Skip to product information
1 of 2

State Correctional Institution (Prison) Records Request

State Correctional Institution (Prison) Records Request


Index information provided may include:

  • Full Name
  • Identification numbers
  • County from which received
  • Admission Date
  • Discharge Date
  • Charge convicted under (type of crime)
  • Length of Sentence

*** Important: Please read! ***

Ordering the Full Case File search requires information from the index(es), including the inmate ID number. 

If you do not have the index information, please select Index Search under the Correctional Institution Research Service options menu above. When you have the results from the Index Search, then you will be able to order the Case File Search.

Case Files vary in contents, size, and detail, but many include:

  • Administrative paperwork documenting a person’s incarceration, parole, and discharge
  • Correspondence with relatives, lawyers, etc. 
  • Record of work, discipline, medical care, and other activities
  • Parole reports
  • Photographs

*** Important: Please read! ***

Ordering the Extended Search requires information from the index(es), including the inmate ID number. 

If you do not have the index information, please select Index Search under the Correctional Institution Research Service options menu above. When you have the results from the Index Search, then you will be able to order the Extended Search.

The records available for an Extended Search vary greatly by institution and date. They all include the Case File and may also include:

Stillwater 

  • Commitment Papers, 1880-1978
  • Inmate Medical Case Files, 1900-1972
  • Photographs, 1895 - 1970
  • Transcripts of trials of inmates, 1901-1972. (relatively few trial transcripts exist and they were usually produced for a court appeal, request for a pardon, or request for early parole)
  • Parole record books, 1892-1920


St. Cloud 

  • Inmate Photographs, 1896-1978 (very sparse, many images not present)
  • Parole Records, 1897-1915
  • Trial transcripts, 1891-1970.
  • Inmate medical records, 1889-1923.

If you do not know the exact dates of birth, death, admission or discharge, please submit your best guesses. The date fields accept numbers or text, so please include any information that you have including broad estimates. The Additional Information box at the very bottom of this form can also be used to add information that you think may be relevant.

If any of the date fields are left blank, we may cancel and refund your order. Library researchers need as much information as possible in searching for your individual.

You have indicated that you are requesting your own state hospital record. Because protecting individual privacy is extremely important to us, records for living individuals are virtually always closed to public research. Please complete your order and staff will contact you for information about proving your identity.

Restrictions on access: Inmate records contain private information about individuals and access to many of them is restricted.

Inmate records are generally restricted for 75 years from the date of the last entry in the record or file. Under specific circumstances, information in the files may be subject to longer and more strict restrictions.

If additional permission and/or paperwork is required for your specific order, staff will contact you about next steps. In some cases, if restricted information is present, it will be clearly redacted. However, if the item is fully restricted, staff will contact you about next steps. Individuals have the right to review their own correctional records in a way that ensures that the privacy interests of third parties mentioned in the records are not affected.

Questions? Email: reference@mnhs.org

For this research service, Library Staff will search for one person in one institution's records.

State Correctional Institution (Prison) Records Requests can take 60 business days or more to complete.

Price:
Index Search Only: $5
Case Files: $30.00
Extended Search (includes Case File): $40.00

MNHS Members receive 10% discount at checkout

Turnaround: Research is usually completed and sent within 60 business days.

About this Research Service:
The State Archives of the Minnesota Historical Society preserves records from the following state correctional institutions:
Adults
Stillwater State Prison (opened 1854, also called Bayport or MN State Prison)
St. Cloud State Prison (opened 1887, also called MN State Reformatory for Men)
Shakopee State Reformatory for Women (opened 1919)
Juveniles
Red Wing State Training School for Boys (opened 1868)
Red Wing State Training School for Girls (opened 1898; in 1911 girls at the School were transferred to the Sauk Centre Home School for Girls)
Sauk Centre Home School for Girls (opened 1903; most records restricted for 100 years)

Index Search
Information provided may include the following:

  • Full Name
  • Identification numbers
  • County from which received
  • Admission Date
  • Discharge Date
  • Charge convicted under (type of crime)
  • Length of Sentence
Full Case File Search (to be ordered after the Index Search is complete and you have obtained an inmate ID number)
Case Files vary in contents, size, and detail, but many include:
  • Administrative paperwork documenting a person’s incarceration, parole, and discharge
  • Correspondence with relatives, lawyers, etc. 
  • Record of work, discipline, medical care, and other activities
  • Parole reports
  • Photographs

Extended Records Search
The records available for an Extended Search are only available for Stillwater State Correctional Institution and St. Cloud State Prison. They vary greatly by institution and date. They all include the Case File and may also include:

Stillwater 

    • Commitment Papers, 1880-1978
    • Inmate Medical Case Files, 1900-1972
    • Photographs, 1895 - 1970
    • Transcripts of trials of inmates, 1901-1972. (relatively few trial transcripts exist and they were usually produced for a court appeal, request for a pardon, or request for early parole)
    • Parole record books, 1892-1920

St. Cloud 

    • Inmate Photographs, 1896-1978 (very sparse, many images not present)
    • Parole Records, 1897-1915
    • Trial transcripts, 1891-1970.
    • Inmate medical records, 1889-1923.

 

Restrictions on access: Inmate records contain private information about individuals and access to many of them is restricted.

Inmate records are generally restricted for 75 years from the date of the last entry in the record or file. Under specific circumstances, information in the files may be subject to longer and more strict restrictions.

If additional permission and/or paperwork is required for your specific order, staff will contact you about next steps. In some cases, if restricted information is present, it will be clearly redacted. However, if the item is fully restricted, staff will contact you about next steps. Individuals have the right to review their own correctional records in a way that ensures that the privacy interests of third parties mentioned in the records are not affected.

Questions? Email: reference@mnhs.org

For More Information:

View full details