Criminal court records in New York can feel like a maze of acronyms, statute numbers, and status codes that mean very little to anyone without a law degree. WebCrims, the state court system’s free public case-lookup tool, is the front door to that information but using it well, and actually understanding what you are looking at, takes a bit more than knowing where to type a name. 

This guide goes deeper than a basic how-to: it covers the tool itself, New York’s court structure, the legal meaning behind common disposition types, and the sealing rules that determine whether a case is visible at all.

What WebCrims Is and Where It Fits in New York’s Court System

WebCrims is the New York State Unified Court System’s official public portal for criminal case information. It focuses specifically on cases with upcoming court appearances in participating courts of criminal jurisdiction, chiefly the five boroughs of New York City, along with counties such as Nassau, Suffolk, and parts of the Ninth Judicial District.

To use it well, it helps to understand New York’s somewhat unusual court structure.Criminal matters can be handled at two different tiers:

Local criminal courts 

New York City Criminal Court, and town/village/city courts elsewhere handle misdemeanors, violations, and the early stages of felony cases including arraignment and preliminary hearings.

Superior courts

The Supreme Court and County Court handle felony prosecutions once a case has been indicted by a grand jury.

WebCrims pulls from both tiers where participating courts report electronically, which is why you may see cases labeled by “court part” , a designation for a specific courtroom or judicial calendar within a courthouse.

It’s equally important to know what falls outside WebCrims’ scope: civil, family, and housing court matters aren’t included, those live in separate systems like WebCivil Supreme and WebFamily, and neither are federal criminal cases, which are handled through PACER, the federal judiciary’s own system.

The Three Search Methods, in Detail

WebCrims is not a single search box; rather it offers three distinct ways to find a case, and choosing the right one from the start can help you find your case immediately rather than getting a “no results” screen for a case that actually exists.

Case Identifier Search 

It uses the case number or summons number, typically found on arraignment paperwork, a desk appearance ticket, or a notice from the court. This is the most precise method because it points to exactly one record, avoiding the confusion of a name search.

Defendant Name Search 

Here, you look up cases by a person’s first and last name, or a corporation’s legal name for cases involving businesses. Because the system indexes by name rather than a unique identifier, results can include multiple people with similar names. So, selecting the specific court or county narrows the field considerably, which matters most for common surnames.

Court Calendar Search 

This method generates a listing of cases scheduled in a particular courtpart or before a specific judge, primarily for Supreme and County Court. This method is less about finding one person and more about seeing what’s on a courtroom’s docket for a given day. useful for attorneys managing appearances or anyone tracking a specific proceeding.

Reading a Case Record: Disposition Types Explained

The single most misunderstood part of a WebCrims record is the case status and, once a case ends, its disposition. New York’s Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) recognizes several distinct ways a criminal case can conclude, and each carries different legal consequences:

Acquittal 

After a full trial, a judge or jury reviews all the evidence presented by both sides and decides the person did not commit the crime. This means the person is found not guilty, and the case ends there with no further legal action taken against them.

Dismissal 

The case ends without the person being found guilty. This can happen a few ways: a grand jury looks at the evidence and decides not to bring charges at all, a judge throws out the case because the paperwork filed against the person wasn’t legally solid, or a judge decides the case just shouldn’t continue because moving forward wouldn’t be fair,, this is sometimes called a Clayton motion.

Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD)

Instead of going to trial, the judge puts the case on hold for a specific amount of time, usually six months, or a year for family-related cases. If the person stays out of trouble and nothing brings the case back to court during that time, it’s automatically closed and hidden from public view once that time is up.

Decline to Prosecute – Nolle Prosequi

The prosecutor’s office looks at the case and decides not to move forward with it at all. This can happen for a number of reasons;; weak evidence, an unavailable witness, or a decision that pursuing the case isn’t in the public interest and it usually happens before the case ever goes to trial.

Conviction

The person is found guilty, either through a trial or by admitting guilt. Out of all these outcomes, this is usually the only one that stays visible to the public.

Under New York law, once a case ends in dismissal or a completed ACD, it’s treated as if the arrest never happened at all. The person is legally put back to the position they were in before the arrest. That’s exactly why these cases vanish from tools like WebCrims once they’re sealed, the law treats them as though they simply didn’t occur.

Sealing: Why Some Cases Never Show Up

New York doesn’t erase criminal records the way some states do except for a small exception involving certain marijuana convictions. Instead, it uses a system of “sealing,” which hides records from public view. Understanding how sealing works answers most of the “why can’t I find this case” questions people run into.

CPL 160.50  Full Sealing

 Applies when a case ends in the defendant’s favor: acquittal, dismissal, or a completed ACD. Under this section, court records, police records, and prosecutor’s records are all sealed, and fingerprints tied to the arrest are destroyed. The case is not deleted, but it’s suppressed from public view including from public-facing tools like WebCrims.

