Criminal charges are formal accusations of criminal conduct made by a governmental authority against a person or entity. Criminal charges are usually filed or initiated by a city, county, state, or the federal government, acting through a public prosecutor—also known as a municipal prosecutor, county attorney, district attorney, state attorney general, or United States Attorney (for federal crimes). Criminal charges range from low-level misdemeanors such as traffic tickets to first degree felonies such as capital murder.

The charging document in which the specific crime(s) alleged to have been committed are specified may be referred to as (1) a complaint; (2) an information; (3) an indictment; (4) a citation; or (5) a traffic ticket.

In Minnesota, criminal charges are formal allegations of wrongdoing brought against individuals or entities by the government. These charges can be initiated by various levels of government, including city, county, state, or federal authorities, and are prosecuted by the appropriate public prosecutor, such as a city or municipal prosecutor, county attorney, or the United States Attorney for federal offenses. The severity of criminal charges in Minnesota ranges from minor misdemeanors, like traffic violations, to serious felonies, including first-degree murder. The specific criminal charges are detailed in a charging document, which may take the form of a complaint, information, indictment, citation, or traffic ticket, depending on the nature of the alleged crime and the stage of the criminal process. A complaint is often used for initiating charges, an information or indictment follows for formal charges in felony cases (with indictories typically used when a grand jury is involved), while citations and traffic tickets are used for lesser offenses.