There is no public domestic violence registry run by any government in the United States. No federal law requires one, and no state currently operates one. A non-profit called the National Domestic Violence Registry maintains an online database of convictions, but it has no government backing, no legal mandate, and relies on voluntary submissions and public court records rather than mandatory reporting.1Virginia State Crime Commission. Domestic Abuser Registry If you want to find out whether a specific person has a domestic violence record, you have to search individual court systems or pay a background check company to do it for you.
Why No Government Registry Exists
Congress has never passed legislation creating a centralized, publicly searchable domestic violence offender database, and a review by the Virginia State Crime Commission found no state-run registries anywhere in the country.1Virginia State Crime Commission. Domestic Abuser Registry
Several reasons sit behind that absence. Victims of domestic violence often share children, finances, or housing with the person who harmed them, so a public registry could expose a victim’s identity or location indirectly. Many incidents go unreported or end in dropped charges, which means a registry built on convictions alone would capture only a fraction of offenders. And the legal framework for domestic violence in the United States has grown up around protective orders, criminal prosecution, and victim services rather than public notification systems like the ones built for sex offenses.
Where Domestic Violence Records Actually Live
Domestic violence information enters the public record through two main channels, and knowing the difference helps you figure out where to look.
The first is criminal cases. When police arrest someone for assault, battery, stalking, or similar conduct in a domestic relationship, the arrest creates a criminal record that moves through booking, charging, and (if the case proceeds) conviction and sentencing. Those records sit in the local court system where the case was filed.
The second is civil protective orders, sometimes called restraining orders. A person experiencing abuse can petition a court to prohibit the other party from making contact, coming within a certain distance, or returning to a shared home. The court file lists both parties, the specific restrictions, and the expiration date. Protective orders are civil matters and exist separately from any criminal case, though the two often run in parallel.
Protective orders travel across state lines. Under the Violence Against Women Act, every state, tribal government, and U.S. territory must enforce a valid protective order from another jurisdiction as though a local court had issued it, provided the issuing court had jurisdiction and the respondent received notice and a chance to be heard. No registration in the new state is required before enforcement.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders
How to Search for Someone’s Domestic Violence Record
Because the information is decentralized, finding it means searching the courts where the person has lived. Most state and county courts run online portals where you can look up case records by name. How much you can see from home varies widely. Some jurisdictions let you view full case documents online. Others, especially for domestic violence and criminal matters, limit remote access to basic information like case numbers and hearing dates and require an in-person visit to the courthouse for the actual filings.3Judicial Branch of California. Who? Where? How? Viewing a Court’s Electronic Case Records
Protective order records follow similar patterns with additional privacy layers. Many states shield victim addresses and other identifying information. Some jurisdictions automatically seal protective order records that were denied or dismissed, and either party can often ask the court to limit public access to the file.
Commercial Background Checks
Commercial background check companies pull from public court records across multiple jurisdictions, so a domestic violence conviction or protective order can surface during employment screening, tenant screening, or a personal background search. How complete the report is depends on which court systems the company accesses and whether the relevant jurisdiction has digitized its records.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act limits what these companies can report. Non-conviction records (arrests that were dismissed, charges that were dropped) cannot appear on a report after seven years from the date of the arrest.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports Convictions have no federal time limit and can appear indefinitely. Some states impose their own restrictions on reporting older convictions, so the rules vary by jurisdiction.
Databases the Public Cannot See
Several federal databases collect domestic violence information for law enforcement use, but none is open to the general public.
The FBI’s National Crime Information Center maintains a Protection Order File containing court-issued orders meant to prevent violent or threatening acts, harassment, or unwanted contact. Law enforcement agencies and civil courts enter the records, which include information about the restrained person, the protected person, and the specific terms of the order. When an officer runs a name during a traffic stop or a domestic disturbance call, any active protective order shows up. Inactive records stay in the system for the remainder of the year they expired plus five more years before retirement.5Federal Bureau of Investigation – FBI. Privacy Impact Assessment for the National Crime Information Center
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), also run by the FBI, screens people trying to buy firearms. A conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is a disqualifying category.6FBI: NICS Index. National Instant Criminal Background Check System NICS Index Local, state, tribal, and federal agencies contribute records, but the system has documented gaps. The federal government cannot compel states to report, so many domestic violence convictions never reach the federal database.7National Resource Center for Domestic Violence and Firearms. Reporting Domestic Offenses to Background Check Systems: Does it Really Matter? Many states do not fingerprint people arrested for misdemeanors, so those records may exist only at the local level and never enter the federal system at all.8U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence
The Firearm Ban That Functions Like a Registry Entry
Even without a public list, a domestic violence record carries serious federal consequences. Two provisions of federal firearms law target domestic violence specifically.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), sometimes called the Lautenberg Amendment, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is permanently banned from possessing firearms or ammunition.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts The ban applies regardless of when the conviction occurred and covers any misdemeanor involving the use or attempted use of physical force against a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, or cohabitant.10United States Department of Justice Archives. Restrictions on the Possession of Firearms by Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence This is one of the few areas where a misdemeanor triggers a lifetime federal prohibition.
A separate provision, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), makes it illegal to possess firearms while subject to a qualifying domestic violence protective order. The order must have been issued after a hearing where the respondent had notice and an opportunity to participate, and it must restrain the person from threatening or harassing an intimate partner or child.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts In June 2024, the Supreme Court upheld this provision in United States v. Rahimi.11Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Rahimi, No. 22-915 Unlike the conviction-based ban, the protective order prohibition lasts only as long as the order is in effect.
Sealing a Domestic Violence Record
Whether a conviction can be erased depends entirely on state law, and most states make it hard. Many jurisdictions specifically exclude domestic violence convictions from their expungement or record-sealing statutes. Where sealing is available at all, it tends to be limited to the lowest-level offenses and requires a waiting period after the sentence is fully completed. Protective order records are somewhat easier to seal, especially when the petition was denied or dismissed.
Even when a state seals or expunges a conviction, the federal firearm prohibition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) may survive. The federal statute lifts the ban only if the expungement or restoration of civil rights does not explicitly prohibit firearm possession.10United States Department of Justice Archives. Restrictions on the Possession of Firearms by Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence The interaction between state record relief and federal firearms law is tricky, and getting it wrong has felony consequences.
States Considering Their Own Registries
A handful of states have explored creating their own domestic violence registries, though none has one on the books as of early 2026. In 2026, West Virginia’s House of Delegates advanced a bill that would establish a registry containing names, addresses, photographs, crime descriptions, fingerprints, and vehicle information for anyone convicted of a felony or misdemeanor domestic violence offense.12West Virginia Legislature. House Advances Domestic Violence Registry Bill Whether that bill becomes law remains to be seen. For now, if you want to know whether a specific person has a domestic violence record, the court file is where you have to look.