| Statewide case search | Connecticut Judicial Branch Case Look-up |
|---|---|
| Criminal history check | State Police Bureau of Identification (SPBI) Criminal History Record Check |
| Appellate opinions | Supreme and Appellate Court Case Look-up |
| Federal cases | PACER (1 district) |
| Plain copy fee | $1.00 per page for a plain (uncertified) copy made by the clerk (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-259(f)) |
| Certified copy fee | $25.00 for a certified copy of a judgment file, $15.00 for an uncertified copy of a judgment file, and $2.00 to certify other documents under seal (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-259(f)-(g)) |
| Who keeps trial records | Office of the Chief Clerk, Appellate Case Look-up; Clerk of the Superior Court for that Judicial District |
Connecticut has no county governments and no county clerks. The state's trial courts are organized into a single, statewide Superior Court, divided geographically into 13 judicial districts. Every Superior Court case, civil, criminal, family, or housing, is filed with the clerk of the judicial district (or, for lower-level cases, the geographical area (G.A.) court) that covers the town where the case arose. Separately, Connecticut has 54 Probate Courts, each an independently elected office covering one town or a small group of towns, that keep wills, estates, guardianship, and conservatorship records.
The Judicial Branch runs a single family of case-lookup tools rather than one unified statewide search. Superior Court civil, family, housing, and small-claims cases are searched through the civil/family inquiry system; criminal and motor vehicle cases have a separate look-up; and the Supreme and Appellate Courts have their own. None of these tools shows every filing: some records are excluded by rule, and document images generally are not available online at all, only case summaries and docket entries.
The most common mistake is treating "Connecticut" as if it had county clerks the way most states do. There is no "Fairfield County Clerk" or "Hartford County Clerk" to contact. Instead, identify the judicial district that covers the town where the case was filed, and if the record is a will, estate, or guardianship matter, look to the local Probate Court instead of the Superior Court.
How Connecticut courts are organized
Which court heard a case decides who keeps the file. Use this table to pick the right clerk before you search, and see the guides to criminal, civil, family, and probate records for what each court's file contains.
| Court | Handles | Who holds the records |
|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court of Connecticut |
| Office of the Chief Clerk, Appellate Case Look-up The state's court of last resort; most appeals reach it after the Appellate Court. |
| Appellate Court of Connecticut |
| Office of the Chief Clerk, Appellate Case Look-up The intermediate appellate court; most appeals from the Superior Court start here. |
| Superior Court — Judicial District (J.D.) level |
| Clerk of the Superior Court for that Judicial District Connecticut has 13 judicial districts. Each has a courthouse that hears the more serious civil, criminal, and family cases from the towns assigned to it. |
| Superior Court — Geographical Area (G.A.) level |
| Clerk of the Superior Court for that Geographical Area 20 G.A. courts handle high-volume criminal and motor-vehicle dockets within each judicial district. |
| Superior Court — Housing Session |
| Clerk of the Housing Session for that judicial district Not every judicial district has a separate Housing Session; where one does not exist, housing matters are heard at the regular G.A. or J.D. court. |
| Superior Court — Small Claims |
| Centralized Small Claims Clerk's Office Small-claims filing and case look-up are centralized statewide rather than handled town by town. |
| Probate Court |
| Probate Judge/Clerk for the local probate district 54 independently elected probate districts statewide; which one covers a given address depends on the town, not the county. |
Search Connecticut court records online
Statewide case search
Connecticut Judicial Branch Case Look-up
- Cost
- Free
- Coverage
- Hub page linking the Superior Court civil/family/housing/small-claims inquiry system, the criminal and motor-vehicle look-up, the Housing Session look-up, and the centralized small-claims look-up
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Family, Traffic
This is a set of related tools, not one search box. Pick the case type first, then search by party name or docket number. Document images are generally not available; results show docket entries and case status only.
Criminal history (convictions)
State Police Bureau of Identification (SPBI) Criminal History Record Check
- Cost
- $75 for a name/date-of-birth State Criminal History Check; $36 for a verification-only search; add $15 for fingerprinting if a fingerprint-based check is required
- Coverage
- Statewide name-based or fingerprint-based criminal conviction history maintained by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP)
- Records
- Criminal
Requests must be mailed on form DPS-0846-C to DESPP-SPBI, 1111 Country Club Road, Middletown, CT 06457-2389; the page states requests cannot be made by e-mail or fax. Records erased under the Clean Slate law (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-142a) will not appear.
Appellate courts
Supreme and Appellate Court Case Look-up
- Cost
- Free
- Coverage
- Docket information for the Connecticut Supreme Court and Appellate Court
- Records
- Appeals
Search by docket number or party name; opinions are published separately on the Judicial Branch website.
Federal court records in Connecticut
Federal cases (bankruptcy, federal crimes, lawsuits under federal law) are not in state portals. They live in PACER, organized by district. Connecticut has 1 federal judicial district.
| District | Main courthouse | Court website |
|---|---|---|
| District of Connecticut | New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport | www.ctd.uscourts.gov |
Read our PACER guide for registration, the per-page fee, and the quarterly fee waiver.
Connecticut county court records
Trial-court records are kept by the clerk in the county where the case was filed. These are the largest counties in Connecticut; each guide covers the superior court clerk and other court offices, their addresses, and what is searchable online.
