How to Get a Mugshot Removed from the Internet

A mugshot can surface in Google results years after an arrest, long after charges were dropped, a case was dismissed, or a record was expunged. It appears with your name, your face, and a booking date. Anyone who searches for you sees it before they see anything else.

Mugshot websites scrape arrest records from public databases and republish them for profit, often charging hundreds of dollars for removal and relisting the same photo on affiliate sites after you pay. These sites do not update when charges are dropped. They do not care that you were never convicted. They rank your photo because it gets clicks.

This guide explains exactly how to find every site hosting your mugshot, how to get it removed, what legal leverage you have depending on your state, and how to address what remains in Google after the original source is gone.

Step 1: Find Every Site Hosting Your Mugshot

Before you can remove anything, you need a complete picture of where your mugshot appears. Start with the obvious sources and then systematically work through the less visible ones.

Search Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo separately

Open an incognito browser window and search each of the following combinations in Google, then repeat the searches in Bing and DuckDuckGo:

• Your full name
• Your full name + your city or state
• Your full name + “arrest”
• Your full name + “mugshot”
• Your full name + “booking”

Different search engines index different content. A site that does not appear in Google may show up in Bing or DuckDuckGo, and you need to address both the source site and each search engine separately. Use incognito mode so your personal search history does not influence what you see.

Check your county sheriff and local police websites

Many county sheriff websites and local police department sites publish booking photos directly. Search your county name plus “inmate search” or “arrest records.” If your photo appears there, contact the department directly. Departments are generally required to update or remove records when a case is expunged or dismissed, though the process varies by jurisdiction.

Search common mugshot hosting sites directly

Many mugshot sites do not appear in the top Google results for your name but host your photo and can resurface. Visit these platforms directly and search your name:

• Mugshots.com
• MugshotsOnline.com
• Arrests.org
• BustedMugshots.com
• MugshotLook.com
• JailBase.com
• BookingMug.com
• PublicArrest.com

Use Google Images as a supplementary tool. Drag and drop a copy of your booking photo into Google Images to find every page where that exact image appears online, including sites that may not rank for your name in text search.

Step 2: Document Before You Act

Before submitting any removal requests, document every instance of your mugshot thoroughly. Take a screenshot of each page that shows your photo, capturing the full URL, the date, the site name, and any identifying information displayed alongside the image. Create a simple tracking spreadsheet with one row per site: the URL, the date you found it, and the status of your removal request.

This documentation serves two purposes. It gives you a record to reference if you need legal intervention later. And it lets you track your progress, since many sites take days or weeks to process removal requests and you need to know which ones to follow up on.

Step 3: Submit Removal Requests to Each Site

Each mugshot site has a different removal process. Here is how to approach the major platforms specifically:

MugshotsOnline.com. Click “Remove This Mugshot” directly under your photo. Fill out the form. Removal is typically instant and requires no payment or documentation.

Mugshots.com. Go to “Record Removals/Updates,” note your record number from the URL, and email your removal request with any legal documents attached. The site removes records free of charge when you provide court documentation. Expect up to 10 business days for processing.

Arrests.org. The opt-out option is not prominently displayed. Use their contact form and select a reason such as “arrest sealed or expunged” or “charges dropped.” Processing typically takes 5 to 30 days.

JailBase.com. Email their support team with the direct URL of your listing, your full name, and any available legal documentation. JailBase has a stated policy of removing records upon expungement or case dismissal.

For any site without a clear removal process, find the site owner’s contact information through the WHOIS lookup at ICANN’s WHOIS tool or through the hosting provider. Send a written removal request by email that includes: your full name, the exact URL of the page with your mugshot, the date of arrest, and any documentation supporting your case. Keep the tone professional and factual. If the arrest was expunged or charges were dropped, include a copy of the relevant court order.

Step 4: Use State Law as Leverage

Your state’s laws significantly affect how much leverage you have over mugshot websites. Many states have enacted legislation specifically targeting the mugshot removal industry. If you live in one of these states, cite the applicable law in every removal request you send. This changes a polite request into a legal demand.

