What are Virginia Juvenile Court Records?

The state of Virginia provides extensive interpretation and guidelines regarding juvenile matters in the state’s law code. In Virginia, a juvenile is someone below the age of 18 years. Special courts are reserved for handling juvenile cases in the state:  the Juvenile and Domestic District Relations Courts. They handle juvenile cases ranging from delinquent acts through to criminal traffic matters. The court also creates records for juveniles needing support, not necessarily for violation reasons. A crucial reason for generating and maintaining juvenile records is for the early intervention of troubled youths. The Department of Juvenile Justice has records of juveniles in confinement. 

What Information Is Contained In A Virginia Juvenile Record?

Juvenile records differ, depending on the reason for creating the record. Basic information common to all juvenile records in Virginia includes:

• Identification number of the document
• Full names of a juvenile
• The date of the record
• Identifying features such as sex, color of eyes and hair, height, complexion, etc
• Date of birth and residential address
• District of jurisdiction
• Statute number relevant to the case

What Cases Are Heard By the Virginia Juvenile Court?

Some common cases heard in Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Courts are:

• Juvenile delinquency cases
• Juvenile crime
• Children seeking emancipation or work permits
• Child abuse and neglect
• Crimes involving child victims
• Matters involving juvenile abortion
• Juvenile traffic violations
• Status offenses
• Child in need of supervision

Who Is Eligible To View Juvenile Records In Virginia?

In Virginia, juvenile records are not available to the public by law. An exception to the rule is the category of juvenile criminal records which are equivalent to adult felonies. Such records are open to the public. Even then, the judge may opt to issue an order to seal some information within a record.

There are statutory exceptions to permit agencies to share information with other agencies pertaining to a juvenile to promote public safety. For example, the Virginia State Police under the Virginia code sub-section 19.2–381.9 may share limited information pertaining to firearms purchases, preparing trial and sentence reports, fingerprint comparisons, community-based probation services, commonwealth attorneys, individuals, parents of a juvenile involved, agencies or institutions with legitimate interests all under court order.

How to Find Juvenile Records in Virginia

Juvenile records range from adoptions, arrests, court proceedings and case files, incarceration records, and social services records. However, unlike every other public record, juvenile records are not easily accessible. A visit to any of these custodian agencies may provide information about how to access a juvenile record. 

Generally, unless applicants belong to the eligibility bracket, requesters typically require a court or executive order to access these records. Records of all court proceedings pertaining to a juvenile, for example, are available at the office of the Clerk of Court for the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. This includes civil and criminal juvenile records, adoption cases, and custody information. The Virginia Judicial System Directory can be used to locate the court of interest. Arrest records are available from the law enforcement agency responsible for the arrest of a juvenile.. Rap sheets are generated by the Virginia state police. The Department of Juvenile Justice generates and maintains records of juveniles taken into custody or detention. It is important to have the basic identifying information for the record such as the case file number or ID, docket numbers if any, the names of the juveniles involved. Also, it may be necessary to provide proof of eligibility to access the juvenile record.

Can You Look Up Virginia Juvenile Records Online?

Juvenile records are not available online. This is in keeping with the law of confidentiality and privacy of information of young persons in the state. Juvenile cases where the involved child is guilty of a felony are put out in public space for safety and security. Such records are available like every other adult record.

Records that are considered public may be accessible from some third-party websites. Operating independently of any federal, state or local agency, such websites may simplify the search process as they are not limited by geographic location. In addition, third-party sites typically have search engines that can be used for filtering specific or multiple record(s). To use third-party or government websites, interested parties may need to provide:

• The name of the person involved in the record, unless said person is a juvenile
• The location or assumed location of the record or person involved. This includes information such as the city, county, or state that the person resides in or was accused in

However, third-party sites are independent of government sources and are not sponsored by these government agencies. Therefore, the record results, availability, or accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

Do Virginia Juvenile Records Show Up On Background Checks?

No. Cases of juvenile delinquency do not show up on background checks. Most of these records are subject to expungement when the individual reaches the age of 29 years. However, certain criminal records show up in a juvenile background check. Among them are high-level traffic violations such as Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). Also, if the crime committed by the juvenile equals a felony in adult criminal cases, it may appear during a background check.

How Long Are Juvenile Records Kept In Virginia?

According to the Virginia State Code subsection 16.1–306, the courts are mandated to remove juvenile delinquency records once a year for persons who have reached the age of 19 years. This is on the condition that it has been 5 years since the last adjudication of delinquency. Exceptions to the rule are juveniles tried in an adult criminal Court, or juveniles found guilty of a delinquent act that is a felony equivalent in adult criminal law. A driver’s abstract for a juvenile traffic violation gets expunged when the individual turns 29 years old. Under the law of the State, a juvenile record that does not qualify for auto expungement may be eligible for the same if the juvenile case was an acquittal, subject to nolle prosequi, or the court judges that the continued existence of the record will make up an obvious injustice to the petitioner. 

Expungement of juvenile records relieves the holder of any history of criminal convictions. To put it differently, named persons may deny ever being involved in a delinquency case. Note that sex offender registration records and crimes against children do not undergo expungement. The same rule applies to fingerprints and photographs submitted to the Central Criminal Records Exchange.