Arrest Records for Rawlins County, Kansas

If you have a specific name in mind and need to pull a Rawlins County arrest record, your two primary sources are the Rawlins County District Court — where Clerk of the District Court Wendy Holmdahl maintains criminal case files at 607 Main St., Suite F, Atwood, KS 67730 — and the Kansas Courts Case Search, the statewide free online portal that has covered the 15th Judicial District (which includes Rawlins County) since July 11, 2022. The Rawlins County Courthouse is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Clerk’s office is on the third floor; plan your visit accordingly.

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

Searching for records beyond Kansas

A Rawlins County search covers only cases filed in this jurisdiction. If the person you’re researching has lived in other states, the local portal won’t surface those records. A nationwide search tool may help fill gaps that local portals often leave — including records from other states, federal cases, and entries that predate the 15th District’s July 2022 online window.

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 Rawlins County

Arrest records and court records travel on separate tracks in Rawlins County — and the question of mugshot access adds a third consideration worth understanding before you search.

Kansas Courts Case Search (court-side records). The Kansas Courts Case Search is the place to look for district court criminal cases. The 15th Judicial District joined the Kansas eCourt system on July 11, 2022, so case documents filed on or after that date are searchable online at no charge. Older case records exist but may only be viewable on a terminal inside the Rawlins County Courthouse. Municipal court cases — city ordinance violations handled by Atwood’s municipal court — do not appear in this portal at all; contact the City of Atwood directly for those.

Clerk of the District Court (in-person and written requests). For records that aren’t online, or for certified copies, contact Wendy Holmdahl at the Rawlins County District Court, 607 Main St., Suite F (third floor), Atwood, KS 67730. The courthouse is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can submit a written records request using the Kansas Judicial Branch’s Request Form for Court Records. The Clerk’s office must act on your request as soon as possible and no later than the end of the third business day after receiving it — acting on it may mean providing the record or explaining a delay and naming the earliest date it will be ready. Confirm current fees before submitting, as the Clerk’s office can advise on any copying charges.

Sheriff’s records (booking-side records). The Rawlins County Sheriff’s Office maintains booking records and jail rosters separately from the court system. The Sheriff’s Office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reach them at (785) 626-3865 or visit the Rawlins County Sheriff’s Office online. The Sheriff’s site also hosts a jail inmate search with booked-in reports and daily arrest logs. Jail inmate rosters are open records in Kansas. Booking photos, however, may be withheld at the agency’s discretion — call the Sheriff’s Office to ask about their current release practice rather than assuming a photo will be available.

KASPER (state corrections records). If the person you’re researching was sentenced to state custody, the Kansas Department of Corrections maintains the KASPER offender search. KASPER is a historical record of people who have been released or discharged from state custody — it does not reflect who is currently incarcerated. For current county jail custody, the Sheriff’s Office or the statewide Kansas VINE service is the right contact.

A practical note: new bookings can take time to appear in online rosters and portals. If a record isn’t showing up yet, calling the Sheriff’s Office directly at (785) 626-3865 is the fastest way to confirm current custody status.

Are Rawlins County arrest records public?

Treat Rawlins County arrest records as public by default — that’s the baseline the law establishes. Kansas’s open-records framework, K.S.A. 45-215 et seq., makes government records presumptively open to any person who requests them. Jail inmate rosters and booking entries fall squarely within that default-public category.

Exceptions are narrow but real. Juvenile records are not public. A court order sealing or expunging a record removes it from public view — once a record is expunged under K.S.A. 21-6614, the public cannot access it, though law enforcement agencies retain access. Victim-protection redactions may remove identifying information about alleged victims from documents that are otherwise releasable. Certain investigative materials — including booking photos — may be withheld at the agency’s discretion even when the underlying booking entry is public.

Arrests that did not result in a conviction are still public records unless a court has ordered them sealed. An arrest record is not a conviction record, and the two can look very different once you pull the full case file. The court docket will show the disposition — whether charges were dismissed, reduced, or resulted in a conviction — which is often the most important piece of information for a records-checker.

If you find a record that should have been expunged, or if you believe a record has been incorrectly released, the Rawlins County District Court Clerk’s office at 607 Main St., Suite F, Atwood, is the right contact. The expungement process and what it does — and does not — remove from public view is covered in detail in the section below.

What’s in a Rawlins County arrest record?

Depending on how old the record is, what you find at the Rawlins County Courthouse may look quite different from what you find online.

Booking entry (Sheriff-side). A booking record created by the Rawlins County Sheriff’s Office typically includes the arrested person’s name, date of birth, booking date and time, the charges as listed at booking, and the arresting agency. It may also include a case or booking number. Whether a booking photo is included in what the Sheriff releases is a matter of agency policy — call (785) 626-3865 to ask about the current practice.

