Written by the Removal Lab team.
Searched your own name before a job interview and found your booking photo staring back? Here is how to get a mugshot removed: find every copy, use the free routes first (the site’s own policy, your state’s mugshot law, sealing or expungement and Google’s removal tools) and pay only when a free route has failed. Removal Lab checks your links for free, tells you which route fits each copy and files the requests, with no upfront payment on qualifying cases. The site, Google or a court makes each decision.
So, can you get a mugshot removed? There are lawful routes, but no single form clears the whole internet. Each copy has an owner and each owner follows different rules. This guide shows how to get a mugshot removed step by step. Our page on what mugshot removal costs has a state by state table of fee laws, so we link to it rather than repeat it.
The quick version: how to get a mugshot removed
1. List every copy: search engines, mugshot sites, county sheriff pages and news stories.
2. Screenshot each page and any request for money, with the web address showing.
3. Use each site’s own removal policy and keep every confirmation.
4. Check your state law. Some states ban fees or set deadlines for free removal.
5. Ask a lawyer about sealing or expungement. A court order is the strongest evidence you can send.
6. Use Google’s tools for sites that charge, for contact details and for pages that have changed.
7. Search again every few weeks, because booking photos get copied.
Can you get a mugshot removed? Key facts
These facts decide how to get a mugshot removed in your case. Each one comes from an official page or the law itself, linked at the end.
| Question | Short answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Is there one form that removes every copy? | No. Each website, search engine and agency decides for its own pages. | Google Search Help |
| Can a website charge you to remove it? | Not in every state. California and Florida ban fees for booking photos. Utah caps the fee at $50. | State laws |
| Does sealing or expungement clear the internet? | Not by itself. You still send the order to each site. | Florida Department of Law Enforcement |
| Can Google hide a mugshot site? | Sometimes, when the site requires payment to remove content about you. | Google Search Help |
| Who makes the final call? | The site, Google or a court. Never a removal company. | Every source on this page |
Step 1: Find every copy of your mugshot
The first rule of how to get a mugshot removed is simple: you cannot remove what you have not found. Set aside an hour and build one list of web addresses from these four places.
Search engines
Search your full name on Google and Google Images, with and without your middle name and with your town. Repeat on another search engine. Copy every address, even when two pages look the same, because each page needs its own request. Google’s Results about you tool can also watch for pages that show your home address, phone number or email. See how to use Google Results about you.
Mugshot sites
Mugshot sites copy booking photos from police and sheriff pages. On each listing, note whether there is a removal link, whether the page asks for money and which agency took the photo. We have guides for Mugshots.com removal, Arrests.org mugshot removal and Busted Newspaper mugshot removal.
County sheriff and police pages
Many agencies post recent bookings on their own website or social media. These are often the source the other sites copy from. Note the agency name and the page address.
News stories
A news story follows the paper’s editorial policy, not the mugshot laws. Note the outlet, the headline and whether the story gives the outcome. For how to get a mugshot removed from a news story, see news article removal.
Now sort your list by who controls each page. That tells you how to get a mugshot removed from each one.
| Where the copy lives | Who controls it | First route to try |
|---|---|---|
| Sheriff or police website or social media | The agency | A polite request to the records unit, with your court paperwork |
| Mugshot site | The site owner | The site’s own policy, then your state law, then Google |
| News story | The editor | A request to add the outcome or remove your name |
| Google results and images | Google, for its results only | Google’s removal and refresh tools |
Step 2: Save your evidence before you ask
Most guides on how to get a mugshot removed skip this step. Gather your evidence first.
- Screenshots of each page with the web address visible, taken on the device you will use to file requests.
- Any demand for money, such as a price, a pay to remove button or a link to a paid removal company.
- Your court paperwork, such as a dismissal, an acquittal or a sealing or expungement order.
- A record of every request, with the date, how you sent it and any receipt.
Share the least personal information each request needs. If a form asks for ID, cover the ID number and address where the form allows it.
Step 3: Use the free routes first
This is the heart of how to get a mugshot removed without paying anyone. Work through these routes for each copy.
How to get a mugshot removed from a mugshot site
Start with the site’s own policy. Mugshots.com is a good example. Its Record Removals and Updates page says it does not charge for removing or updating records. It removes a record for an expungement, a seal, a no information, a record restriction, identity theft or a death, each backed by documents. For a dismissal or an acquittal, it updates the record rather than removing it. Send exactly what a policy asks for and keep the confirmation.
State laws: how to get a mugshot removed for free
Several states limit what a site may charge. Here are four we read for this guide. Our mugshot removal cost guide has the longer table.
