How to Remove Court Records from Spokeo (2026 Guide)

What Is Spokeo?

Spokeo is a consumer-facing people search and background check service. It aggregates publicly available data - including court records, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social media profiles, property records, and more - into consolidated profiles that anyone can search by name, phone, email, or address. For more information, visit the Spokeo opt-out.

Spokeo is fundamentally different from legal research platforms like Justia or CourtListener. Where legal databases specifically publish court opinions and docket information for legal professionals, Spokeo is a general-purpose data broker: its product is the aggregated personal profile itself, marketed to people who want to look up others for any reason. Learn more about expungement vs. record sealing on our blog.

This distinction matters because Spokeo operates under data broker regulations rather than journalistic or legal research frameworks - and it has a straightforward, mandatory opt-out process. Federal and state privacy laws applicable to data brokers create a clearer removal pathway here than on specialized legal platforms. Learn more about court record removal on our blog.

Why Do Court Records Appear on Spokeo?

Spokeo continuously scrapes and purchases data from hundreds of public and commercial sources. Court records appear on your Spokeo profile because: For more information, visit the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

• Spokeo ingests publicly available court record databases and criminal record repositories
• State court systems and county clerks make certain records publicly available in bulk data formats that data brokers can purchase or access
• Arrest records, conviction records, civil judgments, and bankruptcy filings are treated as public data by most jurisdictions
• Third-party data providers sell aggregated court record data to platforms like Spokeo

The court records on your Spokeo profile may be less detailed than what appears on a legal database - Spokeo typically shows record summaries, not full opinions or docket entries - but they are presented prominently within a profile that also includes your current address, phone number, and relatives. This combination creates a comprehensive and accessible profile that anyone can find with a simple name search.

Spokeo's Opt-Out Process

Spokeo provides a free opt-out process at spokeo.com/optout. Unlike legal database removal requests, this process does not require a court order or legal justification - it is available to anyone who finds their listing on Spokeo.

The opt-out removes your profile from Spokeo's public results, which is the version people see when they search your name. Because Spokeo can re-add a profile if new data sources are ingested later, periodic checks and a repeat opt-out keep the listing down. It is an effective and immediate way to remove your visible profile.

What to know before starting:

• Each individual profile listing requires a separate opt-out - if you have multiple listings under your name, you must opt out of each one
• The opt-out covers Spokeo, and similar sites like Whitepages, BeenVerified, or Intelius each have their own opt-out to complete
• If Spokeo re-adds your profile as new data is ingested, you can repeat the opt-out
• Google's cache of your old Spokeo profile may take a short time to clear after removal, and the Google steps below speed that up

Step-by-Step: How to Opt Out of Spokeo

1. 1
   Search for your listing on Spokeo. Go to spokeo.com and search your full name. Browse results to find the profile(s) matching your information. If there are multiple listings, note each one separately.
2. 2
   Copy the exact URL of each profile. Open each profile listing you want to remove and copy the full URL from your browser's address bar. You will need this exact URL for the opt-out form.
3. 3
   Go to spokeo.com/optout. Navigate to Spokeo's official opt-out page. Do not use third-party opt-out sites - go directly to Spokeo's own page.
4. 4
   Paste the profile URL into the opt-out form. Enter the exact profile URL you copied in step 2. Then enter an email address for confirmation. Use an email you control but one that is not directly tied to sensitive accounts if you prefer privacy.
5. 5
   Confirm via the email Spokeo sends. Spokeo will send a confirmation email to the address you provided. Click the confirmation link in that email to complete the opt-out.
6. 6
   Repeat for each listing. If you found multiple Spokeo profiles for yourself, repeat steps 2-5 for each one. Each profile requires a separate opt-out submission.
7. 7
   Verify removal after 24-72 hours. Return to Spokeo after 1-3 days and search your name to confirm the listing has been removed. If it still appears, re-submit the opt-out.

After Opting Out - Google Cache Removal

After Spokeo removes your profile, Google's search index may continue to display the old Spokeo page for some time. To accelerate its disappearance from Google results, take these steps:

1. 1
   Verify the Spokeo page is gone. Confirm that navigating to the old Spokeo URL now returns a 404 error or a "listing not found" message. This confirms removal is complete.
2. 2
   Use Google's Outdated Content Removal Tool. In Google Search Console, submit the old Spokeo URL as outdated content. Google will re-crawl the page, discover it is gone, and remove it from search results.
3. 3
   Submit via Google's Personal Information Removal Tool if appropriate. If the removed Spokeo page contained sensitive personal information - such as your home address combined with criminal record data - you can also submit through Google's Personal Information Removal Tool for expedited handling.

After Expungement - Does Spokeo Update?

Not automatically. Spokeo does not update on its own when a court grants expungement or sealing, so a documented request is what gets your profile updated. Court records data is ingested from bulk sources, and Spokeo has no automated mechanism to check whether any given record has since been expunged or sealed.

Spokeo can re-add a profile from the same data source that originally published the record - if that data source (the county court database or a third-party data provider) has not itself been updated to reflect the expungement - so the source database matters too, and the steps below cover it.

The complete approach after expungement:

• Verify the underlying court system has updated its records to reflect expungement
• Request the source court database update its publicly accessible records (some jurisdictions allow this)
• Opt out of Spokeo and all other people-search platforms
• Monitor periodically and re-opt-out if listings reappear

Other People-Search Sites to Address

Removing yourself from Spokeo is an important step, but Spokeo is one of dozens of people-search and background check platforms that may display your court records and personal information. Each requires a separate opt-out.

The major platforms to address after Spokeo include:

Each of these platforms has its own opt-out process. Some require email confirmation; others require submitting a form with ID verification. The process is essentially the same as Spokeo's but must be completed separately on each site.