How To Check Your Court Records

A court self-check is a jurisdiction inventory

Federal and state courts are separate systems. U.S. Courts directs federal case searches to PACER, while DOJ’s Office of Information Policy explains that federal FOIA does not cover state or local government records; consult the responsible state or local court for its records.

For a personal review, list the states and counties connected to the event you are checking. That is more transparent than treating a nationwide web search as proof that no court record exists.

For a federal case, register for a PACER account. If you know the filing court, choose “Search by Specific Court”; if not, use the nationwide PACER Case Locator, then open the identified court’s case. Court-specific information updates immediately; the Locator updates daily. Use the case number when known, then select the docket and the particular filing you need. Contact the filing court if the case or document cannot be found.

PACER electronic access costs $0.10 per page. The usual $3 document cap does not cover search results, non-case-specific reports or transcripts; even a no-match search can cost money. Quarterly charges of $30 or less are waived. Save the documents you retrieve. If the recipient requires certification, ask the filing clerk for its certified-copy procedure and separate fees rather than assuming a downloaded filing meets that requirement.

For state or local cases, use USAGov’s courts directory to reach the state or territory judiciary, then its county/municipal court directory and official case-search or clerk page. Give the clerk the court, case number and specific order or document needed, and ask about ordinary versus certified copies, access limits, delivery and the applicable fee. PACER does not search this separate court system.

Search every court system that is materially connected to the question

A good self-check starts with a finite jurisdiction list. If you have lived, worked or litigated in several states, that does not mean every courthouse in the country needs to be searched; it means the review should be explicit about which courts were materially connected to the event or period you are checking. Federal cases remain a separate channel from state and local cases.

When a case is located, move from name searching to case-specific identifiers. A docket number, court, filing date and party role make later verification more reliable than repeatedly running a broad name search. They also make it easier to explain why one same-name result was included and another was not.