Free Court Records

First Step in Accessing Free Court Records

Public search engines will yield a wealth of information when trying to access free court records. Court records are most often sorted by the state or locality in which the court is housed, and a lot of states do not have their court information available to the general public. For the states that do make their court information available, it is designed to be used on a case-by-case basis and mainly for use by the participants that are involved in the case. Many of these sites do not purport to be the official record of the court. 

Free Public Websites

With that said, some basic court information is free and accessible. Care should be taken when using these websites because only general information may be given and is not guaranteed to be current and up-to-date. Initial searches are free and will produce a general set of results. However, to access the individuals that the search has produced will usually require payment depending on the amount of information requested. Even fee-based search engines are much more convenient than physically conducting a search at the courthouse, and may provide more details regarding the party or case you’re interested in.

Generally, these sites are designed to conduct a people search; after entering in the name of the individual and the state in which that individual resides, a wealth of information is gained, including any court-related information. By clicking on those links, direct access can be gained to the court records. 

Information in Court Records

The information available from the court records may include the case number, name, date of birth, whether the party was a defendant or plaintiff, the court, case type, case status, filing date and case caption. If the case is still open and pending, access can be gained to the case itself.

Generally, the first page of the site will be a disclaimer by the court indicating that although the most information is available to the public, some state and federal laws may exist to serve various needs--including the privacy of the individuals. One such example would be that one’s Social Security number will never be available to the viewing public and is in most cases redacted from all court records.

Limitations on Information

As previously stated, care should be taken when accessing court records that are free. Some information is limited in scope or the extent to which the information is available. It may also be limited in the number of years that the information is available, how quickly that information will be posted on the website and the reliability of that information.

However, this general information is a wonderful starting point when searching for more specific information about an individual or case you may be researching. You can use these facts gained from free court records to direct you to the correct Court Clerk’s office in order to find further details about a case or certified copies of such records.