Mugshot Removal Laws: Which States Ban Pay-to-Remove Sites

Why these laws exist

Around 2010, a wave of websites began copying booking photos from public jail rosters and posting them with people's names, often ranking near the top of search results. Some charged fees to take the photos down. People reported paying one site, only to find the photo on another, sometimes run by related operators.

States responded. Rather than banning publication of public records, which raises serious free speech issues, most legislatures went after the money. They made it unlawful to charge for removal, required removal on request, or both. Google added its own policy for sites with exploitative removal practices. Together, these give people tools that did not exist before.

This guide covers several states whose laws we have read. It is not a complete list, and laws change. Always check the current text, and talk to a lawyer if your situation is complicated.

Two kinds of mugshot laws

It helps to know which kind of law your state has, because it decides what a request can actually do.

Deadline laws. These require a site to remove a booking photo within a set number of days after a proper request, sometimes only in certain situations. A correctly sent letter can lead to removal without going to court. Florida, Georgia, and Oregon are examples.

Fee-ban laws. These make it unlawful to charge for removal and give you a right to sue if a site does. They do not always order removal on request. California is the clearest example. A request letter can still help, but if the site refuses, the remedy is usually a lawsuit.

Florida

Florida Statute 901.43 covers people and entities that publish or disseminate arrest booking photographs. A publisher may not solicit or accept a fee or other payment to remove a booking photo. When a person sends a written request for removal by registered mail to the publisher's registered agent, with proof of identity and information identifying the photo, the publisher must remove it within 10 calendar days after receipt, without charge. The statute includes remedies if the publisher does not comply, including the right to seek an injunction.

How to use it. Look up the publisher's registered agent through the Florida Division of Corporations, or the corporate records in the publisher's home state. Send the request by registered mail, which you buy at a post office counter. Keep the receipt and note the delivery date, because the 10-day clock runs from receipt.

Georgia

According to the Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, O.C.G.A. 10-1-393.5 lists eight circumstances where a commercial website must remove a person's mugshot at no charge within 30 days of a written request. They include cases where:

The written request must include your name, date of birth, date of arrest, and the arresting agency. It must be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, or statutory overnight delivery, to the publisher's registered agent, principal place of business, or primary residence. A site that fails to remove the photo within 30 days, or tries to charge for removal, violates Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act, and you can file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division. The law permits use of mugshots by newspapers, periodicals, and broadcasters for news.

Georgia also has a separate law, O.C.G.A. 35-1-19, that limits what law enforcement can release to mugshot sites. It does not give you a removal remedy, so the statute to cite in a request is 10-1-393.5.

• Access to the case or charges was restricted under Georgia's record restriction laws.
• The case was never referred for prosecution and was closed.
• The statute of limitations expired before charges.
• The case was dismissed before or after indictment, or all charges were nolle prossed.
• The grand jury returned two no bills.
• The person was acquitted of all charges.
• The person completed probation under Georgia's first offender drug possession provision.

Oregon

ORS 133.875 applies to what it calls publish-for-pay publications, meaning sites that require payment to remove or delete a booking photo. Under the statute:

Oregon also has an older law, ORS 646A.806, that requires removal of arrest photographs and information on request in certain cases. Read both if you were arrested in Oregon.

• A request for removal must be honored within 30 calendar days, and the site may not charge more than $50 to remove it.
• If the photo relates to a charge where you were acquitted or not prosecuted, or a conviction that was set aside, vacated, or pardoned, and you send documentation, the site must remove it within 7 calendar days and may not charge anything.
• A site that misses the 30-day deadline is liable for statutory damages of $500 per day, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees. Missing the 7-day deadline raises that to $1,000 per day.
• Trying to charge for removal in the 7-day situation may be prosecuted as theft by deception.

California

California Civil Code 1798.91.1 makes it an unlawful practice for anyone publishing booking photographs to solicit, require, or accept a fee to remove, correct, modify, or refrain from publishing a booking photo. Each payment solicited or accepted is a separate violation. A person can sue for the greater of $1,000 per violation or actual damages, plus costs and attorney fees, and the lawsuit can be filed in the county where the person lives. A public entity may charge a reasonable administrative fee to correct a booking photo.

California also limits what police can post. Penal Code 13665 bars police departments and sheriffs from sharing booking photos on social media for people arrested on suspicion of nonviolent crimes, with exceptions, and requires removal of some posts. This helps with photos on official social media accounts, which then often get copied elsewhere.

Texas

Texas Business and Commerce Code chapter 109 applies to certain business entities that publish criminal record information and charge people to remove or correct it. The chapter's applicability rules set out which businesses are covered, so read them first. For covered businesses, the chapter requires them to publish complete and accurate criminal record information and to provide a way for people to dispute its completeness or accuracy. Section 109.005 bars publishing information the business knows, or has been told, is covered by an order of expunction or an order of nondisclosure, and allows a court to award up to $500 per violation, plus costs and attorney fees.

How to use it. If your Texas record was expunged or covered by an order of nondisclosure, send the site a copy of the order. That notice is what triggers the duty not to publish.

Illinois

Illinois addresses this in its Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, at 815 ILCS 505/2QQQ. It covers businesses that publish criminal record information and charge to remove or correct it. Among other things, the section makes failing to correct an error in a person's criminal record information, after proper notice and documentation, an unlawful practice under the Act.

Other states

Other states have passed laws in this area, and some have changed how their laws are numbered. Utah, South Carolina, Wyoming, Missouri, Arizona, Virginia, and Colorado are among states that have addressed booking photos or pay-to-remove practices in some way. Laws differ a lot in what they require. If your state is not covered here, search your state legislature's website for terms like booking photograph and mugshot, or ask the consumer protection division of your attorney general.

What these laws do not do

No state law covered here bans publishing your booking photo. Arrest records are generally public, and courts protect the right to report on them. These laws instead target the business practice of charging for removal, or require removal in specific situations.

Most also exempt news organizations. A newspaper story with your booking photo is a different problem, covered in our guide to old arrest news stories.

These laws also do not seal or expunge your court record, and they do not affect background check reports, which follow federal and state consumer reporting law. See what background checks can report.

Finally, enforcement can be hard against sites based outside the United States. In those cases, Google's exploitative removal practices form is often the more practical tool.

How these laws fit with Google's policy

You do not have to choose between your state's law and Google. Google's policy for sites with exploitative removal practices lets you ask Google to remove results from sites that demand payment for removal, regardless of what state you are in. Using both at once is common: the state law gets the photo off the site, and Google's form gets the result out of search while you wait. Our step-by-step guide to getting a mugshot taken down shows how to combine them.

When to get help

You can send most requests yourself. Consider a lawyer or legal aid office if a site ignores a deadline the law sets, if you want to pursue damages, or if you are trying to seal or expunge your record. Your state attorney general's consumer protection office is another place to report a site that is not following the law. If you are weighing paid help, read our guide to red flags when paying to remove content first.

Common questions

Sources

1. Florida Statutes section 901.43 (The Florida Senate)
2. Mugshot Websites (Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division)
3. ORS 133.875 (Oregon Public Law)
4. ORS 646A.806 (Oregon Public Law)
5. California Civil Code section 1798.91.1 (California Public Law)
6. California Penal Code section 13665 (California Public Law)
7. Texas Business and Commerce Code section 109.005 (Texas Public Law)
8. 815 ILCS 505/2QQQ (FindLaw)
9. Remove content about you on exploitative sites that try to charge for removal (Google Search Help)