Court and Public Records

Court systems

PACER covers U.S. federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts. State and local courts use separate systems. County and municipal offices may maintain additional public records.

Case access and certified records are different

A case search can identify a case or docket. A document copy is a separate record product, and a certified copy is a further certification by the court or office that maintains the record.

A docket, a filed document, and a certified copy are different records

A docket is the court’s chronological case record. Individual filings and orders appear within or alongside that docket. A certified copy is a copy carrying the court clerk’s or other authorized certification. Public access to a docket or PDF does not automatically make that downloaded file a certified court record.

Public does not mean unrestricted

Some court information can be sealed, restricted, redacted, or otherwise unavailable to the general public. PACER describes categories of federal records that are not publicly available and notes that personal identifiers are redacted from public records. State and local systems can have their own access rules.

The clerk remains the source for court-issued certification

Electronic access systems are useful for locating cases and viewing public filings. When a process calls specifically for a court-certified record, the relevant court or clerk is the source that describes what certification it can issue. A commercial document service does not replace the court’s certification role.

Primary sources

• PACER — Federal court records
• PACER — Find a Case
• USA.gov — Federal, state, and local courts