California public court records are held by each county’s Superior Court, and there is no statewide database that searches them all at once. To find a case, you start at the website of the county where it was filed, then either use that court’s online portal or visit the clerk’s office in person. The default rule is that court records are open to the public unless a statute or court order makes them confidential.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court, Rule 2.550 – Sealed Records What changes from case to case is how you actually get to the file, and how much of it you can see from your couch versus at the courthouse.
Searching Online by County
Each of California’s 58 Superior Courts runs its own website and its own case search tool.2Supreme Court of California. California Courts Overview Go directly to the county where the case was filed. If you’re not sure which county that is, think about where the events took place, or check the two or three counties that seem most likely.
To search, you’ll need at least one of the following: a case number, the full name of a party, or a rough date range. Most portals show the register of actions, which is a chronological list of every filing and hearing in the case, along with the court calendar. In eligible case types, you can often view and print the actual document images from the portal.
Courts are required to make electronic records available to the public in a form at least equivalent to what’s available on paper.3Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court, Rule 2.503 – Application and Scope What that looks like in practice varies a lot. Los Angeles and San Diego have deep online systems with viewable documents. Smaller counties may put only a basic case index online and keep everything else at the courthouse.
Cases You Won’t Find Online
Even when a record is public, California court rules keep entire categories of cases off the internet. You can view these at a courthouse terminal, but the court cannot post them online.3Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court, Rule 2.503 – Application and Scope The restricted types include:
- Family law: divorce, legal separation, custody, spousal support, and domestic violence prevention
- Criminal cases: only the register of actions, calendar, and case index may appear online; the filings themselves require an in-person visit
- Juvenile dependency and delinquency
- Guardianship and conservatorship
- Mental health proceedings
- Civil harassment and workplace violence prevention
- Elder or dependent adult abuse prevention
- Gun violence prevention
- Proceedings to settle claims of a minor or a person with a disability
The criminal restriction catches most people off guard. If you search a criminal case online and see the docket but no documents, the file exists; you just have to view it at the clerk’s office.4Judicial Branch of California. Who Where How Viewing a Courts Electronic Case Records
Viewing Records at the Courthouse
For anything not available online, including older paper files, exhibits, and documents in the restricted categories above, go to the clerk’s office at the courthouse where the case was filed. Bring the case number if you have it. If you only have a name, the clerk can run a search, though some courts charge a fee when the search takes more than ten minutes.
You fill out a request form, and the clerk pulls the file. You review it at a designated desk or terminal in the office. Courts can limit how long you hold a file so others can use it. Take notes freely, but don’t remove or mark any documents. If you want copies, the clerk will make them at the applicable per-page rate.
Call ahead. Older files are often stored off-site, and archive retrieval can take several business days. Asking for a 15-year-old file with no notice is a good way to waste a trip.
Requesting Copies by Mail
Most Superior Courts also take written requests by mail. Include the case number, the parties’ names, and a description of the specific document you need or its approximate filing date. Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Payment methods differ. Some courts want a blank check payable to “Superior Court” with a “not to exceed” cap written on the memo line, so the clerk can fill in the actual total. Others want a money order for a specified amount. Turnaround runs around 30 days in many courts and longer in busy ones. The county court’s website or a quick call to the clerk will confirm what that specific court needs.
Appellate and Supreme Court Records
Records from the California Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court run through a different system than the trial courts. Published opinions from both are free on the Judicial Branch website, and briefs, calendars, and oral argument schedules can be searched through the appellate courts’ online system. For the full appellate record or unpublished filings, contact the specific Court of Appeal district or the Supreme Court. The Judicial Branch’s public records page lists contact information for each appellate court.5Judicial Branch of California. Public Records
What It Costs
Looking at a file in person at the clerk’s office is generally free. You can review the paper file and take notes without paying anything. Some online portals do charge per page or per search, because courts are authorized to recover the cost of running electronic access systems.6Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court, Rule 2.506 – Fees for Electronic Access Los Angeles County charges $1.00 per page for the first five pages of an online document image and $0.40 for each additional page.
For paper copies, the statewide statutory rate for uncertified copies is $0.50 per page.7California Legislative Information. California Government Code 70627 Having the clerk compare your copy to the original adds $1.00 per page.
Certified copies, which carry the court’s stamp and signature, cost $40 per document on top of the per-page copying charge.8California Legislative Information. California Government Code 70626 An exemplified copy, which is a certified copy with an additional attestation used to present California court documents in another state’s proceedings, runs $50 per document plus copying costs.9California Legislative Information. California Government Code 70628
Older Cases May Be Gone
California law sets minimum retention periods for trial court records, and after the minimum runs, the court can destroy the file. Retention varies sharply by case type. The key periods under Government Code section 68152:
- Permanent: adoption, name change, eminent domain, paternity, records affecting title to real property, and family law judgments
- 75 years: felony convictions (other than those with permanent retention)
- 30 years: family law records and mental health proceedings
- 10 years: most general civil cases, small claims, and DUI-related misdemeanors
- 5 years: most misdemeanor convictions
- 3 years: traffic infractions and most other infractions
- 1 year: unlawful detainer cases with judgment only for possession, and cases dismissed for failure to prosecute
The clock starts at final disposition, not the filing date. A civil case that ran six years before judgment doesn’t hit its 10-year deadline until 10 years after that judgment. Courts must post notice before destroying records and give parties a chance to request transfer to an archive. Still, a misdemeanor traffic case from 15 years ago may no longer exist. If a case is anywhere near its retention deadline, request a copy now.
Sealed and Confidential Records
Some records are confidential by statute and unavailable to the general public regardless of how you ask. The main categories:
- Juvenile dependency and delinquency records can be inspected only by specifically authorized people listed in the statute, such as the child’s attorney or a designated court officer.10California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 827
- Family conciliation and mediation records are confidential.
- Sealed search warrant affidavits remain sealed to protect investigations.
Beyond these automatic categories, a party can ask the judge to seal a specific record, but the standard is high: the judge must make written findings that an overriding interest supports sealing, that the interest would likely be harmed without it, and that no less restrictive option would work.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court, Rule 2.550 – Sealed Records Most granted sealing orders involve financial, medical, or trade secret material.
Be Careful With Third-Party Background Sites
A search for someone’s California court records will pull up commercial websites promising instant results. They aggregate public data, but they are not official court systems and they have accuracy problems. California court rules bar birthdates and driver’s license numbers from electronic criminal indexes, so even official name-based searches can hit the wrong person when the name is common. Third-party sites inherit that limitation and often add outdated information, records from the wrong jurisdiction, or missing dispositions.
For anything that matters, such as employment screening, tenant checks, or due diligence in a dispute, verify against the official court record. The court that handled the case, reached through its own portal or clerk’s office, is the only reliable source. Aggregator sites are a starting point at best.