- California. Civil Code section 1798.91.1 makes it unlawful for anyone publishing a booking photo to ask for or accept a fee to remove, correct or modify it. The person shown can sue for $1,000 per violation or actual damages, whichever is greater.
- Florida. Section 901.43 bans covered publishers from taking payment to remove booking photos. After a written request sent by registered mail to the registered agent, with proof of identity, the photo must come down free within 10 calendar days.
- Georgia. The Attorney General’s mugshot page explains that if your case ended in one of eight listed ways, such as a dismissal or an acquittal, a site must remove the photo at no charge within 30 days of a written request sent by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery.
- Utah. Utah Code Title 17 Chapter 72 section 802 lets anyone ask a publish for pay site to remove a booking photo within 30 calendar days for no more than $50. After an acquittal, no prosecution, expungement, vacated charge or pardon, removal is free and due within 7 calendar days once you send proof.
Which state’s law reaches a particular website is a legal question. Follow the delivery rule to the letter, cite the law in your first line and track the deadline.
How to get a mugshot removed after expungement or sealing
A website request removes one copy. A court order changes the record behind every copy, which makes sealing or expungement the strongest step in any plan for how to get a mugshot removed, if you qualify.
Florida’s law enforcement agency says that once a record is sealed or expunged the public will not have access to it. It also says mugshots and arrest details on privately run websites are not subject to an expungement order, so you need to contact those sites directly. Rules differ by state. California’s court self help site says true expungement does not exist in California and that the law is complicated. Our court record removal page covers the court files themselves.
Please speak to a lawyer
This page is general information, not legal advice. Sealing, expungement and the state laws on mugshot sites have detailed rules that change from state to state. A lawyer, a legal aid office or your court’s self help centre can tell you what applies to your case.
How to get a mugshot removed from a sheriff or police page
The agency that took the photo controls its own pages. Write to its records unit, give the page address, attach your court paperwork and ask it to remove the photo or add the outcome.
The California Attorney General explains that Penal Code section 13665 stops police and sheriffs from sharing booking photos of people arrested for nonviolent crimes on social media, apart from narrow exceptions. A booking photo they have shared must come down within 14 days unless an exception applies. In Utah, a sheriff may not hand over a booking photo that will be posted on a publish for pay website.
How to get a mugshot removed from Google
Google cannot delete a page from someone else’s website. It can change what appears when people search your name. These are its four routes.
| Google route | When it fits |
|---|---|
| Sites with exploitative removal practices | You are a subject of the content, the site is not a business review site and it requires payment to the site or other agencies to remove the content |
| Results about you | The page shows your home address, phone number or email |
| Personal information policy | The page shows confidential government ID numbers, bank details or images of your signature or ID |
| Refresh outdated content | The page or image is already gone or has changed a lot |
This is how to get a mugshot removed from Google results when a site wants money:
- Open Google’s help page on exploitative removal practices and select Start removal request.
- Enter the address of every page that mentions you. Google says it reviews only the addresses you give it.
- Explain how the site is exploitative, for example that it asks for a fee.
- Attach screenshots. Google says you can edit them so only your face shows.
- Submit and keep the confirmation. You or a representative can file it.
Google says a page removed under this policy no longer appears in Google results, but the content can still be found through shared links, social media or other search engines. That is why the site request still matters.
Once a site takes your photo down, use the refresh tool while signed in to a Google account. Google says a pending request can take a few days. For images it asks for the image address and the page address, with a separate request for each page. See our refresh tool guide and Google image removal page.
What costs money and when it is worth paying
Most steps in this plan for how to get a mugshot removed are free. Money comes in at a few points.
| What you might pay for | When it can be worth it |
|---|---|
| Postage for a registered or certified letter | Whenever your state law asks for that delivery method |
| Court fees to seal or expunge | When you qualify, because it fixes the record behind every copy |
| A lawyer | For sealing, expungement or a site that ignores a legal deadline |
| A removal service | When there are many copies, sites ignore you or you have no time to chase |
| Paying the site itself | We do not recommend it. Check your state law and Google’s policy first |
If you hire help, ask for a written price, what happens if copies return and whether you pay before or after removal. Our pricing page explains how Removal Lab charges: a free check and, on qualifying cases, payment only when the content is removed.
What not to do: mistakes that slow removal down
People who search “remove my mugshot” usually want it gone fast. Avoid these mistakes when you work out how to get a mugshot removed.
- Paying a site before you check the law. In some states the fee itself is unlawful and paying one site leaves every other copy in place.
- Sending angry messages. Mugshots.com says threatening or abusive messages are passed to law enforcement and may disqualify you from its records programme.
- Oversharing. Send only the personal data each request needs.
