State-by-state guide
Find any U.S. court record, starting with the official source.
Every guide tells you which court holds the file, links the clerk's own search portal, and explains fees and how to request a copy in person or by mail. No records are stored here, and nothing is behind a paywall.
Pick your state
Court records are kept by the state and county where the case was filed. Choose a state to see its statewide portals and the largest counties.
Records by type
Criminal, civil, family, probate, traffic, and bankruptcy files live in different courts. These guides explain where each one is kept and what is public.
- How to Find Bankruptcy Court Records How to look up a bankruptcy case in PACER, what is in the file, how long it stays public, and how to get a discharge order. Updated
- How to Find Civil Court Records How to look up lawsuits, judgments, small claims, and evictions, which court keeps each kind of civil case, and what is free online. Updated
- How to Find Criminal Court Records Where criminal case records are kept, the difference between a court record and a criminal history, and how to search felonies and misdemeanors. Updated
- How to Find Family Court Records Where divorce, custody, child support, adoption, and protective-order records are kept, what is public, and how to get a certified divorce decree. Updated
- How to Find Probate Court Records How to find a will, estate, guardianship, or conservatorship case, which clerk keeps probate files, and how to get letters testamentary. Updated
- How to Find Traffic Court Records Where traffic tickets and driving offenses are filed, why they are split across municipal, justice, and county courts, and how to look up a citation. Updated
How-to guides
- How to Check for a Warrant
Safe ways to find out whether you or someone else has an outstanding arrest or bench warrant, which agencies to check, and what to do if there is one.
- How to Expunge or Seal a Criminal Record
Expungement vs. sealing, who typically qualifies, how the petition process works in most states, and how to confirm the record is really gone.
- How to Get Certified Copies of Court Records
What a certified copy is, when you need one, how to request it from any clerk in person or by mail, and how to get an apostille for use abroad.
- How to Use PACER to Find Federal Court Records
Step-by-step guide to registering for PACER, searching all federal courts at once, understanding the per-page fee, and getting the quarterly fee waiver.
Official sources only
Every search link goes to a court, clerk, or state agency website. Commercial data brokers are clearly labeled when they appear at all.
Dated and re-checked
Each page shows when it was last updated and when its links were last verified. Anything we could not confirm is flagged, not guessed.
A guide, not a database
We never host, scrape, or index case records or personal information. Read our editorial policy.