records in Minnesota. Each one pulls from a different database, so the type of info you get depends on where you search. The three main sources are the Department of Corrections, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the court system. All three are free to use and open to the public.
The Minnesota DOC Public Viewer is the place to start if you want to find someone in state prison or on supervised release. It shows the person's name, photo, offense, sentence length, and where they are held. You can search by name or offender ID. This tool only covers people under DOC jurisdiction, so it does not include county jail inmates. For those, you need the county jail roster. The DOC also runs a fugitives search page where you can see who has active warrants from the state. Tips go to 651-603-0026.
Below is a look at the DOC Public Viewer search page where you can look up Minnesota busted mugshots for state offenders.
The search runs fast and results come up right away.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension keeps the central criminal history file for the whole state. Public conviction data stays on file for 15 years after discharge of sentence, per Minnesota Statute 13.87. The BCA does not show arrest data that did not lead to a conviction. You can run a public search at no cost or pay for a more detailed check.
Find Busted Mugshots in Minnesota
Finding busted mugshots in Minnesota takes just a few clicks in most cases. Start with the statewide tools and then drill down to the county level if you need more details. Here is what works best.
Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) lets you search court cases from all 87 counties. Type in a name and the system pulls up case numbers, charges, hearing dates, and docket entries. It does not show mugshots directly, but it tells you which county handled the case. From there, you can check that county's jail roster for booking photos and busted mugshots. MCRO is free and runs 24 hours a day.
The MCRO portal is shown below. It is one of the most used tools for finding Minnesota busted mugshots and case info.
You can search by name, case number, or citation across the whole state.
For county jail busted mugshots, go to the sheriff's office website for the right county. Many post a live roster that updates every hour. The roster shows who is in custody, their booking photo, charges, bail amount, and arrest date. Some counties also post an active warrant list with names and photos. Not all 87 counties have the same setup. Large counties like Hennepin and Ramsey have searchable databases. Smaller ones may post a PDF that updates once a day.
Booking Photos and Mugshot Laws
Minnesota law says mugshots are public. It is one of the more open states in the country when it comes to booking photos.
Under Minnesota Statute 13.82, subdivision 26, a booking photograph is public data. That means anyone can ask for a copy. The same statute makes arrest data public too. Things like the time, date, and place of an arrest are all open records. So is the name of the person who was picked up and what they got charged with. Active criminal investigations are different. Those files stay confidential until the case goes inactive, at which point they open up to the public.
The screenshot below shows the text of Minnesota Statute 13.82, which is the main law that makes busted mugshots public in the state.
This statute covers law enforcement data including mugshots, arrest details, and incident reports.
Criminal history data falls under Statute 13.87. Conviction records are public for 15 years after discharge of sentence. After that window closes, the record is no longer available through the public BCA search. Arrest records that never led to a conviction are classified as private data and do not show up in public searches. The Minnesota Data Practices Act (Statute 13.03) sets the overall rule: all government data is public unless a specific law says otherwise. Copy fees max out at 25 cents per page for 100 or fewer black and white pages.
Minnesota County Jail Rosters
Each of Minnesota's 87 counties runs its own jail through the sheriff's office. The jail roster is where you find busted mugshots at the local level. Most counties post the roster online. It shows who is in custody right now, along with their booking photo, charges, bail, and arrest date. Some also show people who got released in the past 7 to 10 days.
VINELink is a free tool that covers every county in Minnesota. You can search for an inmate by name or offender ID and sign up for alerts when their custody status changes. It is run by a national victim notification service. The phone number is 877-664-8463. VINELink works well when you are not sure which county holds the person you want to look up. Just pick Minnesota from the state list and search.
Here is the VINELink search page, which covers all Minnesota counties for busted mugshots and inmate status checks.
VINELink also sends email or phone alerts when an inmate's status changes.
Note: County jail rosters only show people held at the county level. For state prison inmates, use the DOC Public Viewer instead.
Predatory Offender Busted Mugshots
Minnesota keeps a registry of predatory offenders. The law that sets this up is Minnesota Statute 243.166. People convicted of certain crimes must register for at least 10 years. Some must register for life. The DOC manages the list.
The DOC Public Registrant Search shows registrants who are subject to community notification. You can view their mugshot, physical description, conviction history, and risk level. Level III offenders are posted online by default. Level II info goes to schools and daycares. Level I info stays within the law enforcement agency. The risk levels come from Statute 244.052. Offenders who are out of compliance for more than 30 days can also be posted publicly. Call the DOC Community Notification Unit at 651-361-7340 for questions.
The DOC predatory offender search portal is shown below. It is a key resource for finding busted mugshots of registered offenders in Minnesota.
The search is free and updated as registrant information changes.
Minnesota Busted Mugshots and Expungement
Minnesota Statute 609A.01 covers expungement of criminal records, which includes busted mugshots and booking photos. If a court grants an expungement, the records get sealed. They do not show up in public searches after that.
Not every record can be expunged. Under Statute 609A.02, petty misdemeanors and misdemeanors may qualify after 2 years with no new offenses. Gross misdemeanors need 3 clean years. Some felonies can be sealed after 4 or 5 years. But there is one big exception. Records tied to predatory offender registration under Statute 243.166 can never be expunged. The Minnesota State Law Library has guides on how to file an expungement petition. Identification data like fingerprints and mugshots must be destroyed if there is no conviction within 10 years, per Statute 299C.11. That means old busted mugshots from cases that never went anywhere should come off the books on their own.
Below is a screenshot of the expungement statute, which sets out the rules for sealing busted mugshots and other criminal records in Minnesota.
Talk to a lawyer or contact the State Law Library if you need help with the expungement process.
Statewide Busted Mugshots Resources
Here are the main state agencies you can contact for help with busted mugshots and arrest records in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Judicial Branch runs the court system. All criminal cases go through the District Courts. The MCRO information page explains how to search court records and what you can find there. Case files include charges, docket entries, hearing dates, and dispositions. For copies of documents from a case file, you contact the Court Administrator in the county where the case was filed.
The BCA background check portal is shown below. It is the central hub for criminal history searches in Minnesota.
The BCA keeps records from all Minnesota courts in one place.
You can also reach the Department of Corrections at (651) 361-7200 or by email at doc.info@state.mn.us. The BCA phone number is 651-793-2400. For victim notification about inmate status in any Minnesota county jail, call VINELink at 877-664-8463.
Browse Minnesota Busted Mugshots by County
Each county in Minnesota has its own sheriff's office and jail roster. Pick a county below to find local busted mugshots, arrest records, and inmate search tools for that area.
Busted Mugshots in Major Minnesota Cities
Most Minnesota cities do not run their own jails. Arrests go through the county sheriff's office. Pick a city below to find out where to search for busted mugshots and arrest records in that area.