State	Key protection	What it means for you
Georgia	O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5	Mugshot sites must remove your photo within 30 days of a written request, free of charge. Failure triggers civil and criminal penalties under the Fair Business Practices Act. Report violations to the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.
Florida	Consumer protection laws	Sites must comply with removal requests for commercial databases. Charging for removal can constitute a deceptive trade practice. Removal must occur within 10 days of a valid request.
California	2014 mugshot law	Prohibits sites from soliciting or accepting fees to remove, correct, or modify criminal record information. Civil penalties apply for violations.
Texas	Texas Online Privacy Act (2024)	Websites must remove mugshots upon request if charges were dropped, dismissed, or the individual was acquitted. Pay-to-remove practices are prohibited.
Illinois	State commercial law	Mugshot removal companies are prohibited from collecting money in exchange for image deletion. Arresting agencies must remove photos after expungement.
Utah	Utah Code § 17-22-30 (eff. May 2024)	Pay-to-remove sites must take down booking photos within 30 days of a valid request and may charge no more than $50. Sites face penalties of $50 per day plus attorney’s fees for non-compliance.
Oregon, Colorado, Wyoming, Missouri, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky	Various state laws	Multiple protections against fee-for-removal practices. Check your state’s specific statutes for the exact requirements and remedies.

If your record has been expunged or sealed, you have the strongest possible basis for removal in virtually every state. Include a copy of your expungement order with every removal request. Courts have established that expunged records should not remain publicly accessible, and most sites will remove your photo promptly when presented with court documentation. Our guide on how long an expungement takes covers the process if you have not yet pursued that route.

If a site ignores a legally mandated removal request, report the violation to your state’s attorney general. In states with strong protections, sites that refuse to comply face real civil and criminal penalties. The FTC has also investigated and prosecuted multiple mugshot websites under deceptive trade practices laws.

Step 5: Remove Your Records from Data Broker Sites

Mugshot websites are a subset of the broader data broker industry. Sites like Spokeo, BeenVerified, Intelius, and Instant Checkmate pull arrest record data from the same public databases and display it alongside your name, address, and relatives. Even after you remove your photo from dedicated mugshot sites, your arrest record may still appear on these platforms.

Each data broker has its own opt-out procedure. Most are free but require you to submit a request, verify your identity, and wait for processing. The process is tedious when done manually across dozens of sites. Our comprehensive data broker opt-out guides walk through the specific process for each major platform.

One important pattern to know: data brokers re-aggregate information from public records on a recurring basis. A listing you successfully removed in January may reappear in March after the next data refresh. Ongoing monitoring and periodic re-submission of opt-out requests is necessary to keep your information suppressed over time. Our guide on removing court records from the internet covers the full scope of what needs to be addressed beyond just mugshot sites.

Step 6: Get Your Mugshot Out of Google Search

Even after a mugshot site removes your photo, it may continue to appear in Google Search results for days, weeks, or longer. Google caches pages and search results independently from the original source. You need to address Google separately.

Use Google’s Remove Outdated Content tool

If the original page has been removed or substantially changed, go to Google’s Remove Outdated Content tool and submit the URL. Google will recrawl the page and update its cache to reflect the current state. This tool works specifically when the underlying page has already been taken down or changed.

Submit a removal request through Google’s personal information policies

Google’s personal information removal policies allow you to request removal of search results that display certain categories of sensitive personal information. Arrest records and booking photos may qualify, particularly if the content violates your privacy or is associated with charges that were dropped or dismissed.

Submit requests through Google’s content removal troubleshooter. Be specific about why the result violates Google’s policies, including documentation of case dismissal or expungement where applicable. Our guide on how to deindex a page from Google covers the full process including escalation options when initial requests are denied.

Submit a deindexing request

Deindexing removes a page from Google Search results without requiring the original site to take anything down. If the mugshot site itself is the problem, a deindex request prevents the page from appearing in search results even if the photo remains on the original site. Google evaluates these on a case-by-case basis, but pages that display outdated arrest information, particularly when charges were dismissed, have a reasonable basis for removal.

Step 7: Suppress What You Cannot Remove

Not every mugshot can be fully removed from the internet. Sites hosted outside the United States operate under different legal frameworks. News articles about an arrest can rank even after the underlying records are gone. When removal is not fully achievable, suppression is the practical alternative.

Suppression works by creating and strengthening content that ranks above the mugshot or arrest record result in Google. When someone searches your name and finds your LinkedIn profile, personal website, industry articles, and positive press mentions on the first page, the mugshot result on page three or four has far less impact. 95% of users never click past the first page of Google results, according to research cited in search click-through studies.

The platforms that rank most reliably and carry the most authority for name-based searches are LinkedIn, personal websites, company bios, press mentions, Wikipedia (for public figures), and profiles on established platforms like Crunchbase or industry directories. Building and optimizing content across these sources simultaneously creates the displacement effect that pushes negative results down. Our guide on how to bury negative search results covers the suppression strategy in detail, and our guide on removing personal information from Google covers the overlapping privacy dimension.

