Can Google delete a mugshot from the website that posted it?

No. Google’s requests change its own search results. Google notes that the content may still exist on the web and be found through a shared link, social media, or another search engine. Only the site can take the listing down there.

The site wants money to take my photo down. What does Google offer?

A request for sites with exploitative removal practices. Google considers it when you are a subject of the content, the site is not a business review site, and the site requires payment to it or to other agencies to remove the content.

How long does a refresh request take?

Google’s status list says a pending request is being processed and that processing can take a few days. An approved request should then be live in Google’s results.

Does Bing have a request like this?

Bing says that sites with exploitative removal practices are among the results it may remove after a report is submitted and reviewed.

Will either request change the court record?

No. Both are about Google’s results. Court and government records are separate from commercial mugshot sites.

Guide · Mugshots in Google

A mugshot in Google results: the two Google requests that can apply

Google does not control the site that publishes a mugshot; that site does. What Google offers are two requests that change what shows in its own results: one for sites that charge to remove content about you, and one for results that are out of date because the page has already changed.

Last reviewed September 30, 2026 · Official sources checked September 30, 2026

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Before you start

What to have ready. Keep private images and files with you: none of these requests asks you to send them to us.

The web address of each listing. Every copy on another site is its own address and its own request.
Screenshots of the listing and of where the site asks for payment to remove it. Google asks for screenshots to help it find the content.
Whether you are the person in the listing, or someone representing them. Google’s request is for a subject of the content.
Whether the listing is still on the site. If it is gone and only Google’s result is old, the refresh tool is the request that fits.

Five steps: collect each listing’s address and screenshots; if the site charges to remove it, use Google’s request for exploitative removal sites; if the listing is already gone, use the Refresh Outdated Content tool; follow the status; Google decides about its results while the site itself is untouched.

When the site charges to take it down

Google’s help page says it will consider a request when all three of these are true:

You are a subject of the content at the web address you report.
The website is not a business review site.
The website requires payment, to the site or to other agencies, to have the content removed.

Google adds that this request covers content about people only.

Open Google’s request page for exploitative removal sites. You, or someone representing you, can submit it.Google Search Help: Remove content about you on exploitative sites that try to charge for removal (opens in a new tab)
Give the web address of each listing and the details that show how the site is exploitative, such as its demand for payment. Add screenshots: Google says they help it find the content.
If Google approves the request, the reported address no longer appears in Google’s search results.

Google notes that the content may still exist on the web, and that people may still find it through a shared link, a social media post, or a different search engine.

When the listing is gone but Google still shows it

If the site has already taken the listing down but Google still shows the old title, description, or photo, Google’s help page says the page description or cache may be out of date. Its Refresh Outdated Content tool asks Google to update results for pages or images that no longer exist, or pages that have deleted important content. Google says the tool is for people who do not own the site.

Open the Refresh Outdated Content tool and select Request refresh.Google's Refresh Outdated Content tool (opens in a new tab)
On the Page tab, enter the web address of the page, then select Submit.
If the page still exists but the listing is gone from it, Google asks for one or two words that were in the search result’s snippet and are no longer on the live page.
For a photo, Google’s page describes a separate path: on Google Images, right-click the thumbnail, select Copy link address, then start a new request on the Image tab and paste it.

What the refresh statuses mean

Pending: Google is processing the request. Google says processing can take a few days.
Approved: the update was approved and should be live in Google’s results.
Denied: Google did not make the change. Its help page links to the reasons.
Expired: Google says a request expires 180 days after it was approved, or when the address no longer exists.
Cancelled: the request was cancelled by the person who made it or by a verified site owner.

On Bing

Bing lists sites with exploitative removal practices among the results it may remove: its page says that upon a report submitted and reviewed, Bing may remove such results from its index. Our Bing guide covers where to report.

What neither request does

Neither request takes the listing off the mugshot site. Only the site can do that.
Each copy on another site is a separate web address and needs its own request.
Court and government records are separate from commercial mugshot sites. These requests are about Google’s results, not about the public record.

Questions

Can Google delete a mugshot from the website that posted it?: No. Google’s requests change its own search results. Google notes that the content may still exist on the web and be found through a shared link, social media, or another search engine. Only the site can take the listing down there.
The site wants money to take my photo down. What does Google offer?: A request for sites with exploitative removal practices. Google considers it when you are a subject of the content, the site is not a business review site, and the site requires payment to it or to other agencies to remove the content.
The site took the listing down, but Google still shows it. What now?: Use Google’s Refresh Outdated Content tool. It is for pages or images that no longer exist, or pages that have deleted important content, and Google says it is meant for people who do not own the site.
How long does a refresh request take?: Google’s status list says a pending request is being processed and that processing can take a few days. An approved request should then be live in Google’s results.
Does Bing have a request like this?: Bing says that sites with exploitative removal practices are among the results it may remove after a report is submitted and reviewed.
Will either request change the court record?: No. Both are about Google’s results. Court and government records are separate from commercial mugshot sites.

When doing it yourself is not enough

When the listing itself needs to come down at the site, that is the work our mugshot page describes, with the search result labeled separately.

Mugshot removal

We are an independent removal agency, not the platform and not a law firm. The platform, search engine, or court makes the decision.

Official sources

Every fact above comes from these pages, read on September 30, 2026. Platforms change their forms; if a step looks different, the official page is the one to follow.