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Criminal-record and social-profile search option.
View Records Sponsored partner optionWhat should you know about this search?
Direct answer
A Michigan background check online can start with ICHAT when the goal is public Michigan criminal-history information. ICHAT is name-based and has explicit coverage exclusions. Fingerprint checks and record-correction requests use separate Michigan State Police procedures, and regulated employment screening adds its own consumer-report requirements.
Michigan makes the public-search boundary unusually explicit
Michigan State Police describes ICHAT as a name-based search of public criminal-history information in the state repository. The same guidance lists what the public tool does not contain: suppressed records and warrants, federal and tribal records, traffic and juvenile records, local misdemeanors, and criminal history from other states. Those exclusions are not a defect to hide; they define the question ICHAT can answer.
Fingerprint processing is a different Michigan pathway. MSP states that fingerprint-based background checks are used when a statute, executive order, or rule requires that method. That distinction prevents a common mistake: treating a convenient name query as if it provides the same identity assurance or geographic scope as an authorized fingerprint process.
Michigan records that may look related but answer different questions
| Layer | Use it for | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| ICHAT public criminal history | Public Michigan repository information available by name | That it contains federal, tribal, juvenile or other-state history. |
| Fingerprint-based MSP process | Purposes where fingerprint checking is authorized or required | That the public ICHAT result is an equivalent identity method. |
| Court record | The filed case, docket and judicial documents behind a court event | That the repository summary reproduces every document in the court file. |
| Reporting agency correction | Fixing an arrest, charge or judicial segment that was reported incorrectly | That MSP can rewrite source data without verification from the owner of that segment. |
When a Michigan result looks wrong, trace the segment owner
1
Identify the disputed segmentDetermine whether the problem is in arrest information, prosecutor charge data, or a judicial disposition.2
Contact the source named in that segmentMSP directs arrest issues to the arresting agency, charge issues to the prosecutor, and court information issues to the indicated court.3
Preserve the source documentKeep the corrected court or agency record that supports the requested repository update.4
Recheck the public viewAfter the source and MSP process the correction, run the public search again if the public record is the layer you need to verify.Use three questions before relying on an ICHAT match
Person
Is the identity match strong enough?
Compare full name and available identifiers; a similar name is not a fingerprint confirmation.
Place
Is Michigan the only jurisdiction that matters?
ICHAT does not claim other-state or federal coverage, so expand the search only when the question requires it.
Purpose
Is this public research or a regulated screening decision?
A consumer-report employment workflow has notice and authorization rules that are separate from the state public-access tool.