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How to Find Minnesota Court Records (2026)

Where Minnesota court records are kept, which official portals to use, what they cost, and how to request copies.

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Minnesota court records at a glance
Statewide case search Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO)
Criminal history check Minnesota BCA Public Criminal History Search (CHS)
Appellate opinions Minnesota Appellate Courts Case Management System (P-MACS) Public Search
Federal cases PACER (1 district)
Plain copy fee No fee for an uncertified (plain) copy of a court document (Minn. Stat. § 357.021, subd. 2(2))
Certified copy fee $14.00 per document, certified or exemplified (Minn. Stat. § 357.021, subd. 2(2) and 2(14))
Who keeps trial records Clerk of the Appellate Courts; District Court Administrator of the county

Minnesota runs its trial courts as a single, unified District Court: one court handles felonies, civil suits, divorces and custody, probate, juvenile cases, and small claims, all filed with the same District Court Administrator in the county where the case was heard. There are 87 counties in ten judicial districts, and each county's court administration office keeps that county's paper and electronic case files, sets its own walk-in hours, and answers requests for copies.

The statewide tool most people reach for first is Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO), a free public search of district-court case information and many filed documents. MCRO covers most civil, criminal, family, and probate cases, but it does not include everything: domestic-abuse and harassment petitions, child-in-need-of-protection (CHIPS) cases, and the more serious juvenile-delinquency matters are excluded by rule, and documents filed before July 1, 2015 are only partly available online. For a name-based check of someone's criminal convictions, the BCA Public Criminal History search run by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension covers convictions statewide, separately from MCRO.

The most common mistake is assuming an empty MCRO result means no case exists. It may simply mean the case type is excluded from MCRO, the documents predate 2015, or the record was sealed or expunged. When MCRO comes up empty, call or visit the district court administrator in the county where the case would have been filed before concluding there is no record.

How Minnesota 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
Minnesota Supreme Court
  • Discretionary review of Court of Appeals decisions
  • Mandatory review of first-degree murder convictions
  • Attorney and judicial discipline
  • Election contests
 Clerk of the Appellate Courts

The state's court of last resort; has seven justices.
Minnesota Court of Appeals
  • Appeals from District Court civil and criminal judgments
  • Appeals from most state agency decisions
  • Appeals from the Minnesota Tax Court and Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals in limited circumstances
 Clerk of the Appellate Courts

Intermediate appellate court; 19 judges sitting in rotating three-judge panels.
District Court (10 judicial districts)
  • Felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor criminal cases
  • Divorce, custody, and other family cases
  • Civil suits of any amount, including business and property disputes
  • Probate, guardianship, and conservatorship
  • Juvenile delinquency and child protection
 District Court Administrator of the county

Minnesota does not split trial jurisdiction by case size or type into separate county courts; one district court and one administrator's office keeps every case type for the county.
Conciliation Court (small claims division of District Court)
  • Small claims up to the statutory limit
  • Individual and business disputes without an attorney
 District Court Administrator of the county

Not a separate court; conciliation cases are filed and indexed with the same district court administrator.

Statewide case search

Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO)

Official Free search
Cost
Free to search and to download available documents
Coverage
Case information for Minnesota district court cases statewide, with documents available for most major civil and criminal cases, probate/guardianship/trust cases filed on or after July 1, 2015, and orders and opinions in family cases; documents filed before July 1, 2015 are only partly available
Records
Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate, Traffic

Domestic abuse (OFP), harassment restraining order (HRO), child-in-need-of-protection (CHIPS), and the most serious juvenile delinquency (D16) cases are not searchable in MCRO. An empty result does not always mean no case exists; contact the county's district court administrator.

Criminal history (convictions)

Minnesota BCA Public Criminal History Search (CHS)

Official Free search
Cost
Free
Coverage
Convictions and related sentencing information reported to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, public for 15 years after completion of the sentence
Records
Criminal

Requires the subject's first name, last name, and date of birth. Does not include arrest history, juvenile records, out-of-state or federal records, or convictions older than 15 years post-sentence.

Appellate courts

Minnesota Appellate Courts Case Management System (P-MACS) Public Search

Official Free search
Cost
Free
Coverage
Docket status, orders, judgments, and opinions for cases filed with the Minnesota Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
Records
Appeals

Run by the Office of the Clerk of the Appellate Courts. Search by case number, party name, or partial case number using the "%" wildcard.

Federal court records in Minnesota

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

DistrictMain courthouseCourt website
District of Minnesota Minneapolis / Saint Paul www.mnd.uscourts.gov

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

Minnesota 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 Minnesota; each guide covers the district court administration and other court offices, their addresses, and what is searchable online.

Request records in person or by mail

In person. Go to the district court administrator's office in the county where the case was filed. Public terminals for searching MCRO or the county's own case index are usually available at the courthouse at no charge. Plain (uncertified) copies cost nothing; certified copies are paid at the counter.