- Filing a copyright complaint for a photo you did not take. A booking photo is taken by the agency.
- Trusting anyone who promises a removal. Only the site, Google or a court decides.
- Stopping after one round. Booking photos get copied, so search again every few weeks.
What if it does not work
If a site refuses or stays silent, the plan for how to get a mugshot removed moves to the next route.
- Check whether a state deadline has passed. If it has, speak to a lawyer. In Georgia, the Attorney General’s page says you can complain to its Consumer Protection Division.
- File the Google requests that fit, even while the page stays live.
- If the page adds false claims beyond the record, see defamation removal.
- If nothing can come down yet, accurate pages about you can push the result lower. See how to suppress negative search results and how to remove your name from Google.
A worked example
This is a made up example to show the steps. It is not a client case.
Here is how to get a mugshot removed in practice. A man in Georgia finds his booking photo on a sheriff’s page, two mugshot sites and an old news story. His charge was dismissed. He emails the sheriff’s records unit with his paperwork. He sends each mugshot site a certified letter citing Georgia’s law with his name, date of birth, arrest date and the arresting agency. One site shows a pay to remove offer, so he files a Google request with a screenshot. He asks the editor to add the outcome to the story. As pages come down, he uses the refresh tool.
Where Removal Lab fits
If you would rather not work out how to get a mugshot removed alone, we can help. We map every copy, check each one against the site’s policy, your state law and Google’s rules, then file the requests that fit and follow up. The check is free and confidential. On qualifying cases you pay only when the content is removed.
We do not work for any mugshot site or Google. We cannot delete anything ourselves, change a court record or give legal advice and we never pay a site to take a photo down. See what we cannot remove and our mugshot removal service. The easiest start is a free case review.
Want help to get your mugshot removed?
Send the links. A specialist checks every route and replies within one business day. Free, confidential and no upfront payment on qualifying cases.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get a mugshot removed?
Here is how to get a mugshot removed: find every copy, then use the free routes first. That means the site’s own removal policy, your state’s mugshot law, sealing or expungement and Google’s removal tools. Pay for help only when a free route has failed or there are too many copies to manage.
Can you get a mugshot removed for free?
Yes. The free routes for how to get a mugshot removed cost nothing but time and postage. California and Florida ban publishers from charging to remove a booking photo, Mugshots.com says it does not charge and Google’s removal requests are free.
Can you get a mugshot removed if you were convicted?
Sometimes. Google’s policy on sites that charge for removal does not ask how your case ended and Utah lets anyone ask a pay site to remove a booking photo for no more than $50. Whether a conviction can be sealed depends on your state, so ask a lawyer.
Does expungement remove my mugshot from the internet automatically?
No. Florida’s law enforcement agency says mugshots and arrest details on privately run websites are not subject to an expungement order and that you need to contact those sites directly. Send a copy of the order with every request.
Will Google remove my mugshot from search results?
Google says it may remove a page when you are a subject of the content, the site is not a business review site and the site requires payment to remove the content. Google removes the search result, not the page itself.
How do I remove my mugshot from Google Images?
Once the source page is gone or has changed, use Google’s Refresh outdated content tool. Google asks for both the image address and the page address and a separate request for each page where the image appears.
How long does it take to get a mugshot removed?
How to get a mugshot removed quickly depends on the route. Florida law gives a covered publisher 10 calendar days after a proper written request, Georgia gives 30 days and Mugshots.com says its process can take up to 10 business days. Google’s help page for paid removal sites gives no timeline.
What if the mugshot online is not me?
Tell the site the details do not match and share only what proves it, such as a different date of birth. Mugshots.com lists identity theft as a removal reason but asks for court documents.
Can Removal Lab remove my mugshot?
Only the site, Google or a court can make that call. Removal Lab checks every copy for free, explains how to get a mugshot removed from each one and files the requests that fit. On qualifying cases you pay only when the content is removed.
Do I need a lawyer to get a mugshot removed?
Not for the website or Google parts of how to get a mugshot removed. Speak to a lawyer about sealing or expungement and before you rely on a state mugshot law.
Sources: Google Search Help: Content about you on sites with exploitative removal practices, Google Search Help: Results about you, Google Search Help: Remove personal information, Search Console Help: Refresh outdated content, California Civil Code section 1798.91.1, California Attorney General legal alert on booking photos, Florida Statutes section 901.43, Georgia Attorney General: Mugshot Websites, Utah Code Title 17 Chapter 72 section 802, FDLE: Seal and expunge questions, California Courts: Clean your record and Mugshots.com: Record Removals and Updates. Removal Lab does not work for any mugshot site, Google or any court. Every decision is made by the platform.