King and Queen County Background Check Records

King and Queen County background check records are maintained by the Circuit Court Clerk's office and the Sheriff's Office. The Circuit Court handles land and court records, marriage licenses, concealed handgun permits, and other legal documents. For FOIA requests, the county's designated FOIA Officer is Tina Ammons. Available records go back to 1864, when courthouse records were rebuilt after an earlier fire destroyed older files. You can search case records online or contact the county offices directly to request copies.

King and Queen County Sheriff Records

The King and Queen County Sheriff is one of the constitutional officers in the county. Along with the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Commissioner of the Revenue, Commonwealth's Attorney, and Treasurer, the Sheriff serves as one of the key elected officials. The Sheriff's Office handles law enforcement, criminal records, arrest records, and related incident documentation.

For public records requests from the Sheriff's Office, you follow Virginia FOIA procedures. Contact the relevant department directly or go through the county's central FOIA process. The Sheriff holds criminal incident information and arrest records. Some of these may be exempt if they involve active criminal investigations. If a record is not releasable, the office must cite the specific FOIA exemption that applies.

For a statewide criminal background check that covers all Virginia jurisdictions, use the Virginia State Police background check service. The local Sheriff's records cover only King and Queen County incidents and arrests.

King and Queen County Circuit Court Records

The Circuit Court Clerk's office provides a range of services and maintains important public records. You can reach them by phone at 804-785-4420 or by email at hrobinson@vacourts.gov. For land records specifically, the phone is 804-785-5984. The Clerk's website is at kingandqueenco.net/circuit-court/.

Services from the Clerk's office include marriage licenses, Hope Cards for protective orders, concealed handgun permits, and land and court records. The office also offers OCRA (Officer of the Court Remote Access) for attorneys and authorized users, and VADeed Alert, a free notification service that emails you when a document is recorded against your property. Sign up for VADeed Alert at risweb.vacourts.gov.

A key note about King and Queen County records: all records prior to 1864 were destroyed by fire. Available records date from 1864 to the present and include suit papers, deed books, marriage licenses, and wills. Some birth and death records from the mid to late 1800s also survived. Census records for 1850 and 1860 have been transcribed. For older research, the Library of Virginia in Richmond may have additional materials.

FOIA and Public Records in King and Queen County

FOIA Officer Tina Ammons handles public records requests for King and Queen County. Her mailing address is PO Box 177, King and Queen Court House 23085. The physical address is 242 Allen's Circle, Suite L, King and Queen Court House, Virginia 23085. Phone is (804) 785-5975. Email is tammons@kingandqueenco.net. The FOIA page with forms and instructions is at kingandqueenco.net/freedom-of-information-act/.

Standard response time is 5 working days under Virginia's Freedom of Information Act. If needed, the county can extend by 7 more working days (12 total). Criminal investigative files can take an additional 60 working days, for a total of 65 working days in those cases. Requests totaling $12.00 or less in cost are provided at no charge. Above that, you pay the hourly rate of the staff member assigned plus actual copying costs.

You do not need to state a reason for your request. Simply describe the records with enough specificity for staff to find them. If any record is exempt, the county must identify which exemption applies and cannot simply refuse without explanation.

Note: Criminal investigative files are among the most common exempt records under Virginia FOIA. You may still get some documents from the file, just not those portions protected by the investigative exemption.

Virginia Background Check Laws for King and Queen County

Criminal records from King and Queen County arrests and prosecutions are part of Virginia's Central Criminal Records Exchange at the Virginia State Police. The legal framework is in Title 19.2, Chapter 23 of the Virginia Code. This chapter governs how agencies create, share, and store criminal history data. Unauthorized access or misuse of criminal records carries penalties under state law.

Expungement under Virginia Code § 19.2-392.12 allows qualifying individuals to seal their criminal records. A court petition is required. Once sealed, the record does not appear in most public records searches. Virginia broadened expungement access in recent years, allowing people with dismissed charges and some older convictions to seek relief. Sealed records remain accessible to law enforcement through proper channels.

The Virginia Sex Offender Registry is at sex-offender.vsp.virginia.gov. This public database lets you search for registered offenders in King and Queen County by name, address, or zip code. Photos, offense details, and current registration addresses are included.

King and Queen County Records Portals

The King and Queen County Circuit Court page shows services, contact information, and resources available from the Circuit Court Clerk's office.

The King and Queen County Circuit Court page lists services including marriage licenses, land records, concealed handgun permits, and court case files that are part of the public record.

The county's FOIA page explains how to submit public records requests, who the FOIA Officer is, and what costs may apply for fulfilling requests.

The King and Queen County FOIA portal shows the request process, FOIA Officer contact information, and the cost structure for public records requests including background check related documents.

Nearby Counties

These Virginia counties are near King and Queen County. Each has its own records offices and court systems.