To run a Broward County lawsuit search, use the Broward County Clerk of Courts’ free Case Search portal at browardclerk.org. It covers cases filed in Florida’s 17th Judicial Circuit across every division: Circuit Civil, County Civil, Small Claims, Family, Felony, Traffic and Misdemeanor, Juvenile, Probate and Guardianship, and Domestic Violence. No registration is required for a basic search, and there is no charge to look up case information.1Broward County Clerk of Courts. Case Search and eServices Portal
How the Free Case Search Works
The Case Search – Public tool lets anyone look up a case by party name, case number, or citation number. Once you find a case, you can view the docket showing every filing, hearing, and order entered.
Electronic documents and images filed on or after January 6, 2014, are generally viewable online. Some older cases appear too, but records predating that cutoff are less consistently digitized. If the case or document you need isn’t online, the Clerk operates free public access terminals at each of Broward’s four courthouses, and staff will process written records requests by mail.2Broward County Clerk of Courts. Felony Division
One caveat matters for anything you plan to rely on formally: the Clerk states that information displayed online does not constitute the official court record. For legal use, you’ll need a certified copy or a formal records request.3Broward County Clerk of Courts. Clerk of Courts Homepage
What Case Types You Can Find
Knowing which division a case sits in helps narrow a search, especially for common name matches.
Circuit Civil
Circuit Court handles larger civil disputes: amounts over $50,000, foreclosures, declaratory judgments, and other matters within general circuit jurisdiction.4Florida Courts. Trial Courts – Circuit Foreclosure sales are tracked through a dedicated section within Circuit Civil on the Clerk’s website, and Certificates of Title are logged separately by the Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury Division.5Broward County. Foreclosure Sales
Since July 2025, two specialized divisions also handle high-stakes litigation: the Complex Business Division (Division 07) for cases generally exceeding $250,000, and the Complex Tort Division (Division 26) for claims with trials projected to last at least ten days. Both still appear in the Case Search portal but carry different division codes.617th Judicial Circuit of Florida. AO 2025-22-CIV, Procedures for Complex Business and Complex Tort Divisions
County Civil and Small Claims
County Civil covers disputes between $8,000.01 and $50,000. Small Claims handles anything from one cent up to $8,000. Together they process evictions, breach of contract, negligence, property damage, and smaller foreclosure matters.7Broward County Clerk of Courts. County Civil Division Small Claims is sometimes called the “People’s Court” because attorneys aren’t required.
Criminal Cases
Felony and misdemeanor cases are searchable through the same portal, with court hearing records, restitution data, and dockets managed by the Clerk. Charging decisions come from the State Attorney’s Office, not the Clerk.2Broward County Clerk of Courts. Felony Division Traffic citations show up under Traffic and Misdemeanor.
Family and Domestic Violence
Divorces, adoptions, name changes, and custody matters are filed and searchable under the Family division. Domestic violence injunctions run through a separate intake unit at the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale or the West Regional Courthouse in Plantation, with no filing fee. Petitioners who obtain a final injunction can also request a Hope Card, a wallet-sized proof of the protective order for law enforcement.8Broward County Clerk of Courts. Domestic Violence Division Juvenile cases sit in their own division with separate confidentiality rules.
What You Won’t Find in a Public Search
Some records don’t appear online, and some don’t appear at all. Mental health cases, including Baker Act petitions, Marchman Act proceedings, incapacity determinations, and risk protection orders, are confidential under Florida law and are not searchable through the public portal.9Broward County Clerk of Courts. Mental Health Division
Probate and guardianship cases are searchable by name, but viewing the actual documents online requires an eServices account and a subscription. You can also search these records for free at courthouse public access terminals, or submit a written request by mail with a $2.00 search fee.10Broward County Clerk of Courts. Probate and Guardianship Division
Sealed criminal records are excluded from public search results; expunged records are destroyed. Sealing and expungement require a Florida Department of Law Enforcement application and judicial approval through the Felony division.11Broward County Clerk of Courts. Felony Division – Section: Sealing and Expungement
Even in cases you can view, Rule 2.420 of the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration requires 23 categories of information to be redacted, including Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, health records, and addresses of domestic violence victims.12Florida Courts. SC2023-1401, Amendments to Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration
Liens, Judgments, and Recorded Documents
If you’re looking for a recorded judgment, lien, deed, mortgage, lis pendens, or condominium declaration rather than a court docket, you need a different database. Broward County’s Records, Taxes and Treasury Division operates the official records portal at officialrecords.broward.org, which is separate from the Clerk of Courts’ case search.13Broward County Property Appraiser. Common Questions
You can search by party name, document type, instrument number, book and page, case number, parcel ID, consideration amount, or recording date. Records back to July 7, 1977, are fully searchable. Records between March 1972 and that date are partially searchable by instrument number and book/page only. Anything before March 1972 isn’t available online. The county notes the data carries no warranty of accuracy and recommends trying spelling variations of names.14Broward County. Official Records Search
Federal Lawsuits Filed in Broward
Lawsuits filed in federal court don’t appear in the Broward Clerk’s system. Cases from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division, are searched through PACER at pacer.gov. PACER requires registration and charges fees for document access, and its online coverage begins with cases filed on or after July 1, 2000.15U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida. Records The court’s CM/ECF electronic filing system uses the same PACER login.16PACER. Southern District of Florida CM/ECF Lookup
For older federal records, requests go through the Clerk’s Office. Archived civil records retrieved from the Federal Records Center in Atlanta cost $45; criminal records cost $64. Cases older than 25 years are held by the National Archives.15U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida. Records
Fees for Copies and Certified Records
The search itself is free. Getting copies isn’t. Paper copies cost $1.00 per page. Certifying a document adds $2.00. A record search performed by Clerk’s staff is $2.00 per year searched. Electronic certified documents can be purchased online for $8.00 each and delivered immediately, though documents longer than 100 pages aren’t available through the online system.17Broward County Clerk of Courts. Records Request The Clerk accepts cash, cashier’s checks, money orders, and credit cards. Personal checks are not accepted.18Broward County Clerk of Courts. Fees and Costs
Advanced Search for Heavy Users
If the free portal isn’t detailed enough, the Clerk offers an Advanced Search tool with filters the basic search doesn’t have: date of birth, party type, filing type, disposition type, hearing date range, attorney bar number, judge name, and batch lookups of up to 200 case, citation, or arrest numbers at once. Advanced Search requires registration, a notarized agreement, and the purchase of search Units. Subscribers are treated as commercial purchasers of bulk records and do not get the same access level as attorneys of record or parties to a case.19Broward County Clerk of Courts. Advanced Search A Commercial Data Services/API option is available for organizations that need systematic or automated access.20Broward County Clerk of Courts. Commercial Data Services
A Note on Third-Party Search Sites
Various third-party sites aggregate Broward court records alongside data from other jurisdictions. They can be useful for casting a wide net, but they typically disclaim accuracy, are not official records, and under the Fair Credit Reporting Act cannot be used for credit, employment, or tenant screening decisions. For anything you’ll rely on, verify it through the Clerk’s portal, which is the authoritative source for court records in the 17th Judicial Circuit.1Broward County Clerk of Courts. Case Search and eServices Portal
Reaching the Clerk’s Office
The Clerk’s main phone number is (954) 831-6565. Select option 1 for case information.2Broward County Clerk of Courts. Felony Division Public access terminals are available at all four Broward courthouse locations for free searching in person.