How to Find Maryland Court Records (2026)

Maryland court records at a glance
Statewide case search	Maryland Judiciary Case Search & Record Portal
Criminal history check	CJIS Central Repository Criminal History Records Check
Appellate opinions	Maryland Appellate Court Opinions
Federal cases	PACER (1 district)
Plain copy fee	$0.50 per page (circuit court clerks)
Certified copy fee	$5.00 per document plus $0.50 per page; exemplified (triple-seal) copy $10.00
Who keeps trial records	Clerk of the Supreme Court of Maryland; Clerk of the Appellate Court of Maryland

Maryland runs a single, unified trial-court system, so unlike most states there is one statewide place to start: Maryland Judiciary Case Search, which covers the District Court of Maryland and the Circuit Courts for all 23 counties and Baltimore City. But Case Search only shows what is in the index — the underlying paper and electronic case file still belongs to the clerk of the court that heard the case, and that is who you contact for certified copies or documents that are not in the online index.

Two clerks matter in most counties. The Clerk of the Circuit Court is an elected constitutional officer who keeps felony criminal, civil, family, and (with a few exceptions) probate-related filings for the circuit court, Maryland's trial court of general jurisdiction. The Register of Wills is a separate elected office in every county and Baltimore City that keeps estate and probate records and serves as clerk to the Orphans' Court. The District Court of Maryland is a third, entirely separate system — it is organized statewide into twelve numbered districts rather than by elected county clerks, and its own employees run the clerk's offices at each district courthouse.

The most common mistake is assuming Case Search has everything. It does not include sealed or shielded cases, juvenile matters, or, for older filings, documents that were never scanned. It also does not replace a criminal-history background check: Case Search shows court case records, while the state's CJIS Central Repository background check is a separate, fingerprint-based process for an individual's own criminal history.

How Maryland 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 Maryland	Discretionary review by writ of certiorari Attorney discipline Rules of procedure	Clerk of the Supreme Court of Maryland Known as the Court of Appeals of Maryland until it was renamed effective December 14, 2022.
Appellate Court of Maryland	Civil and criminal appeals as of right from the circuit courts Appeals from certain administrative agencies	Clerk of the Appellate Court of Maryland Known as the Court of Special Appeals until it was renamed effective December 14, 2022.
Circuit Courts (one per county and Baltimore City, 8 judicial circuits)	Felony criminal cases Divorce, custody, and other family cases Civil cases above the District Court's monetary limit Guardianship and most probate-related matters Appeals from the District Court and some administrative agencies	Clerk of the Circuit Court for the county or Baltimore City Maryland's trial court of general jurisdiction; each is a separate elected clerk's office.
District Court of Maryland (statewide, 12 numbered districts)	Landlord-tenant and eviction cases Civil claims up to $30,000 Misdemeanors and certain felonies Traffic and motor-vehicle violations Replevin actions	District Court Clerk's Office for that district location (Judiciary employees, not an elected county clerk) Concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts for civil claims between $5,000 and $30,000 and for some criminal penalties. No jury trials.
Orphans' Court	Probate of wills Estate administration disputes Guardianship of property in some cases	Register of Wills, who serves as Clerk to the Orphans' Court In Harford, Howard, and Montgomery counties, sitting circuit court judges serve as the Orphans' Court instead of separately elected Orphans' Court judges. Orphans' Court judges in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Prince George's County must be members of the Maryland bar.

Search Maryland court records online

Statewide case search

Maryland Judiciary Case Search & Record Portal

Official Free search

Cost: Free to search
Coverage: Case records from the District Court of Maryland, the Circuit Courts, the Appellate Court of Maryland, and the Supreme Court of Maryland
Records: Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate, Traffic

The legacy address casesearch.courts.state.md.us hosts the same portal but blocked our automated verification request; use the mdcourts.gov/casesearch link, which is the one the Judiciary promotes. Sealed, shielded, and juvenile cases are excluded. The Judiciary completed its statewide move to the MDEC electronic case-management system on May 6, 2024.

Criminal history (convictions)

CJIS Central Repository Criminal History Records Check

Official Paid Account required

Cost: $18.00 by mail; $38.00 in person (includes a $20 CJIS service fee)
Coverage: Fingerprint-based Maryland criminal history record of the requesting individual, maintained by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services
Records: Criminal

Not a public name search. Requires fingerprints submitted in person in Maryland or by a mailed fingerprint card from out of state; results in 10–15 days.

Appellate courts

Maryland Appellate Court Opinions

Official Free search

Cost: Free
Coverage: Reported and unreported opinions of the Supreme Court of Maryland and the Appellate Court of Maryland, searchable by court, year, docket number, citation, judge, or party
Records: Appeals

Pending appellate case dockets are searched through the Maryland Judiciary Case Search & Record Portal, not this opinions archive.

Federal court records in Maryland

Federal cases (bankruptcy, federal crimes, lawsuits under federal law) are not in state portals. They live in PACER, organized by district. Maryland has 1 federal judicial district.

District	Main courthouse	Court website
District of Maryland	Baltimore (also Greenbelt)	www.mdd.uscourts.gov

Read our PACER guide for registration, the per-page fee, and the quarterly fee waiver.

Maryland 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 Maryland; each guide covers the clerk of the circuit court and other court offices, their addresses, and what is searchable online.