- Fairfield County court records County seat: Bridgeport Online search Free
- Hartford County court records County seat: Hartford Online search Free
- New Haven County court records County seat: New Haven Online search Free
- New London County court records County seat: New London Online search Free
- Litchfield County court records County seat: Litchfield Online search Free
- Middlesex County court records County seat: Middletown Online search Free
- Tolland County court records County seat: Rockville (Vernon) Online search Free
- Windham County court records County seat: Putnam Online search Free
Request records in person or by mail
In person. Go to the clerk's office of the Superior Court judicial district (or G.A., housing, or small-claims clerk) that covers the town where the case was filed. Clerk's offices can look up a case by party name or docket number and will explain what is available on paper versus online. For probate matters, go to the specific probate district's office instead; use the Probate Court's district finder if you are not sure which one covers the town in question.
By mail. Court clerks generally accept written requests for copies. Include the docket number if you have it, the party names and approximate filing year if you do not, exactly which document you need, and a check or money order. Call the clerk's office first to confirm the current fee before sending payment, since fees vary by document and by whether a certified copy is required.
Online. The Judicial Branch's case look-up tools show docket entries, party names, and case status for free, but they generally do not provide document images. To read the actual filed documents you typically need to visit the clerk's office or request copies by mail. Attorneys of record can view documents through the e-filing system for their own cases.
Probate records. The centralized Probate Court Case Lookup Tool covers decedent's estate and trust matters filed statewide from 2011 forward for free, with no registration; older or other probate matters require contacting the local probate district directly.
Fees
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Plain copy | $1.00 per page for a plain (uncertified) copy made by the clerk (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-259(f)) |
| Certified copy | $25.00 for a certified copy of a judgment file, $15.00 for an uncertified copy of a judgment file, and $2.00 to certify other documents under seal (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-259(f)-(g)) |
These are the statutory Superior Court clerk fees in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-259. Probate Court fees are set separately by Probate Court fee schedule and were not verified for this guide; confirm with the specific probate district.
Need a copy an agency will accept? See how to get certified copies of court records.
Sealed, expunged, and restricted records
Connecticut court records are presumed open, but a substantial share of what people search for is restricted by rule or statute:
- Erasure under the Clean Slate law. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-142a and the erasure provisions added by Public Act 21-32 provide for automatic erasure of many misdemeanor and lower-level felony convictions after a waiting period, and of records where a person was found not guilty, or the charge was nolled or dismissed. Once erased, the record is treated as if the arrest never occurred and generally is not disclosed outside the court and law-enforcement agencies that must retain limited access.
- Motions to seal or limit disclosure. Under Practice Book § 11-20A (civil) and related criminal provisions, a party can move to seal a file or specific documents, but the court must find that an overriding interest outweighs the strong presumption of public access before granting it.
- Juvenile matters. Juvenile Court proceedings and records are confidential by statute, with narrow statutory exceptions.
- Family cases involving minors. Custody and certain family matters can be closed in whole or in part to protect children, and some filings (financial affidavits, medical records) are automatically non-public even in an otherwise open case.
- Adoption and certain probate matters. Adoption records and some Probate Court proceedings are confidential by statute.
Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act does not apply to the judiciary; access to court records is governed by the Practice Book and the common-law and constitutional right of public access, not by a public-records request to an agency.
To remove your own record from public view, read how to expunge or seal a criminal record.
Frequently asked questions
Does Connecticut have county clerks who keep court records?
No. Connecticut abolished county government, so there is no county clerk. Trial-court records are kept by the clerk of the Superior Court judicial district that covers the town where the case was filed, and wills, estates, and guardianship records are kept by one of 54 local Probate Courts.
Is there one statewide search for Connecticut court records?
Not exactly one search box. The Judicial Branch offers separate free look-up tools for civil/family/ housing/small-claims cases, for criminal and motor-vehicle cases, and for Supreme and Appellate Court cases, all linked from the Case Look-up hub page. None of them include document images.
How do I find out if someone has a criminal record in Connecticut?
Request a name-based Criminal History Record Check from the State Police Bureau of Identification for $75 by mailing form DPS-0846-C, or search the free Criminal/Motor Vehicle Case Look-up for pending and recent cases. Records erased under the Clean Slate law will not appear in either.
Which court has my divorce or custody case?
The Superior Court judicial district covering the town where the case was filed handles family matters, including divorce and custody. Use the civil/family Case Look-up to find the docket number, then contact that judicial district's clerk for copies.
How do I get a certified copy of a Connecticut court record?
Contact the clerk of the Superior Court judicial district (or the specific probate district for estate and guardianship matters) that has the file. A certified copy of a judgment file costs $25 by statute; other certified documents are $2 to certify under seal plus the per-page copying fee.
Where do I find a Connecticut probate record, like a will or an estate file?
Go to the Probate Court district covering the decedent's town, not the Superior Court. The statewide Probate Court Case Lookup Tool covers decedent's estates and trusts filed from 2011 forward for free; older files or other case types require contacting that probate district directly.
Sources
- Connecticut Judicial Branch — Case Look-up — https://www.jud.ct.gov/jud2.htm
- Connecticut Judicial Branch — Courts overview — https://www.jud.ct.gov/courts.htm
- Connecticut Judicial Branch — Judicial District map — https://www.jud.ct.gov/directory/maps/JD/default.htm
- State Police Bureau of Identification (DESPP) — https://portal.ct.gov/despp/division-of-emergency-service-and-public-protection/reports-and-records/state-police-bureau-of-identification
- Connecticut Probate Courts — homepage and Case Lookup Tool — https://www.ctprobate.gov/
- Connecticut General Statutes § 52-259 — Court fees — https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_901.htm#sec_52-259
- Connecticut General Statutes § 54-142a — Erasure of criminal records — https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_961a.htm#sec_54-142a
- Connecticut Practice Book (Rules of Practice and Procedure) — https://www.jud.ct.gov/Publications/PracticeBook/PB.pdf
- District of Connecticut — U.S. District Court — https://www.ctd.uscourts.gov/