This report is based upon the results from a survey conducted of the administrators of the State criminal history record repositories in May-December 2004. Fifty-three jurisdictions were surveyed, including the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Responses were received from all 53 jurisdictions. Throughout this report, the 50 States will be referred to as "States"; the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands will be referred to as "territories," consistent with prior surveys; "Nation" refers collectively to both the States and territories.

In addition, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was the source for information relating to the number of criminal history records of the States participating in the Interstate Identification Index (III) system that are maintained by the State criminal history repositories and the number of records maintained by the FBI for the States, as of March 1, 2003.