When to Hire a Professional Removal Service

The DIY process described above is effective for most situations. Professional help makes sense when the scope or complexity exceeds what you can reasonably manage yourself.

Professional removal services are worth the investment when you are dealing with a large number of sites, when your mugshot keeps reappearing after removals, when the arrest involved a high-profile event and the content is widely distributed, when you need legal pressure applied and do not want to manage that process yourself, or when your professional reputation is immediately at risk and speed matters.

When evaluating services, ask specifically about their process for re-appearing content. A legitimate service will address the suppression layer, not just the initial site removals, because data brokers re-aggregate records regularly. Ask how they handle monitoring after the initial removal campaign and what happens if content resurfaces within six months.

Be cautious of any service that guarantees removal of every instance of your photo, promises a specific timeline without knowing the scope of your situation, or charges fees without a clear breakdown of what each fee covers.

Reputation Management After Removal

Successfully removing a mugshot from the internet is a significant step. It is not the final one. The same searches that surfaced your mugshot also surface other content about you, and managing your broader online presence protects you from the next problem, not just the current one.

Set up Google Alerts for your full name so you receive an email whenever new content mentioning your name gets indexed. Check your name in incognito mode monthly. This takes five minutes and catches resurfaced content before it gains traction.

Build positive, accurate content about who you are now. Update your LinkedIn profile, create or improve your personal website, publish content in your professional field, and build profiles on platforms that rank well for name searches. This is not just about pushing down what was removed. It is about ensuring that the first impression someone forms when they search your name is accurate and current.

Our guide on online reputation management covers the full framework for building a search presence that protects you over the long term. And our guide on how mugshot sites work and where they get their content explains the sourcing pipeline that keeps arrest records circulating, which helps you understand where to focus ongoing monitoring.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can mugshot sites legally charge me to remove my photo?

In many states, no. California, Georgia, Texas, Illinois, Oregon, Utah, and several other states prohibit mugshot sites from charging fees for removal. If a site charges you for removal in a state where that practice is banned, they are potentially violating consumer protection laws. Report the violation to your state’s attorney general. Even in states without specific prohibitions, the FTC has pursued multiple mugshot sites under deceptive trade practices laws.

Does expungement automatically remove my mugshot from the internet?

No. Expungement clears your record from official government databases but does not automatically reach third-party websites that already scraped and published your arrest data. You need to take separate action to contact each site, provide your expungement order as documentation, and submit removal requests. The expungement order is your strongest piece of leverage and will accelerate the process significantly at most sites. Our guide on how long an expungement takes covers that process if you have not yet pursued it.

What if the site ignores my removal request?

Escalate in sequence. First, send a follow-up request after seven to ten days that explicitly cites any applicable state law and the legal consequences of non-compliance. Second, file a complaint with your state’s attorney general, particularly if you are in a state with specific mugshot laws. Third, consult a defamation or privacy attorney about whether a demand letter or legal action is warranted. Meanwhile, pursue Google deindexing of the specific URL so the content stops appearing in search results even while the site-level dispute continues.

My arrest record was never expunged. Can I still get my mugshot removed?

Yes, in many cases. Some sites will remove content upon any polite request regardless of the case status. Sites in states with strong consumer protection laws must comply with takedown requests for qualifying reasons beyond just expungement. You can also pursue Google deindexing based on privacy harm and outdated information. And even when removal is not possible, suppression through positive content can significantly reduce the practical impact of a mugshot that cannot be fully eliminated.

Will removed mugshots stay gone permanently?

Not without ongoing monitoring. Data broker sites re-aggregate information from public records databases on a regular basis, so listings that were successfully removed can reappear weeks or months later. The same photo can also migrate to affiliate or mirror sites after being removed from the original. Set up Google Alerts for your name, check your name in incognito mode monthly, and resubmit opt-out requests as needed when listings resurface.

How long does it take to see results in Google after a mugshot site removes my photo?

It varies. Once a site removes your content, Google typically discovers the change within days to weeks during its regular crawl cycle. You can accelerate this by submitting the URL through Google’s Remove Outdated Content tool, which prompts Google to recrawl the page immediately. Even after Google updates its index, cached versions of the page may persist briefly. The full process typically resolves within two to four weeks once the source content is confirmed removed.