Court docket (court-side). The district court case file is a separate record maintained by Clerk Wendy Holmdahl’s office. It contains the case number, the formal charges as filed by the prosecutor (which may differ from booking charges), all docket entries showing what happened at each court appearance, the attorney of record for the defendant, and the disposition — whether the case was dismissed, resulted in a plea, went to trial, or was diverted. Sentencing information, probation terms, and any expungement orders also live in the court file.

For cases filed on or after July 11, 2022, docket entries are searchable through the Kansas Courts Case Search. For older cases, you’ll need to visit the Rawlins County Courthouse in person or submit a written request to the Clerk’s office. The courthouse is at 607 Main St., Suite F, Atwood, KS 67730, open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

One important distinction: a booking entry shows what someone was arrested for. The court docket shows what actually happened to the case. The two records can tell very different stories, and a thorough records check should consult both.

Arrest records in Kansas do not automatically expire or disappear. Records from decades ago remain retrievable through the Clerk’s office even if they predate the online system. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation also maintains a criminal history repository; a KBI background check can surface records from across the state, including Rawlins County cases that may not appear in a quick online search.

How to expunge an arrest record in Rawlins County

A sealed record, a cleared background — that’s the practical outcome of a successful expungement petition in Rawlins County. Understanding exactly what changes after sealing, and what doesn’t, is worth knowing before you file.

After a court grants an expungement under K.S.A. 21-6614, the record is sealed from public view. The Rawlins County District Court will treat the case as though it did not occur for most public purposes. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which receives the expungement order, notifies the FBI and other agencies. However, law enforcement agencies and courts retain access to sealed records — expungement removes the record from public databases, not from law enforcement systems.

Eligibility: arrests without a conviction. An arrest that did not lead to a conviction — charges dismissed, case never filed, acquittal at trial — can often be petitioned for expungement without a waiting period tied to a sentence. The petition is filed in the district court that handled the case, docketed in the original criminal case number. Confirm the specific procedural requirements with Clerk Wendy Holmdahl’s office at the Rawlins County Courthouse, 607 Main St., Suite F, Atwood, KS 67730.

Eligibility: convictions and diversions. The waiting periods under the statute run from the end of the sentence — not from the arrest date or the conviction date. For most misdemeanors, traffic infractions, and lower-level felonies, the wait is three or more years after the person satisfied the sentence or was discharged from probation, parole, or other supervision. A diversion agreement can be expunged three or more years after its terms were fulfilled. Class A, B, and C felonies, and other serious offenses listed in the statute, carry a five-or-more-year wait 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, though the statute carves out violations committed between July 1, 2014 and July 1, 2015 — the ten-year period depends on the offense date. 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 hearing, the court must also find that the petitioner has not been convicted of a felony in the past two years. That is a look-back at the time of the hearing, not an additional waiting period. A defined list of serious offenses can never be expunged, and no record can be expunged while a person is required to register under the Kansas Offender Registration Act.

Filing the petition. The petition is filed in the Rawlins County District Court — the same court that handled the original case. The Kansas Judicial Branch’s district court records page has guidance on requesting court records and understanding the process. The 15th Judicial District page lists Rawlins County’s magistrate judge and court administrator contact information. You may petition without an attorney, but the process involves legal filings and a court hearing. The Kansas Bar Association’s client referral service and the Kansas Board of Indigents’ Defense Services can help you find legal assistance if needed.

Frequently asked questions about Rawlins County arrest records

How do I find out what arrest records exist for a specific name in Rawlins County?

If the case was filed in Rawlins County District Court on or after July 11, 2022, search the Kansas Courts Case Search by name — it’s free and requires no account. For older cases, or for certified copies, contact Clerk Wendy Holmdahl at the Rawlins County Courthouse, 607 Main St., Suite F, Atwood, KS 67730; the office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For booking-side records and recent jail entries, the Rawlins County Sheriff’s jail search covers booked-in reports, or you can call the Sheriff’s Office at (785) 626-3865. Municipal court cases from the City of Atwood are not in either system — contact the city directly for those.

How do I get a Rawlins County arrest record expunged or sealed?

File a petition in the Rawlins County District Court — the same court that handled the original case — under K.S.A. 21-6614. For an arrest that did not result in a conviction, there is generally no conviction-based waiting period. For a conviction, the wait runs from the end of the sentence: three or more years for most misdemeanors and lower-level felonies, five or more years for class A, B, or C felonies and certain other serious offenses, and five or more years for a first drunk-driving conviction. At the hearing, the court will also check that you have not been convicted of a felony in the past two years. After a successful petition, the record is sealed from public view, though law enforcement retains access. The Kansas Bar Association’s client referral service can connect you with an attorney if you want legal help with the filing.