Home › Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

This policy describes the information collected when someone uses Texas Criminal History, the limited reasons that information is processed, and the circumstances in which a service provider may receive it. Continued use of the website indicates acceptance of these practices. The policy covers this privately operated site, not Texas DPS, TDCJ, county offices, courts, or outside websites reached through a link.

Data You Provide Directly

Search Queries

A query entered in a search tool is transmitted to the outside provider that operates that tool. The provider processes the terms and supplies its result. Texas Criminal History does not retain or log those search terms on its own systems.

Messages and Contact Submissions

An email sent to the site may be kept long enough to read it, respond, and maintain an ordinary business record. It is not shared outside the organization unless disclosure is required by a valid legal obligation.

Data Collected Automatically

Routine server and analytics records may capture technical details when a page loads:

  • Device IP address
  • Browser name and version
  • Operating system and device category
  • Pages viewed and approximate time spent
  • Referring page or website, when supplied
  • Date and time of the request

Cookies and Analytics

Cookies are small device files used to understand aggregate traffic, page use, and navigation. Analytics providers may assist with that measurement. Browser controls can reject cookies, although disabling them may change how a feature behaves.

How the Data Is Used

  • Operate, secure, and improve the website
  • Send a user-initiated query to the selected partner service
  • Measure which pages are useful and how the site performs
  • Diagnose errors and other technical problems
  • Support advertising that may be based on visitor interests

No Criminal-Record Database

Texas Criminal History does not create, maintain, or sell a database of personal criminal records. It publishes guidance about records held by Texas DPS, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry, Texas courts, and local agencies in 254 counties. Government Code §§411.083 and 411.135 govern confidentiality and the public portion of DPS Computerized Criminal History. The Texas Public Information Act, Government Code Chapter 552, governs qualifying requests to Texas governmental bodies. Neither law turns this private guide into a record custodian or consumer reporting agency.

Third-Party Search Partners

Outside companies power the site's search boxes. Information entered there is handled under the selected company's privacy policy, retention rules, and sharing practices. Those policies should be reviewed before a query is submitted because Texas Criminal History does not control partner processing.

Links to Other Websites

Links may lead to Texas agencies, courts, county clerks and sheriffs, legal resources, and outside search services. Once a visitor leaves this site, the destination's own privacy terms apply. Advertising providers may also use their systems to recognize activity across websites for interest-based ads.

Who May Receive Data

Personal data is not sold. Limited information may be available to:

  • A search partner handling a query the visitor chose to submit
  • Analytics vendors measuring traffic and performance
  • Advertising networks serving ads on site pages
  • A government or law-enforcement body acting under a valid legal demand

Data Security

Reasonable, commonly used safeguards protect the information processed by this site. No internet service can promise perfect security, so these measures reduce risk but do not guarantee that an incident can never occur.

Users Under 18

The site is intended for adults and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If information from a minor is identified, a deletion request may be made through the available contact route.

Your Data Rights

Rights can depend on where a visitor lives and which law applies. Texas public-record rights under the Texas Public Information Act concern government-held records, not private website analytics. Subject to applicable law, a visitor may:

  • Ask what personal information the site retains
  • Request correction of inaccurate retained information
  • Request deletion where the law permits it
  • Opt out of processing where an applicable right exists

Updates to This Policy

This policy may be revised as site practices or legal duties change. A revised version becomes available on this page and carries a new effective date.

Effective date: August 11, 2026