Charge Explainer
What a Listed Charge Actually Means
A charge in an arrest record is the offense that law enforcement wrote down at the moment someone was taken into custody. It reflects an officer's account of events and the statute they believed applied at the time. In other words, it is an allegation: a formal claim that a person may have broken a particular law, recorded before any court has weighed the evidence. It is not a conclusion, and it is not proof.
Because these entries are pulled straight from booking systems, they are often written in clipped legal language or statute codes rather than plain English. The same underlying conduct can also be described in different words by different agencies; one county's “theft of property” is another's “larceny,” and a single incident can generate several overlapping charges at once. That makes the raw text easy to misread, which is part of why a calm, neutral explanation matters.
It also helps to remember who recorded the charge and when. The booking charge comes from the arresting agency at the very start of the process. A prosecutor has not yet reviewed it, a defense has not yet responded, and a judge has not yet seen it. Treat the charge you see as the opening line of a story whose ending is written somewhere else entirely: in the court file, not the arrest record.
The Lifecycle of a Charge
Arrest
Officer detains based on probable cause
Booking
Charge is recorded at jail intake
Prosecutor Review
Charges may change, be added, or dropped
Court
Only here is guilt or innocence decided
Key point: The record you see here captures step 2 only. Everything after that lives in the court file.
What an Arrest Means
Arrest and Charge
An arrest means an officer believed there was probable cause to detain someone. A charge means an accusation has been recorded. These are separate stages, and most of the distance between them and a final outcome is invisible in a booking record.
Everyone listed in an arrest record is presumed innocent unless and until a court decides otherwise. That presumption is not a courtesy or a figure of speech; it is the legal default, and it places the entire burden on the prosecution.
What a Conviction Requires
Conviction
A conviction is something entirely different from an arrest or a charge: it requires either a guilty or no-contest plea that a judge accepts, or a finding of guilt after the government proves its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
In practice, charges are dropped, reduced, consolidated, or dismissed all the time. Cases end in acquittals. Prosecutors decline to file. Identities are confused. None of those outcomes erases the original booking entry, which is why a photograph and a charge from one difficult day can keep circulating online long after the case behind it has quietly closed.
The most important thing to remember: what you are reading in any public record is the beginning of an accusation, not a verdict on a person. Reading it any other way is not only unfair to the individual; it is often simply inaccurate.
Severity Classification
Misdemeanors, Felonies, and How Severity Works
Infractions & Violations
The lightest tier. Minor matters such as many traffic offenses that typically carry a fine rather than jail time. These rarely appear in booking records because most do not result in an arrest or custody.
Misdemeanors
Treated as the less serious class of criminal offense. A booking record may show a misdemeanor label, but it is a general signal of severity, not a measurement of what any particular person did. Classification is provisional and can shift.
Felonies
The most serious tier, which generally carries the possibility of longer incarceration. Where each line is drawn depends on the state: the dollar value that turns a theft into a felony, the blood-alcohol level that defines impaired driving, or the quantity that separates possession from intent to distribute.
An identical-sounding charge can be a misdemeanor in one state and a felony in the next. Treat any severity label you see as context for understanding the system, never as a judgment about the person named. The label describes a category of law; it says nothing about innocence or guilt.
After the Booking
How Charges Change
The charge written at booking rarely travels through the system unchanged. After an arrest, a prosecutor reviews what the police submitted and decides what, if anything, to formally pursue. They might file the same offense, swap it for a different one, add or drop counts, combine several into a single case, or decline to charge altogether. Only after that review does a case truly begin.
From there it can shift again. Plea negotiations frequently reduce a felony to a misdemeanor or trade several counts for one. Evidence problems, witness issues, or constitutional challenges can lead to dismissals. A case may be diverted into a treatment or first-offender program that ends without a conviction at all. Each of these steps lives in the court file and almost never makes it back to the original arrest entry.
Finding the Outcome
How to Verify a Case
Because the arrest record captures only the start, the way to learn what happened is to go to the court that handled the case. Most counties publish a clerk-of-court or case-search portal where you can look up a matter by the person's name or a case number. That docket is the authoritative source: it lists the charges as actually filed, the hearing history, and the disposition (dismissed, reduced, resolved by plea, acquitted, or still pending).
When you check, match more than a name. Confirm the full name, the county, and the booking or filing date, since common names are easily confused and a photo alone proves nothing about identity. If the online docket is unclear or unavailable, the clerk's office can usually point you to the public file.
Presumption of Innocence
Every person shown on this site is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A booking record documents an allegation, not a conviction. This site is not a Consumer Reporting Agency and must not be used for employment, housing, credit, or insurance decisions. How we handle records →
A to Z Index
Charge Categories in Our Dictionary
We maintain a curated dictionary of common charge categories so that records carry neutral, plain-English context instead of bare statute codes. The categories we currently cover are listed below. Detailed explanations for each are being rolled out in stages.