CPL 160.55  Partial Sealing

Applies automatically when a case is resolved as a conviction for a very minor offense called violation rather than a small crime – misdemeanor or a serious crime – felony. Police and prosecutor records are sealed and fingerprints destroyed, but unlike full sealing the court record itself typically remains accessible.

CPL 160.58  Conditional Sealing

This applies to people who successfully finish a drug treatment program approved by the court. It’s called “conditional” because if the person gets arrested again later, the seal can be undone and the record reopened.

Because sealing under CPL 160.50 happens automatically upon a qualifying disposition, a case that shows up on WebCrims one week can legitimately disappear the next once the paperwork catches up, which is one reason case status can sometimes seem to change abruptly.

Why a Search Might Come Up Empty

Beyond sealing, a few other practical issues commonly explain a failed search:

Indexing lag New filings typically take roughly 24–48 hours to appear after being entered by a court clerk.

Jurisdiction gaps Not every New York county participates in WebCrims, and many upstate courts aren’t included at all.

Name discrepancies; Misspellings, missing middle initials, or use of a nickname instead of a legal first name can all cause a valid record to be missed.

Wrong case type WebCrims only indexes criminal matters; a housing, family, or civil case will never appear here, regardless of how the search is entered.

Youthful Offender status Cases involving certain defendants aged 16 to 18 may be filed as sealed instruments from the outset under CPL 720.15, meaning they’re never publicly visible even before any final disposition.

Monitoring a Case Over Time

For anyone who needs to track a case as it moves through the system rather than checking it manually, WebCrims connects to eTrack, a free companion service that sends automated alerts when a case is updated, a new court date, a status change, or similar developments. Setting it up requires creating a free account separate from the basic public search, but it removes the need to repeatedly re-check a case by hand.

Practical and Legal Cautions

A few things worth keeping in mind before relying on a WebCrims search for anything consequential:

It’s a snapshot, not a certified record

For legal proceedings, background checks with legal weight, or anything requiring certified documentation, the official route is the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services’ statewide Criminal History Record Search, or a direct request to the relevant court clerk.

Status terms have specific legal meaning

Treating a “pending” case as resolved, or an “adjourned” case as closed, can lead to real misunderstandings, particularly for anyone relying on the information for employment, housing, or licensing decisions.

Beware unofficial lookalike sites

Because WebCrims is well known, a number of unaffiliated websites with similar names and near-identical descriptions have appeared online. None of these are operated by the New York State Unified Court System. Always navigate to the tool through the official domain, nycourts.gov, rather than through a general search engine result.

Discrimination protections exist for non-convictions

New York’s Human Rights Law generally prohibits employers and licensing agencies from asking about or acting on arrests that were resolved in the defendant’s favor including ACDs, which is part of why the law treats these outcomes as legally nonexistent going forward.

More To Explore

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Conclusion

WebCrims is a genuinely useful, free tool for checking the status of a New York criminal case, but getting real value out of it means understanding more than just the search box. Knowing the difference between a dismissal and an ACD, understanding why CPL 160.50 sealing can make a case vanish from view entirely, and recognizing the limits of what the tool covers will save most users from the confusion that trips up first-time searchers. When the stakes are high, a job application, a licensing decision, or an active legal matter, a WebCrims search is a good starting point, but it shouldn’t be the final word; that’s what court clerks and licensed attorneys are for.

FAQ’S

Is there a fee to use WebCrims?

No. WebCrims is a free service run by the New York State Unified Court System. There’s no charge to search by name, case number, or court calendar.

Can I view case documents on WebCrims?

No. WebCrims shows case status, charges, and court dates, but not the actual case documents. To see filings or paperwork, you’d need to contact the court directly or visit the courthouse.

Do I need to create an account to search WebCrims?

No. Basic searches by name, case number, or court calendar don’t require an account. Only eTrack, the case-monitoring alert service, requires a free registration.

Can WebCrims be used to find someone in jail or prison? 

No. WebCrims only covers court case information, not custody status. To find out if someone is in custody, you’d need to check the NYC Department of Correction’s inmate lookup or the state’s DOCCS system instead.

What’s the difference between WebCrims and eCourts? 

WebCrims is just one part of New York’s larger eCourts system. eCourts also includes separate portals for civil cases (WebCivil Supreme), family cases (WebFamily), housing cases (WebHousing), and civil e-filing (NYSCEF). WebCrims is the one that’s specifically for criminal cases.

Does WebCrims show cases with an active bench warrant? 

No. WebCrims only displays cases that have a scheduled future court date. If someone missed a court date and has an open warrant, the case won’t reappear on WebCrims until a new date is entered after they’re brought back before the court.

Why does WebCrims say it’s not working, or why can’t I log in? 

This is usually caused by routine site maintenance, a browser or pop-up blocker issue, or a temporary server delay not a permanent outage. If a case detail window won’t open, try turning off your pop-up blocker first.

Can I access WebCrims from my phone? 

Yes, WebCrims works on most mobile browsers, though the site notes it can’t guarantee full compatibility with every handheld device.