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Privacy Policy

This policy describes the information North Carolina Criminal History receives from visitors, why it is used, and the limited circumstances in which another party may receive it. By continuing to use the website, you acknowledge the practices stated in this policy.

Data You Give Us Directly

Search Queries

A name or location entered in a search box is sent directly to the outside provider that operates that tool. The provider processes the request and supplies its results. North Carolina Criminal History does not retain or log those search terms on its own systems.

Messages and Contact Submissions

When you email us, we retain the message as needed to answer it. Contact submissions remain within our organization unless disclosure is required by a valid legal obligation.

Data We Gather Automatically

Our servers automatically receive basic technical information when a visitor loads a page, including:

  • Page-view dates and times
  • Your device’s assigned IP address
  • Browser type and version
  • Operating system and device category
  • Pages viewed and the time spent on them
  • The referring website, when one is available

Cookies and Analytics

Cookies are small files placed on a device. We use them with analytics services to understand traffic in aggregate, such as which pages are visited most and where visits end. You may block cookies through your browser settings, although doing so can change how some website functions behave.

What We Do With This Data

  • Routing a submitted search to the appropriate partner service
  • Maintaining website availability and performance
  • Finding and correcting technical problems
  • Understanding which content visitors use
  • Displaying advertising that may reflect visitor interests

No Criminal-Record Data on File

North Carolina Criminal History does not host, compile, or sell a database of personal criminal records. Its reference material identifies official sources, including the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), Criminal Information and Identification Section (CIIS), the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (NCDAC), the North Carolina Sex Offender and Public Protection Registry, state courts, and local sheriffs and courts across all 100 counties. We are not a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Visitor data is not assembled into consumer reports or third-party criminal-history files.

Third-Party Search Partners

Outside companies power the search boxes. Information submitted through a box is governed by that provider’s privacy policy rather than this one. Each provider controls its own retention, processing, and disclosure practices. Review those terms before sending a query.

Links to Other Websites

Links may lead to North Carolina agencies, court portals, county sheriffs and clerks, legal-aid organizations, or outside search providers. Once you leave this website, the destination’s privacy policy applies. Read that policy before providing personal information.

Some advertising providers may use activity across multiple websites to select ads. That processing takes place through their systems and policies.

Who Might See Your Data

We do not sell personal information. Data may nevertheless be available to these limited categories:

  • Analytics providers that measure traffic and performance
  • Search partners receiving a query you submit
  • Advertising networks serving ads on the website
  • Government or law-enforcement bodies acting under a valid legal order

How We Protect Your Data

Reasonable, standard safeguards are used for information under our control. No internet-connected service can guarantee perfect security, so we cannot promise that unauthorized access or a breach will never occur.

Users Under 18

The website is intended for adults, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone younger than 18. If we learn that a minor supplied such data, we will delete it.

Your Data Rights

Rights may vary with the law that applies where you live. The North Carolina Public Records Law, Chapter 132, governs records held by North Carolina government agencies; it does not turn records held by this private website into government public records. Regardless of location, you may:

  • Request access to personal information we hold about you
  • Ask us to correct inaccurate personal information
  • Request deletion of your personal information
  • Object to certain forms of processing

Updates to This Policy

This policy may be revised as practices or legal requirements change. A revised version will be posted here and will carry a new effective date. Review it periodically for updates.

Effective date: August 11, 2026