Arrest Records Lookup: Hodgeman County, Kansas

If you have a name in mind and need to find an arrest record in Hodgeman County, the records live in two distinct systems: court filings at the Kansas District Court level, searchable through the Kansas Judicial Branch’s CaseSearch at no charge, and booking records held by the Hodgeman County Sheriff’s Office, located at 500 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Jetmore, KS 67854. The Sheriff’s Office is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed during the lunch hour. For court records you cannot retrieve online, the Kansas Judicial Branch’s Request Form for Court Records is the formal written pathway; the Hodgeman County Courthouse keeps the same weekday schedule — 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. — and closes for lunch.

If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Hodgeman County inmate-search page has phone-first contact info.

If your person has a history in other states

Kansas Judicial Branch’s CaseSearch covers district court cases filed across Kansas, but it won’t surface records from Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma, or any other state where someone may have lived or been arrested. A nationwide third-party search may help fill gaps that local portals often leave — particularly for name variants, records predating a portal’s online window, or cases filed in federal court that county systems never index.

Sponsored: Nationwide Criminal Background Check (we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you).

This tool is not a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA and may not be used to screen anyone for employment, housing, credit, or any other purpose covered by that law.

How to look up arrest records in Hodgeman County

Four distinct pathways exist for Hodgeman County records, and each one reaches a different slice of the data. Kansas Judicial Branch’s CaseSearch is the widest net: it covers district court cases statewide, including Hodgeman County’s 24th Judicial District, at no charge. You can search by name, case number, or party type. CaseSearch does not include municipal court cases, and some older case documents are available only on the courthouse terminal rather than online.

For a formal written request, download the Request Form for Court Records from the Kansas Judicial Branch and submit it to the Hodgeman County Courthouse, 500 Main Street, Jetmore, KS 67854. The courthouse is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Self-service kiosks inside the building let you access forms and court resources without waiting for staff. Call the courthouse to confirm the current records-request fee before submitting.

Booking records — the Sheriff’s side of an arrest — are held by the Hodgeman County Sheriff’s Office at 500 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Jetmore, KS 67854. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office closes for lunch, so plan your visit or call accordingly. The Sheriff’s Office accepts cash only for records-related payments. Kansas jail inmate rosters are open records under state law, so a booking entry is generally accessible on request.

For someone who has served time in state custody, the Kansas Department of Corrections offender search — KASPER — is a historical record of people who have been released or discharged from KDOC custody. It is not a real-time list of who is currently incarcerated. For current county jail custody in Hodgeman County, contact the Sheriff’s Office directly. The statewide Kansas VINE notification service also tracks county jail custody changes. If the arrest involved a neighboring county or a federal charge, those records won’t appear in Hodgeman County’s local systems — the nationwide search tool above may help surface that data.

Are Hodgeman County arrest records public?

Court filings, booking entries, and jail rosters — the default in Kansas is that these are open to the public. The Kansas Open Records Act, K.S.A. 45-215 et seq., establishes that government records are presumptively public unless a specific statutory exception applies. Hodgeman County arrest records fall squarely within that default-open framework.

The narrow exceptions matter, though. A sealed or expunged record is no longer visible to the public after a court order takes effect — the Kansas Bureau of Investigation updates its files, notifies the FBI, and the record disappears from public-facing searches. Juvenile records carry their own protection: they are generally closed to the public and require a court order to access. Victim-identifying information in certain cases — domestic violence, sexual assault — may be redacted before a record is released, even when the underlying case is public.

Booking photos occupy a gray zone. Kansas law treats jail rosters as open records, but individual agencies have discretion over whether to release booking photos. The Hodgeman County Sheriff’s Office policy on booking photo releases isn’t posted online — call the Sheriff’s Office to ask about a specific request. An official record may contain a booking photo, but that doesn’t guarantee it will be handed over on demand.

Under the Kansas Open Records Act, an agency must act on a public records request as soon as possible and no later than the end of the third business day after receiving it. Acting on the request can mean explaining a delay and naming the earliest date the record will be ready — it does not guarantee the record itself within three days.

What’s in a Hodgeman County arrest record?

Docket entries and booking entries tell different parts of the same story, and they live in different systems. The court record — what you find through Kansas Judicial Branch’s CaseSearch or at the Hodgeman County Courthouse — reflects what happened after the arrest reached the judicial system. The booking record at the Sheriff’s Office captures what happened at the moment of arrest.

