Federal and state court systems generate some of the most detailed and reliable public records available — case filings, judgments, bankruptcy schedules, criminal dispositions, and civil litigation history. This section covers how to find, search, and interpret court records across both the federal system and the fragmented landscape of state and county courts.
How to use these guides: Start with How to Locate Court Records for Any Person in the U.S. for a complete overview of the court records landscape. If you’re researching federal cases or bankruptcy history, go to What Is PACER? next. For state-level searching, How to Search State Court Records Online covers the portal-by-portal approach.
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PACER — the federal courts’ Public Access to Court Electronic Records system — is the official database for federal court filings. It charges per-page fees, requires registration, and is the first tool most guides recommend for federal court research. But a significant portion of federal court records are accessible through free alternatives — and knowing … Read more
State court portals are the online search systems that allow the public to find and review court records by party name, case number, or other identifiers — without visiting a courthouse in person. Most states now provide free public access to at least some court records through these portals, making them one of the most … Read more
Court records and background checks don’t match because they are different systems built from different sources, updated on different schedules, and designed to answer different questions — not because one of them is wrong. You search someone’s name in a state court portal and find a criminal case. You run a background check on the … Read more
Clean slate laws are state statutes that automatically seal or expunge certain criminal records after a defined waiting period — without requiring the record holder to file a petition, hire an attorney, or take any action at all. As of early 2025, more than a dozen states have enacted some form of automatic record relief, … Read more
Reading a court case is the process of extracting investigatively useful information from the documents and records generated by legal proceedings — including the docket, the complaint or indictment, motions, orders, and final judgments. These documents exist in public court systems and are legally accessible, but they are written for attorneys and judges, not for … Read more
Court records are legal documents created and maintained by the judicial system — including case filings, judgments, orders, transcripts, and dockets — that document every stage of civil, criminal, family, probate, and bankruptcy proceedings from the moment a case is initiated through its final disposition. These records exist in publicly accessible databases because the principle … Read more
Bankruptcy records are federal court filings created when an individual or business seeks legal protection from creditors under the United States Bankruptcy Code (11 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.) — documenting assets, debts, income, creditor relationships, and the court proceedings used to resolve those obligations. Quick Answer: All bankruptcies in the United States are filed … Read more
Civil court records document lawsuits between private parties seeking remedies such as money damages or court orders, while criminal court records document prosecutions brought by the government for violations of criminal law. Quick Answer: Civil court records and criminal court records come from different types of legal proceedings. Civil records involve disputes between individuals, businesses, … Read more
Quick Answer: Court records are documents created during legal proceedings and maintained by the court that handled the case. Federal court records are stored in the federal judiciary’s PACER system. State and local court records are maintained by thousands of independent state and county court systems. Because the United States has no single national court … Read more
State courts handle the overwhelming majority of legal matters that affect people’s lives — criminal prosecutions, evictions, civil lawsuits, divorce, probate, restraining orders, and debt collection cases. For investigators, landlords, journalists, and anyone conducting serious due diligence, state court records are often far more important than federal records. The problem is access. Unlike the federal … Read more