| Superior Court | Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles — Find Case Information |
|---|---|
| Clerk address | Check the county website |
| Phone | Listed on the clerk website |
| Hours | Confirm current hours with the clerk before visiting |
| Earliest records noted | Varies by court — older files may be on paper or microfilm |
| Plain copy fee | $0.50 per page (Government Code § 70627) |
| Certified copy fee | $0.50 per page plus a $40 certification fee (Government Code §§ 70626–70627) |
Los Angeles County has the largest trial court in the United States. The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles is a single unified court, so there is one clerk system for every case type — there is no separate county clerk. What makes Los Angeles different from most counties is size: dozens of courthouses across the county are organized by case type and region, so which building (and which online index) you need depends on whether the case is civil, criminal, family, probate, or traffic.
The court's online services split by case type: a civil index covering civil, probate, and family law cases, and a separate criminal and traffic index. Both charge a public-access fee to view case information beyond the free basic search, reimbursing the court for the cost of running the system. Because the court's website is a single statewide-style portal (not organized by individual courthouse clerk), most people never need to know which of the more than 30 courthouses actually holds the file unless they need to appear in person or request a paper copy.
The most common mistake is searching the wrong index — civil, probate, and family records are on a different search tool than criminal and traffic records — or assuming a courthouse near where someone lives is the one that has their case, when Los Angeles Superior Court assigns cases to specific courthouses based on case type and sometimes ZIP code rather than proximity.
Search Los Angeles County court records online
Superior Court
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles — Find Case Information
- Cost
- Free basic index search; a public-access fee applies for expanded case information and documents
- Coverage
- Civil, probate, and family law cases through the civil case-index portal, and criminal/traffic cases through a separate criminal index; coverage and document availability vary by case type
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate, Traffic
The civil and criminal case indexes are separate online tools linked from this hub page. There is one Clerk of the Superior Court for the whole county; there is no separate county clerk.
What is available online
Civil, probate, and family cases are indexed on one portal; criminal and traffic cases are indexed on a separate one. Coverage depends on case type and how recently the case was filed — older or paper-only files may not appear online at all. The court's own site notes that a public-access fee applies once you go beyond the free basic case lookup, and that fee schedule can change, so confirm current pricing on the court's website before relying on it. We could not confirm a single main courthouse address, phone number, or public hours from a server-rendered page during this review — the court's site is a JavaScript application that did not return address text to our automated check — so contact the specific courthouse handling your case type using the directory on the court's website.
Which clerk has your record
In California, the clerk who keeps a file depends on which court heard the case. Check the court name on the case notice, citation, or order, then use the office and coverage details above to identify the record holder. Court names and responsibilities differ by state; a county clerk may not keep court case files. For federal cases, see the PACER guide. The full court structure is on the California page.
| Court | Typical cases | Records kept by |
|---|---|---|
| Superior Courts (58, one per county) | Felony and misdemeanor criminal cases; Civil lawsuits of any amount, including small claims; Family law, including divorce and custody | Clerk of the Superior Court of the county |
| Appellate Division of the Superior Court | Appeals from misdemeanor, infraction, and limited-jurisdiction civil cases decided in that county's Superior Court | Clerk of the Superior Court of the county |
Request records in person or by mail
Online. Use the civil case-index portal for civil, probate, and family law cases, or the criminal index for criminal and traffic cases. A per-search or per-page fee applies for anything beyond the initial free lookup.
In person or by mail. Because Los Angeles Superior Court operates dozens of courthouses organized by case type and region, identify the correct courthouse for your case type before going in person or mailing a request — the court's website's case-access hub links to a courthouse directory. Bring or include the case number, the documents needed, and whether a certified copy is required; call the specific courthouse to confirm the current fee before sending payment by mail.
Certified copies. These must be requested from the clerk at the courthouse that holds the file; they are not available for download through the online portals.
Fees
| Item | Typical cost in California |
|---|---|
| Plain copy | $0.50 per page (Government Code § 70627) |
| Certified copy | $0.50 per page plus a $40 certification fee (Government Code §§ 70626–70627) |
These are the statewide fees set in the Superior Court fee statutes (Government Code, Title 8, Chapter 5.8). Individual courts may also charge separately for a records search that takes more than ten minutes ($15, Government Code § 70627) or for name searches and document downloads on their online portals, which vary by county. Confirm the total with the specific clerk before sending payment.
Need a copy an agency will accept? See how to get certified copies of court records.
Sealed and restricted records
California court records are presumed open under the common-law right of access and the First Amendment, as applied by the California Supreme Court in NBC Subsidiary (KNBC-TV), Inc. v. Superior Court (1999). California Rules of Court, rules 2.550–2.551, set the standard and procedure a party must meet to have a court seal a record: the court must find an overriding interest that outweighs the public's right of access, a substantial probability that interest will be harmed without sealing, that sealing is narrowly tailored, and that no less restrictive alternative exists. A record is not sealed merely because the parties agree to it.
The California guide lists every category of sealed and restricted record, and our guide to expunging or sealing a criminal record explains how to remove one from public view.
Frequently asked questions
Is there one clerk for all of Los Angeles County's courts?
Yes. Los Angeles has a single unified Superior Court and one Clerk of the Superior Court; there is no separate county clerk. The complexity in Los Angeles comes from the number of courthouses, not from multiple clerk offices.
Why can't I find a case in Los Angeles Superior Court's search?
Civil, probate, and family cases are on a different online index than criminal and traffic cases. Make sure you are searching the right one for the case type, and note that a public-access fee may apply to see full case details.
Which Los Angeles courthouse has my case?
It depends on case type and sometimes location, not simply which courthouse is closest to you. Use the case-access page on the court's website, which links to a courthouse directory, or search online by case number to see the assigned courthouse on the case summary.
How do I get a certified copy of a Los Angeles Superior Court record?
Certified copies must be requested from the clerk at the specific courthouse that holds the file, in person or by mail; they are not available through the online case-index portals.
Are there fees to search Los Angeles Superior Court cases online?
A basic case lookup is free, but the court charges a public-access fee for expanded case information and document access to cover the cost of running the online system. Confirm current pricing on the court's website.
Sources
- Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles — https://www.lacourt.ca.gov/
- Find Case Information (Los Angeles Superior Court) — https://www.lacourt.ca.gov/pages/lp/access-a-case/tp/find-case-information
- Los Angeles County official website — https://lacounty.gov/
- Judicial Branch of California — About California Courts — https://courts.ca.gov/about
- California Courts Appellate Court Case Information — https://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/
- California Department of Justice — Record Review (Criminal History) — https://oag.ca.gov/fingerprints/record-review
- California Rules of Court, Rule 2.550 — Sealed Records — https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/two/rule2_550
- California Rules of Court, Rule 2.551 — Procedures for Filing Records Under Seal — https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/two/rule2_551
- Penal Code § 851.91 — Petition to Seal an Arrest Record — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=851.91
- Penal Code § 1203.4 — Withdrawal of Plea and Dismissal (Expungement) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=1203.4
- Government Code § 70626 — Certification Fee — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=70626
- Government Code § 70627 — Copy and Records-Search Fees — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=70627
- PACER — Federal court records — https://pacer.uscourts.gov/
See also: all California counties.