Top Choice
Instant Checkmate
Criminal-record and social-profile search option.
View RecordsCriminal Records
Criminal Case Finder
Locate a criminal case by the court system and available identifiers; federal PACER research and state court searches follow separate routes.
Start with the court named on the case paper
A criminal case finder should lead you to the court that owns the proceeding. Read any citation, summons or earlier order for the court name, location and full case number. Federal cases use PACER; a state or local prosecution requires that state judiciary or the named local court’s records service. A nationwide federal index does not search every state court.
If you need a criminal-history check instead of a file from a known prosecution, identify the relevant repository and the recipient’s required product first. Maryland, for example, expressly directs background checks to its fingerprint-supported CJIS repository and warns against using Case Search for that purpose. Do not turn one court-search result into a claim about someone’s entire history.
Locate the federal case, then search its docket
Register for a PACER case-search account. If you already know the federal court, use Find a Case → Search by Specific Court. If the court is unknown, use PACER Case Locator, the nationwide federal index. The specific court updates its information immediately, while the Locator is updated daily, so a newly filed matter may appear in the court before it appears in the index.
Search with the full case number when available. With a name search, retain the court, party and complete docket number for each plausible match. Open the selected court’s docket, identify the entry for the judgment, dismissal or other order you need, and then obtain that document. Saving the reference reduces repeated broad searches and makes a later clerk request precise.
Control the cost before opening results
PACER charges $0.10 per accessed page, including search results. The ordinary $3 cap applies to individual documents and case-specific reports such as a docket report; it does not apply to name-search results, non-case-specific reports or transcripts. Even a no-match search can cost $0.10. These are access charges, so avoiding printing does not avoid the charge.
Fees are waived when total quarterly use is $30 or less. A document’s confirmation screen shows billable pages and cost before you select View Document. Narrowing a docket to the date range you need can reduce pages. Court opinions are free on PACER, and retained records can be viewed free at the courthouse; printing from its public terminal costs $0.10 per page.
For a state case, keep the county and court level
Follow the named state judiciary’s official court-record instructions rather than repeating the federal search. Determine whether the matter belongs to a trial court, an appeal or a municipal court. Use the county or city on the record, the filing period and the defendant’s name to distinguish plausible matches. Local search interfaces, public coverage and fees differ; there is no single state-court price or document-access rule to apply nationwide.
A case-summary screen can locate the proceeding without supplying its documents. Maryland’s official guidance illustrates the next step: give the holding clerk the case number, inspect the file where it is kept and request copies for a fee. Ask for the particular signed order and the copy format required by its recipient, rather than assuming a docket screenshot is a certified disposition.
Handle unavailable, old or sealed material
PACER excludes sealed documents and redacts certain personal identifiers. Some older criminal documents, including filings before November 1, 2004, are not available remotely to the general public. A restricted document message is therefore different from proof that no case exists. Contact the court for the applicable inspection route; do not try to bypass access limits.
Most federal cases created before 1999 are maintained only on paper. Ask the filing court about its records or the appropriate Federal Records Center. Public-terminal access is another option for retained files. For search assistance, PACER lists 800-676-6856 and [email protected], Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–6 p.m. Central Time.
Finish with a verified document and a usable reference
Compare available identifiers and dates before treating a same-name hit as the intended person. Read the outcome for each charge, and retain the court, case number, docket-entry number and access date with the document. An allegation, a scheduled hearing and a final judgment are different stages; do not summarize them as interchangeable.
For an apparent indexing error, send the clerk the precise case and entry reference and describe the discrepancy. If certification is needed, ask the court what it issues, the total fee and the delivery method. No single completion time applies across courts. If neither the court search nor the Locator resolves a known federal reference, request assistance from the court where it was filed.
Related Record Guides
Sources
Official sources
PACER — Find a Case
PACER provides specific-court search and a nationwide federal case index, not a state case database.