Accessing Court Case Files
Court case files are public records and subject to public inspection. California Rules of Court, rule 2.400(a) states that all papers in the court files may be inspected by the public in the office of the clerk. Rule 2.550(a) says that unless confidential or sealed by law, all court records are presumed open.
View the General Order of the Presiding Department Order No. 010122-02 in Re Procedure Regulating Photography, Recording and Broadcasting in Courthouse.
Please be aware that the majority of online services provide case number and location only. Once you have located the case number and court location, there are number of ways to obtain a copy of a court record.
Online Case Search – Court Index
Find a case number and location for Civil, Criminal, Family Court, Mental Health and Probate case records.
Case register of actions for Civil and Probate cases filed after Jan 1, 2007. Some documents available for purchase.
Case register of actions for Family Law cases. Some documents can be purchased online and mailed.
Case register of actions for Small Claims cases. Documents are available for purchase.
How to locate a court file
In most cases you can locate a court file either via the court's online case search or by going to the court location where the case was tried.
Click below to search for the following case files:
- Traffic, Minor Offense or Misdemeanor files
- Civil, Criminal (Felony and Misdemeanor), Family Court, Mental Health or Probate
- Juvenile Court files
- Small Claims files
Before starting your file search, please be aware of the following: