Surprising Facts About the Mugshot Industry

September 22, 2025

These facts about the mugshot industry will help you protect your image and reputation online.

After an individual is arrested, chances are that their mugshot and booking information will appear on Google. 

There are no laws protecting arrestees, unfortunately. Since this information is typically considered part of the public record, websites are within their legal rights to publish the content, with the exception of a few states. As long as these websites are displaying accurate information, there is nothing you can legally do to force them to remove it.

Many are quick to call the mugshot industry a scam — and for good reason, in many cases.

A lot of small record removal firms claim that they can remove various types of online content, guaranteed. Yet, after just two or three months, you’ll likely find that you can no longer contact the representative you were dealing with.

Luckily, there are several reputable agencies that can assist you with removing your mugshot from search results. 

Make sure to read reviews for each company you’re considering hiring. In addition, ensure the work is 100% guaranteed. Ultimately, you want to go with a business you trust.

Our mugshot removal services will remove your online arrest records and mugshot images fast. Contact us today at 866-601-6803 to learn more about combating the mugshot industry.

Cost of Mugshot Removal

After finding the websites that display your arrest information, you’ll need to start contacting them one by one. 

You can do this either via email or over the phone. Most of the time, mugshot publication websites have “Contact Us” pages or “Terms of Use” sections where they disclose their contact information.

On average, mugshot websites may charge anywhere from $200 to $600 for the removal of a single post. These costs are variable and change monthly depending on the discretion of the site owner.

Overall, the average cost for a total removal of your online mugshots (assuming you’ll need to remove your photo from 5-10 websites) ranges from $1,000 to over $2,000, and it can even cost close to $6,000. Rates may fluctuate depending on the outcome of the case, the severity of the charge, where the arrest occurred, and the state’s policy on public information. 

Note that in some states, the law requires mugshot sites to comply with removal requests within a certain timeframe. It’s also possible that these states ban sites from charging for the removal of booking information. 

Is Same-Day or Next-Day Removal Possible?

Untrustworthy sites often make eyebrow-raising claims that your mugshots can be removed within an hour or overnight. However, to guarantee those results, the “professional” would need to know that the websites will comply with removal requests.

The only logical way a removal company can make this promise is if they also own the mugshot websites and have full control over the content. This is quite the scam, and it’s comparable to a firefighter starting a fire just so they can prove how useful they are at putting it out — for a fee, of course.

When it comes to success rates, here at EraseMugshots.com, we pride ourselves on having positive reviews and an A+ BBB rating. Contact us today at 866-601-6803 to speak with an expert.

Reasonable Solutions for Mugshot Removal

By now, you know that mugshot removal can come with a hefty price tag, especially if you mistakenly trust promises that sound too good to be true.

The good news is that there are alternative routes you can take. From content removal to hiding negative information online, reputable removal companies offer top-notch services to protect your digital reputation now and in the future. 

When your mugshot and booking information can’t be removed, the next best option is content suppression. By creating new, fresh content that’s positive (or even neutral), search engine professionals can “bury” negative and unwanted content.

Consider these stats:

• The top organic result on Google has an average CTR of 27.6%.
• The No. 1 organic search result on Google is 10x more likely to be clicked than the No. 10 result.
• More than 54% of all clicks go to the top 3 Google search results.
• Most users don’t go past the first search engine results page (SERP). Less than 1% were found to click on a result on the 2nd page.

What does this mean for you? It means that if your negative information falls below the top search engine results — best of all, if it ends up off the first page and on page 2 or beyond — most people will never find it.

If you’ve tried to remove a harmful post but failed, give us a call at 866-601-6803 today. Our 100% free comprehensive analysis will immediately uncover harmful content that’s impacting your online reputation. 

More About the Mug Shot Industry

As we’ve discussed, if you’ve ever been arrested, there is a high probability that your mugshots are appearing on Google. You’ve probably even seen your mug shot in Google Search, but have no idea what to do about it. 

The truth is that practically all arrest information is considered public information. Unfortunately, that means that these websites are within their legal rights to display this content without permission from the arrestees.

What’s worse is that when people see someone’s arrest information online, they assume that person committed a crime. However, a booking photo is simply a byproduct of an arrest, and it doesn’t signify a specific outcome of the situation or case. Some people are arrested and then released without ever going into a cell, especially when it comes to low-level offenses.

This is a perfect example of how unregulated the internet is. Sites can publish booking information without providing any context for the arrest, and then they can charge to have that information removed.

Again, as unethical as it may seem, these sites are not legally doing anything wrong. Protected by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), mug shot publishers can publish your arrest content all over the internet. As long as they do not contact you asking for payment, it is not typically considered extortion, blackmail or racketeering to post your information and charge for removal.

Why Are Mugshots Online?

Mugshots and booking information are considered public information, as we covered previously. Most law enforcement agencies and police departments have to publish booking information on their website and make it accessible to the public.

From there, data brokers, including mug shot websites, crawl the internet to find new information. By scraping law enforcement sites, they get your booking information and add it to their databases.

Mugshots can then be uploaded to personal websites, social media and other platforms. When mug shot publishers utilize high-authority sites, your mug shot will spread quickly online and be seen by a large number of people.

It’s also important to understand that the arrestee does not own their mug shot. The image is owned by a legal entity, like the county clerk.

Even in states that require sites to remove mugshots upon request without charging for it, it’s not illegal for them to initially post the content.

How To Find Your Mug Shot

If you would like to obtain a mug shot for a family member, friend or someone else, you can usually visit a law enforcement or court website to search for their arrest content online. (In some cases, you may need to visit the office in person and put in a formal request to access the record.) Unless the case was sealed or expunged, you will be provided with the details of the incident. 

It may be even easier to find your mug shot online, though. Start with a Google search for all variations of your name. You can also add words like “arrest”, “mug shot” or “mugshot” to the search to further narrow your results. 

After you have a list of all the places where your mug shot appears online, begin contacting the harmful websites. Provide a compelling reason for them to remove your information, such as:

• The state requires that mug shot sites remove your content upon request and without charging a fee.
• Your record has been sealed or expunged and is therefore not available publicly anymore.
• The information that the site posted is incorrect.

We work on behalf of our clients to erase mugshots, arrest records, police reports and other sensitive information from the internet. Give us a call at 866-601-6803 to learn more.

Contact Us Today

At EraseMugshots.com, we offer removal services to get rid of damaging information and help you rebuild your online reputation. Whether you have arrest records, mugshots or police reports online, we’ll work on your behalf to remove them from search.

It doesn’t matter if your charges were expunged, dismissed or dropped, or even if you were found guilty, either. Our strategies will remove or suppress negative content from showing up on mug shot websites and in Google Search.

Get a free mug shot removal analysis today and sign up for a consultation with one of our experts. Learn more here.

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