Arrest Records for Madison County, Ohio

Madison County arrest records split across two systems: the Madison County Clerk of Courts holds court-side case filings searchable at Madison County Clerk of Courts Record Search, while the Madison County Sheriff’s Office maintains booking-side records and daily arrest logs. If you’re checking a name before a court date or preparing a sealing petition, the Clerk’s online portal covers felony and misdemeanor filings. The Madison County Courthouse in London operates Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Confirm current records-request fees directly with the Clerk before visiting.

If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Madison County inmate-search page has phone-first contact info.

If your person has a history in other states

Madison County’s Clerk portal covers cases filed in this county’s courts — it won’t surface records from neighboring Ohio counties, other states, or federal dockets. A nationwide database search may help fill gaps that local portals often leave, particularly for name variants, prior addresses in other states, or cases predating the county’s online records window. Run the preliminary scan below to see what comes back before committing to a full report.

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This tool is not a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA and may not be used to screen anyone for employment, housing, credit, or any other purpose covered by that law.

How to look up arrest records in Madison County

Walk into the Madison County Courthouse on a weekday and you’ll find two separate desks handling two separate record systems — the Clerk of Courts for court filings, the Sheriff’s Office for booking records. Ohio’s open-records law means any adult can request either, not just the person named in the record or their attorney.

The Madison County Clerk of Courts Record Search is the county’s primary online portal for court-side records. It covers felony cases filed in the Court of Common Pleas and misdemeanor cases handled at the county level. The Clerk’s downloadable court records index is also available at Madison County Court Records. Note that the Clerk’s online system uses a DjVu document viewer for some older scanned filings — the Clerk’s office can assist if you run into display issues in-person.

For booking-side records — arrest logs, booking photos, and daily booked-in reports — go to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office directly. The Sheriff’s Office main office opens at 8:30 a.m. on weekdays; some records services run only 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, so call ahead at (740) 852-1212 before driving over. Bring government-issued ID and plan for potential wait times during peak hours. Certain services require exact cash payment, so confirm payment options when you call.

The Sheriff’s inmate roster — which also functions as a booked-in log — is searchable online at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office inmate roster. This is the fastest way to confirm a recent booking without a phone call. The West Jefferson municipal government also maintains a Madison County Sheriff’s Office reference page with additional contact and lookup information.

For state prison records — cases where a sentence was served at an Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction facility rather than the county jail — use the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction offender search. The ODRC database covers state-sentenced inmates and parolees; it does not reflect county jail bookings or court dispositions.

Attorneys of record can request certified copies of case files directly from the Clerk. Self-represented parties and third parties follow the same public-records request process under Ohio law. Written requests can be submitted in person at the Madison County Courthouse in London. Confirm the current per-page copy fee with the Clerk before submitting — fees are not published in the online portal.

Are Madison County arrest records public?

Roughly 99 percent of Madison County arrest records are open to any member of the public under Ohio’s open-records statute. The controlling law is ORC 149.43, the Ohio Public Records Act, which establishes a default-public presumption for government records — including booking records, court filings, and arrest logs held by the Sheriff’s Office and Clerk of Courts.

Court filings in the Madison County Court of Common Pleas are public records under ORC 149.43 — sealed cases, juvenile records, and victim-protection redactions are the narrow exceptions. Sealed records are hidden from public view by court order; the public index will not show them. Expunged records (permanently destroyed under Senate Bill 288) are gone entirely from the public file.

Juvenile records receive separate treatment. Arrests and adjudications involving minors are not public under Ohio law. The Clerk of Courts will not release them to third-party requestors, and they do not appear in the online case search.

Victim-protection redactions apply in specific case types — certain domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking cases where the victim’s identifying information is shielded by court order. The underlying arrest record remains public; only the protected identifying details are withheld. No specific case needs to be named here to understand the rule: if a record you pull appears to have redacted fields, that’s the most likely explanation.

Booking photos (mugshots) are generally public records in Ohio under ORC 149.43. Whether the Madison County Sheriff’s Office posts them online or releases them on request — call the Sheriff’s Office at (740) 852-1212 to confirm current policy, as it isn’t posted online.

One practical note: the Madison County Clerk’s online portal carries a disclaimer that the site “is consistently undergoing change and is not warranted for content or accuracy.” For anything legally consequential — a sealing petition, a background dispute, a court appearance — request a certified copy from the Clerk rather than relying solely on the online display.

What’s in a Madison County arrest record?

What fields will you actually see when you pull a record? The answer depends on which system you’re looking at — because one arrest in Madison County can generate multiple separate records across multiple systems.

The booking record, created by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office at the time of arrest, typically contains: the subject’s full name and date of birth, booking date and time, arresting agency (Sheriff, London Police Department, or another municipal department), charge or charges at the time of booking, and a booking number. The Sheriff’s daily arrest log — accessible through the Madison County Sheriff’s Office inmate roster — reflects this booking-side data. It is a snapshot of what was known at the moment of arrest, not the final legal outcome.