Abuse or Concealment of Human Remains
Varies by state
Accessory or Aiding and Abetting
Varies by state
Affray or Public Fighting
Typically a misdemeanor
Aggravated Assault
Typically a felony
Altered or Defaced Firearm
Typically a felony
Animal Cruelty or Neglect
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Arrest on a Warrant
Varies by state
Arson
Typically a felony
Assault
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Assault or Battery on an Officer
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Attempted Homicide
Typically a felony
Battery
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Bomb Threat or False Alarm
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Bribery
Typically a felony
Burglary
Typically a felony
Carjacking
Typically a felony
Child Exploitation Material
Typically a felony
Computer or Cybercrime Offense
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Conspiracy
Varies by state
Contempt of Court
Varies by state
Contraband in a Correctional Facility
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Credit or Debit Card Fraud
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Curfew Violation
Typically a misdemeanor
Custodial Interference
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Discharging a Firearm
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Disorderly Conduct
Typically a misdemeanor
Disturbing the Peace
Typically a misdemeanor
Domestic-Related Charge
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Driving Under the Influence (DUI / DWI)
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Driving While License Suspended or Revoked
Typically a misdemeanor
Drug Cultivation or Manufacturing
Typically a felony
Drug Distribution or Trafficking
Typically a felony
Drug or Controlled-Substance Possession
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Drug Paraphernalia
Varies by state
Elder or Vulnerable-Adult Abuse
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Enticement or Solicitation of a Minor
Typically a felony
Escape
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Extortion or Blackmail
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Failure to Appear
Varies by state
Failure to Identify
Typically a misdemeanor
Failure to Pay Child Support
Varies by state
Failure to Register
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Filing a False Report
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Fraud, Forgery or Identity Offenses
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Gambling Offense
Varies by state
Harassment, Stalking or Threats
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Hate or Bias-Motivated Offense
Varies by state
Held for Another Agency or on a Detainer
Varies by state
Home Invasion
Typically a felony
Homicide-Related Charge
Typically a felony
Human Trafficking
Typically a felony
Hunting or Fishing Violation
Varies by state
Identity Theft
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Impersonation
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Indecent or Lewd Conduct
Varies by state
Inhalant Offense
Varies by state
Insurance Fraud
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Kidnapping / Unlawful Restraint
Typically a felony
Leaving the Scene (Hit and Run)
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Liquor Law Violation
Typically a misdemeanor
Littering or Illegal Dumping
Typically a misdemeanor
Loitering or Prowling
Typically a misdemeanor
Mail Theft
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises
Typically a felony
Marijuana / Cannabis
Varies by state
Minor in Possession (Alcohol)
Typically a misdemeanor
Money Laundering
Typically a felony
Motor Vehicle Theft
Typically a felony
Nonconsensual Sharing of Intimate Images
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Offense Involving a Child
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Perjury or False Statement
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person
Typically a felony
Possession of Burglary Tools
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Prescription Drug Offense
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Probation or Parole Violation
Varies by state
Promoting Prostitution
Typically a felony
Property Damage / Criminal Mischief
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Prostitution or Solicitation
Varies by state
Protective / Restraining Order Violation
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Providing False Identification
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Public Benefits Fraud
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Public Intoxication
Typically a misdemeanor
Racketeering
Typically a felony
Receiving or Possessing Stolen Property
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Reckless Endangerment
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Refusing a Chemical Test
Varies by state
Resisting, Obstruction or Evading
Varies by state
Rioting or Unlawful Assembly
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Robbery
Typically a felony
Sexual Assault or Abuse
Typically a felony
Sexual Offense
Typically a felony
Shoplifting / Retail Theft
Typically a misdemeanor
Strangulation or Impeding Breathing
Typically a felony
Street Racing or Exhibition of Speed
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Synthetic or Designer Drug Offense
Varies by state
Tampering With Evidence
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Tax Offense
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Theft / Larceny
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Theft of Services or Utilities
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Traffic Offense
Typically a misdemeanor
Trespassing
Typically a misdemeanor
Vagrancy or Panhandling
Typically a misdemeanor
Vehicle Burglary
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Vehicular Assault or Homicide
Typically a felony
Violation of Pretrial Release or Bond Conditions
Varies by state
Voyeurism or Unlawful Surveillance
Misdemeanor or felony, depending on the allegation
Weapon-Related Charge
Varies by state
Is a Charge Being Misread?
A charge from one bad day can follow someone online long after a case is dropped or dismissed. If a record about you is inaccurate, out of date, sealed, expunged, or resolved in your favor, our team will review it at no cost, and you do not need a lawyer to ask. Correcting or removing the listing takes the charge out of public view here.
Found Your Record?
If the information is wrong, out of date, sealed, dropped, or simply not you, our team will take another look. It is free, no lawyer required, and a real person reviews each request individually.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. A charge is an accusation recorded when someone is arrested or booked. Guilt is decided only by a court, either through a verdict or a plea a judge accepts. Until that happens the person is presumed innocent, and a large share of charges are later reduced, dismissed, or never formally pursued by prosecutors.
Both are criminal categories, but a felony is the more serious tier and generally carries the possibility of a longer sentence, while a misdemeanor is treated as less serious. Where the line falls is set by each state's statutes, so the same conduct can be classified differently depending on where the arrest happened and the specific facts alleged.
Frequently. The offense written at booking is a starting point. A prosecutor reviews the case and may file different charges, add or drop counts, reduce a felony to a misdemeanor, or decline to charge at all. This is why the charge shown in an arrest record often does not match how the case finally resolves.
Criminal law is mostly written at the state level, so each state sets its own definitions and severity thresholds: dollar amounts for theft, blood-alcohol limits for impaired driving, quantities for drug possession, and so on. A value or amount that triggers a felony in one state may stay a misdemeanor across the border.
The authoritative source is the court, not the arrest record. Search the clerk of court or the online case docket in the county where the charge was filed using the person's name or the case number. That record shows the current charges, hearing dates, and whether the matter was dismissed, reduced, resolved by plea, or is still pending.
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