Request records in person or by mail

In person. Go to the clerk that holds the file: the Clerk of the Circuit Court for felony, civil, family, and most probate-related filings, the Register of Wills for estate and Orphans' Court records, or the District Court clerk's office for that district location for misdemeanors, traffic, and smaller civil claims. Public terminals for Case Search are typically available at courthouses at no charge; copies are paid at the counter.

By mail. Write to the appropriate clerk with the case number if you have it, or the party names and approximate filing year; state exactly which document you need and whether you need a plain or certified copy; and include payment or ask for a fee quote first. Confirm the current fee before mailing payment, since circuit court fee schedules are set by statute and revised periodically.

Online. Maryland Judiciary Case Search shows case information and, for many circuit court cases filed through the statewide MDEC system, document access may be available with registration. Land records are a separate statewide system at mdlandrec.net. Case Search does not replace a request to the clerk for a certified copy.

Records older than the online index. Coverage varies by county and case type; older paper files may require a written request to the clerk and, in some counties, a search fee to retrieve records from off-site storage.

Fees

Item	Typical cost
Plain copy	$0.50 per page (circuit court clerks)
Certified copy	$5.00 per document plus $0.50 per page; exemplified (triple-seal) copy $10.00

From the Judiciary's Summary of Charges, Costs, and Fees of the Clerks of the Circuit Court effective October 1, 2025 (Schedule II I 1 and I 3; Courts Article §§ 2-201(b) and 7-202). No fee for mailing copies. Certain copies are free to former and active armed forces members and beneficiaries. This schedule applies to circuit court clerks only; District Court and Register of Wills copy fees are set separately, so confirm with those offices.

Need a copy an agency will accept? See how to get certified copies of court records.

Sealed, expunged, and restricted records

Maryland court records are open to the public by default under the Maryland Rules on access to court records (Rules 16-901 through 16-912, "Access to Court Records," Title 16, Chapter 900), but several categories are removed from public view:

Expunged records. Under Md. Code, Criminal Procedure § 10-105 and related sections, a court can order a case expunged, which removes it from public court and law-enforcement records. Certain dismissed, acquitted, or otherwise favorably resolved cases are automatically expunged after three years without a request, a rule that took effect October 1, 2021.
Shielding. A separate, narrower remedy that removes some guilty-disposition cases from public Case Search results without destroying the underlying record, unlike expungement.
Juvenile records. Juvenile court proceedings are confidential, with narrow statutory exceptions.
Sealed by court order. A judge can seal an individual case record for good cause shown, removing it from Case Search.

The Maryland Judiciary's own Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure directs the public to Westlaw for the current consolidated text of the Maryland Rules; mdcourts.gov does not host a single current full-text version of the access rules itself.

To remove your own record from public view, read how to expunge or seal a criminal record.

Frequently asked questions

Is there one statewide court records search for Maryland?

Yes. Maryland Judiciary Case Search covers the District Court of Maryland and the Circuit Courts in every county and Baltimore City, plus the Appellate Court of Maryland and the Supreme Court of Maryland. It does not include sealed, shielded, or juvenile cases.

What is the difference between the Clerk of the Circuit Court and the Register of Wills?

The Clerk of the Circuit Court is an elected officer who keeps felony, civil, and family case records for the circuit court. The Register of Wills is a separate elected office that keeps estate and probate records and serves as clerk to the Orphans' Court.

How do I run a criminal background check in Maryland?

The state's official option is a fingerprint-based criminal history check through the CJIS Central Repository, which costs $18 by mail or $38 in person and takes 10 to 15 days. It checks an individual's own record, not a free public name search.

Why doesn't a case show up in Maryland Case Search?

The case may have been expunged, shielded, or sealed, it may be a confidential juvenile matter, or an older paper file may never have been entered into the electronic index. Contact the clerk of the court that would have heard the case to check further.

Is Baltimore City part of a county in Maryland?

No. Baltimore City has been an independent jurisdiction, separate from Baltimore County, since 1851. It has its own Circuit Court, Clerk of the Circuit Court, District Court location, and Register of Wills, the same as a county.

How do I get a certified copy of a Maryland court record?

Request it from the clerk of the court that heard the case, in person or by mail, stating the case number and the document you need. Case Search and most online portals provide information and, in some cases, plain document access, but certified copies come from the clerk directly.

Sources

Maryland Courts — Courts Directory — https://www.mdcourts.gov/courtsdirectory/appellate
Maryland Courts — District Court of Maryland — https://www.mdcourts.gov/district
Maryland Courts — Orphans' Court — https://www.mdcourts.gov/orphanscourt
Maryland Judiciary Case Search & Record Portal — https://www.mdcourts.gov/casesearch
Maryland Courts — Court Records — https://www.mdcourts.gov/courts/courtrecords
DPSCS — Criminal History Background Checks — https://dpscs.maryland.gov/publicservs/bgchecks.shtml
Maryland Register of Wills — Directory of Offices — https://registers.maryland.gov/main/directory.html
Maryland Courts — Circuit Court Fee Schedule — https://www.mdcourts.gov/circuit/feeschedule
Summary of Charges, Costs, and Fees of the Clerks of the Circuit Court (effective October 1, 2025) [PDF] — https://www.mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/import/circuit/feesummaryschedule.pdf
Maryland Courts — Expungement (Adult) — https://www.mdcourts.gov/legalhelp/expungement
Md. Code, Criminal Procedure § 10-105 — https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcp&section=10-105&enactments=false