On the court side, a Hodgeman County district court docket typically shows: the case number assigned by the 24th Judicial District, the filing date, the charges as formally stated in the complaint or information, the names of the prosecuting attorney and defense attorney of record, all scheduled and completed hearing dates, bond conditions set at the first appearance before a judge, and the disposition — guilty plea, dismissal, acquittal, or conviction and sentence. If the case was diverted, the docket will reflect the diversion agreement. Older cases may have docket entries visible only on the courthouse terminal rather than through CaseSearch online.

On the Sheriff’s side, a Hodgeman County booking entry typically shows: the booking date and time, the arresting agency, the charges at the time of arrest (which may differ from what the prosecutor ultimately files), and the person’s identifying information. The booking entry is a snapshot of the arrest moment — it does not update to reflect later court outcomes. That’s why a booking record can show a charge that was later dismissed: the two systems don’t automatically sync.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation maintains a separate criminal history repository. The KBI’s offender registry covers violent offenders, drug offenders, and sex offenders — it is not limited to sex offenders alone. For a comprehensive picture of someone’s Kansas criminal history, the KBI’s records may go deeper than what CaseSearch surfaces for a single county. Confirm the current process for requesting a KBI criminal history check directly with the KBI.

How to expunge an arrest record in Hodgeman County

Petitioning to seal an arrest record in Hodgeman County is a routine legal procedure governed by K.S.A. 21-6614, and the eligibility rules are specific enough that it’s worth knowing exactly where you stand before filing.

Arrests that did not result in a conviction — charges dismissed, acquitted at trial, or never filed — generally have a more direct path to expungement. You petition the district court that handled the case, and the court considers whether the statutory criteria are met. There is no conviction-based waiting period for a non-conviction, though the court still holds a hearing.

For convictions, the waiting period runs from the end of the sentence — meaning after probation, parole, or any other supervision is completed, not from the arrest date or the conviction date. The general adult route covers misdemeanors, traffic infractions, and lower-level felonies: the wait is three or more years after the sentence was satisfied or supervision ended. A diversion agreement can be expunged three or more years after its terms were fulfilled.

More serious offenses carry a longer wait. A conviction on the statute’s list of class A, B, or C felonies requires five or more years after the sentence was satisfied or supervision ended. A first drunk-driving conviction or diversion waits five or more years. A second or later drunk-driving conviction generally requires ten or more years, but that timeline depends on the date of the offense — violations committed between July 1, 2014 and July 1, 2015 are treated differently under the statute. A city ordinance conviction or diversion follows the same three-year general route, measured from satisfying the sentence, and is cleared in municipal court rather than district court.

At the expungement hearing, the court also looks back at whether you have been convicted of a felony in the past two years. That is a look-back at the hearing date, not an additional waiting period. A defined list of serious offenses can never be expunged under Kansas law, and nothing can be expunged while a person is required to register under the Kansas Offender Registration Act.

To file, you petition the district court that handled the original case — the petition is docketed in that original criminal case number. The Kansas Judicial Branch’s court records request guidance can help you identify the right case number. Call the Hodgeman County Courthouse to confirm the current filing fee; an indigency waiver path exists if you cannot afford the fee. You can self-petition without an attorney, though a licensed Kansas attorney can help you navigate eligibility questions. The Kansas Bar Association’s client referral service and the Kansas Board of Indigents’ Defense Services are both options if you need legal help. After a successful expungement, law enforcement can still see the sealed record — the public cannot.

Frequently asked questions about Hodgeman County arrest records

What charges will appear on a Hodgeman County arrest record, and what happens next in the process?

A Hodgeman County arrest record shows the charges as they existed at the time of booking — recorded by the Hodgeman County Sheriff’s Office at 500 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Jetmore, KS 67854. Those initial charges may differ from what the prosecutor ultimately files in district court. After booking, the case moves to the 24th Judicial District, where a judge sets conditions of release at a first appearance. The district court docket — searchable through Kansas Judicial Branch CaseSearch — will reflect any amended charges, the attorney of record, and the eventual disposition. The booking record does not update automatically when charges change or are dismissed.

How do you get a Hodgeman County arrest record expunged or sealed?

Expungement in Hodgeman County is governed by K.S.A. 21-6614 and is filed as a petition in the district court that handled the original case. For a conviction, the waiting period runs from the end of the sentence or supervision — three or more years for most misdemeanors and lower-level felonies, five or more years for class A, B, or C felonies and first drunk-driving convictions. Arrests that did not result in a conviction can often be sealed without a conviction-based wait. Download the Request Form for Court Records to identify the original case number, then file your petition at the Hodgeman County Courthouse (8:00 a.m.–noon and 1:00–5:00 p.m., Monday–Friday). After a successful expungement, law enforcement retains access to the sealed record; the public does not.