By mail. Write to the district court administrator with:

  • the case number, or the full names of the parties and the approximate year filed;
  • which document you need (for example "the divorce decree" or "the order for expungement");
  • whether you need a plain, certified, or exemplified copy; and
  • a check or money order for the fee, made payable to "District Court Administrator."

Most administrators will confirm the fee before you send payment. Turnaround by mail typically runs one to a few weeks depending on the county and whether the file must be pulled from storage.

Online. Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) is free and lets you search case information and download many documents yourself, with no registration required. Coverage gaps exist for confidential case types and for documents filed before July 1, 2015 — those require a request to the county.

Older records. Files that predate the online index are on paper or microfilm at the courthouse or in county records storage; the district court administrator can tell you whether a search fee applies before ordering a copy.

Fees

ItemTypical cost
Plain copyNo fee for an uncertified (plain) copy of a court document (Minn. Stat. § 357.021, subd. 2(2))
Certified copy$14.00 per document, certified or exemplified (Minn. Stat. § 357.021, subd. 2(2) and 2(14))

Base fees are set by Minn. Stat. § 357.021 and published in the Minnesota Court Fees catalog; individual counties may add a law library fee on top of the state base fee, so the total at a specific courthouse can be slightly higher. Confirm the county total before mailing payment.

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

Sealed, expunged, and restricted records

Minnesota court records are open to the public under the Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch, but several categories are not available in any public search:

  • Expunged (sealed) records. Under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 609A, a court can order a criminal record sealed so it is not visible to the public, though it may still be seen by courts, prosecutors, and certain licensing agencies depending on the order. The 2025 Clean Slate Act (Minn. Stat. §609A.015) automatically seals many eligible records in the BCA's Criminal History System without a petition; other records still require the person to petition the district court.
  • Domestic abuse and harassment cases. Orders for Protection (OFP) and Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) petitions are excluded from MCRO even though the underlying case may otherwise be public.
  • Juvenile records. Juvenile delinquency and CHIPS (child-in-need-of-protection-or-services) case information is confidential by rule, with narrow statutory exceptions, and is not searchable in MCRO.
  • Adoption records. Adoption case files are sealed under the Minnesota Rules of Adoption Procedure.
  • Civil commitment and some mental-health records. Access is restricted by statute to protect the subject's privacy.

Requests to unseal or obtain a copy of a confidential record generally require a motion in the case, not a public records request — Minnesota's Data Practices Act (Chapter 13) governs government data broadly, but judicial branch records are handled instead under the Rules of Public Access adopted by the Supreme Court.

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

Frequently asked questions

Are Minnesota court records public?

Yes. Minnesota district court records are presumed open under the Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch. The main exceptions are expunged (sealed) records, domestic-abuse and harassment petitions, juvenile and CHIPS cases, adoptions, and certain civil-commitment records.

Is there a free statewide search for Minnesota court records?

Yes. Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) is free to search and free to download most available documents, with no registration required. It excludes a handful of confidential case types and has limited document coverage before July 1, 2015.

How do I check someone's criminal history in Minnesota?

Use the BCA's free Public Criminal History (CHS) search, which covers convictions reported statewide for 15 years after the sentence is completed. It requires the subject's name and date of birth and does not show arrests, juvenile records, or out-of-state history.

Which office keeps my Minnesota divorce or custody file?

The district court administrator in the county where the case was filed. Minnesota does not use a separate family court; family cases are one division of the same district court that handles criminal, civil, and probate matters.

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

Request it from the district court administrator in the county where the case was heard, in person or by mail. Certified copies generally cost $14 per document under state fee statute; plain copies have no fee.

Can an expunged Minnesota criminal record still be found anywhere?

An expunged (sealed) record is removed from public searches like MCRO and the BCA's public criminal history site, but it is not destroyed. It can still be viewed by courts, law enforcement, and certain licensing or background-check agencies allowed by the sealing order or statute.

Sources

  1. Minnesota Judicial Branch — About the Courts — https://mncourts.gov/about-the-courts
  2. Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) — Overview — https://mncourts.gov/access-case-records/mcro
  3. Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) — Case Search — https://publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us/CaseSearch
  4. Minnesota BCA Public Criminal History Search — https://chs.state.mn.us/
  5. Minnesota Appellate Courts Case Management System (P-MACS) Public Search — https://macsnc.courts.state.mn.us/ctrack/publicLogin.do
  6. Clerk of the Appellate Courts — https://mncourts.gov/clerk-of-appellate-courts
  7. Minnesota Courts — District Court Fees — https://mncourts.gov/Help-Topics/Court-Fees/District-Court-Fees.aspx
  8. Minnesota Courts — Copy Requests — https://mncourts.gov/help-topics/copy-request
  9. Minn. Stat. Chapter 609A — Expungement — https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609A/full
  10. Minn. Stat. § 357.021 — Court Administrator Fees — https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/357.021
  11. United States District Court, District of Minnesota — https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/

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