How to Remove Your Mugshot From Mugshots.com

For a Mugshots.com removal, list every page that shows your booking photo, gather court documents showing how your case ended, and send the site a short removal request through whatever contact or removal route it lists on its own domain. Don’t pay for removal. If the page stays up, or you’re steered toward a paid “unpublishing” service, report the URLs to Google under its policy for sites with exploitative removal practices, and pursue expungement or sealing for a lasting fix.

Mugshots.com has been around for many years, so its pages can be well established in search results. That can make it feel permanent. It usually isn’t, but the route that works is often Google and the courts rather than the site itself. This guide explains each step.

Why Mugshots.com pages are hard to shift

Mugshot websites like Mugshots.com publish booking photos and arrest details copied from public law enforcement sources. A few features make them stubborn:

• Booking photos are often public records, so publishing them is generally legal in the US.
• Pages show the arrest, not the result. A dismissed or expunged case usually still appears as an arrest unless you get it changed.
• Older pages can rank well for a specific name, because they’ve been online for a long time.
• Mugshot sites have a history of pay-to-remove practices, which is why Google created a dedicated removal policy and why some states have passed laws against charging for removal.

Knowing this helps you set expectations. The site may not remove the page, but you have other routes that don’t depend on its cooperation.

Step 1: Find every page and copy

1. Search Google for your name in quotes, with your city and with “mugshot” or “arrest.”
2. Check Google Images, since your photo can appear on several sites.
3. Search Mugshots.com directly for your name. There may be more than one page, for example one per booking.
4. Save each URL with a screenshot and the date. Screenshot any payment offer or link to a paid removal service as well. You may need it for Google.

Step 2: Get your court documents

From the court clerk, request official copies of whichever documents show a favorable outcome:

• Dismissal, “no bill,” or a record that charges were never filed.
• Acquittal or not-guilty verdict.
• Expungement or sealing order.
• Completion of a diversion program followed by dismissal.

These are the documents that change minds, whether at a website, a sheriff’s office or a news outlet. If you don’t have any yet, Step 7 matters most.

Step 3: Remove the official source

Contact the sheriff’s office or jail that released the booking photo. Many agencies take booking photos off their public rosters after a set period or on request, especially after a dismissal, though policies vary by agency and state. Removing the source doesn’t delete the Mugshots.com copy, but it stops new sites copying it and helps with your other requests.

Step 4: Send Mugshots.com a removal request

Look for a removal, contact or FAQ page on Mugshots.com’s own domain and follow whatever process it describes. Keep your request brief:

I am the person shown on the following page(s): [URL]. This case was [dismissed / expunged] on [date]. A copy of the court order is attached. Please remove the page and my booking photo. Thank you.

Include each URL, attach your documents where the process allows, and keep a copy of what you sent. If your state’s law requires removal in your circumstances, mention it in one sentence.

Step 5: Report the page to Google

Google has a specific removal policy for content about you on sites with exploitative removal practices. Based on Google’s Search Help description, it applies when you are the subject of the content, the site isn’t a business review site, and the site requires payment, to itself or another party, to remove it.

1. Open Google’s personal content removal request from Google Search Help and choose the option for sites with exploitative removal practices.
2. List every URL that shows your mugshot. Google only reviews what you submit.
3. Add your screenshots of any fee demand or paid-removal link.
4. Submit and watch your email for Google’s decision.

If approved, the pages stop appearing in Google Search. The page stays on the site, but for most people that’s the outcome that matters. If the site later removes or edits a page and Google still shows the old version, use Google’s “Refresh outdated content” tool. Our guide to Google removal requests covers the other forms Google offers.

Step 6: Check your state’s mugshot law

Some states have laws aimed at mugshot sites. Depending on where you live, a law might bar charging a fee to remove a booking photo, require removal when a case was dismissed or expunged, or limit when agencies release booking photos in the first place. Coverage and enforcement vary.

Search your state’s name with “mugshot law” to see whether one exists, and talk to a lawyer or legal aid office if you think it applies. A lawyer can also tell you whether the law gives you a way to enforce it.

Step 7: Pursue expungement or sealing

This is the lasting route. An expungement or sealing order doesn’t reach into private websites automatically, but it gives every future request real weight, and it may help with background checks, job applications and housing.

Whether you qualify depends on your state, the offense and the outcome. Many non-conviction records qualify, and some states clear certain records automatically after a waiting period. Talk to a lawyer or local legal aid organization. Our guide on how to get a record expunged explains the general steps, and our guide to removing public records from the internet covers the court and records sites that can surface the same arrest.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client.

Renee, a dental office manager, was arrested for shoplifting nine years ago. She completed a diversion program and the charge was dismissed. A Mugshots.com page with her booking photo still appears on page one when she’s searched, and a link on the page points to a paid removal service.

• She saves both Mugshots.com URLs and screenshots the paid removal link.
• She gets the dismissal order and sends Mugshots.com a short request through its own contact route. She hears nothing back.
• She reports both URLs to Google under the exploitative removal practices policy, with her screenshots. Google approves the request, and the pages drop out of her name search.
• She asks a legal aid clinic about sealing the record. She’s eligible and files the petition, so future background checks and requests will be simpler.

The photo is still technically on the site, but it no longer appears when someone searches for her, and she never paid a removal fee.

What not to do

• Don’t pay the site or any service it recommends.
• Don’t send a copyright (DMCA) notice for the booking photo. The agency usually owns it, not you, and a false notice can create legal risk.
• Don’t send angry or threatening messages. Keep every request calm and factual.
• Don’t trust offers that promise certain removal. No one can promise how a site or Google will respond.
• Don’t forget the other copies. Mugshot sites copy each other, so check for the same photo elsewhere. Our Arrests.org removal guide covers another site where copies often appear.

If the mugshot still ranks

If a page stays online and Google doesn’t remove it, you can still reduce how often people see it. Search result suppression builds accurate, stronger pages about you, such as a professional profile or personal site, that outrank the mugshot for your name. For a broader view of every route, see our main guide to removing a mugshot from the internet. Our content removal service can handle requests and Google reports for you, never pays pay-to-remove sites, and is upfront about what’s realistic.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal for Mugshots.com to publish my booking photo?

Booking photos are often public records, so publishing them is generally legal in the US. What some states restrict is charging a fee to remove them, or refusing removal after a dismissal or expungement. Check your state’s law or talk to a lawyer.

Should I pay to have my mugshot removed from Mugshots.com?

No. Paying doesn’t stop copies elsewhere and funds the practice. Report pages that demand payment to Google under its exploitative removal practices policy instead.

Can Google remove a Mugshots.com page?

Google can remove the page from its search results if it meets Google’s criteria, such as a site demanding payment to remove content about you. The page stays on the site itself but stops appearing in Google Search.

Does expungement delete my Mugshots.com page?

Not automatically. It gives you a court order that strengthens your requests to the site, agencies and Google, and some state laws treat expunged records differently. Talk to a lawyer or legal aid about your options.