The court filing, created separately by the Clerk of Courts after charges are formally filed, lives in a different system entirely. At the Madison County Courthouse, the Clerk’s case record will show: case number, filing date, charge or charges as formally indicted or cited, attorney of record (if one has appeared), scheduled hearing dates, and disposition — guilty plea, dismissal, acquittal, or conviction with sentence. The Madison County Clerk of Courts Record Search is where you find this court-side data.

A citation — a traffic or minor misdemeanor charge where no physical arrest occurred — may produce a court record at the Madison County Municipal Court without any corresponding Sheriff booking record. Conversely, a booking record may exist with no court filing if charges were declined by the prosecutor.

Disposition data is the most important field for most records-checkers. A booking record alone does not tell you whether the case was dismissed, reduced, or resulted in a conviction. Always cross-reference the Clerk’s case record to get the full picture. If the case went to state prison rather than county jail, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction offender search may show additional supervision history.

For mugshot policy at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, the policy isn’t posted online — call (740) 852-1212 to ask whether booking photos for a specific record are available for release.

How to expunge an arrest record in Madison County

Understand the federal boundary before you file anything: a state sealing or expungement order under Ohio law has no effect on federal arrest records. If the arrest involved a federal charge — prosecuted in U.S. District Court rather than the Madison County Court of Common Pleas — a separate federal petition is required, and Ohio’s process does not touch it. What follows covers state-level records only.

Ohio’s sealing and expungement statute is ORC 2953.32. Since Senate Bill 288, Ohio distinguishes between sealing (hiding a record from public view) and expungement (permanent destruction of an eligible record). Both are filed as a Petition to Seal or Expunge in the Court of Common Pleas for the county where the case was sentenced — for Madison County cases, that means the Madison County Court of Common Pleas at the Madison County Courthouse in London.

Dismissed and acquitted cases often have a streamlined path. If the Madison County case ended in dismissal, a not-guilty verdict, or a no-bill from the grand jury, you may be able to petition immediately without a waiting period. ORC 2953.32 sets the timing requirements for conviction-based sealing; check the current statute text or ask the Clerk of Courts about the applicable window for your specific case type, as the rules vary by offense level.

Eligibility for sealing a conviction generally requires that the waiting period has passed after final discharge and that you have no disqualifying subsequent convictions. Certain offense categories — most violent felonies, sex offenses requiring registration, and offenses against minors — are not eligible under ORC 2953.32. The Clerk can tell you whether a specific case type appears on the ineligible list.

To file, obtain the Petition to Seal form from the Madison County Clerk of Courts. The filing fee applies at the time of submission; the Clerk can confirm the current amount. If you cannot afford the fee, ask the Clerk about an indigency waiver — Ohio courts have a process for fee waivers based on financial hardship.

After filing, the court notifies the prosecutor’s office, which has the right to object. A hearing is scheduled. If the petition is granted, the court issues a sealing order that directs all relevant agencies — the Clerk, the Sheriff’s Office, and state repositories — to restrict public access to the record. Law enforcement agencies retain access to sealed records; the public does not.

Self-petitioning is legally available — you do not need an attorney to file. That said, if the prosecutor objects or your eligibility is complicated by multiple cases or prior convictions, an attorney familiar with Madison County’s Court of Common Pleas can help you navigate the hearing. The Ohio State Bar Association lawyer search and the Ohio Public Defender county locator are both available if you need representation.

One practical note for Madison County Courthouse visits: the courthouse accepts cash, check, money order, and Visa or Mastercard for most transactions. Arrive early — parking is available nearby, and earlier arrival generally means shorter waits at the Clerk’s counter.

Quick-reference contacts

Frequently asked questions about Madison County arrest records

How do I find out what’s on my Madison County arrest record?

Pull both systems. The Madison County Clerk of Courts Record Search shows court-filed charges and dispositions for cases handled in Madison County courts. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office holds the booking-side record — the arrest log entry created at the time you were taken into custody. Those two records may not match perfectly: the booking charge and the formally filed charge sometimes differ, and a booking record can exist even if the prosecutor declined to file. For a complete picture, check both. If you need a certified copy for legal purposes — a sealing petition, a licensing application, a court appearance — request it in person from the Clerk at the Madison County Courthouse in London, which is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

How do I get a Madison County arrest record sealed or expunged?

File a Petition to Seal or Expunge at the Madison County Court of Common Pleas under ORC 2953.32. Dismissed and acquitted cases can often be petitioned immediately. Conviction-based sealing requires that the applicable waiting period has passed and that you have no disqualifying subsequent record — confirm the specific window for your offense level with the Clerk of Courts. Obtain the petition form from the Clerk, pay the filing fee (or request an indigency waiver if you qualify), and the court will schedule a hearing after notifying the prosecutor. If the petition is granted, public access to the record is restricted; law enforcement agencies retain access. Federal arrest records are not affected by an Ohio state sealing order and require a separate federal process. The Ohio State Bar Association lawyer search can connect you with an attorney if the prosecutor objects or your situation involves multiple cases.