Colorado Court Dockets: Search Tools, Clerk Copies, and Sealed Records

To run a Colorado court docket search, start at the Colorado Judicial Branch’s free tool at coloradojudicial.gov/dockets. It covers state trial courts across the counties and districts, and you can search by case number, party name, attorney, or location. For deeper case history across multiple courts, three private vendors are authorized to pull from the state’s data feed. When you need copies of the actual filings, you’ll go through the clerk of court, either in person or through an online request form.

Using the Judicial Branch Docket Search

The Judicial Branch runs the search at coloradojudicial.gov/dockets.1Colorado Judicial Branch. Docket Search You need at least one filter besides the date range. The available filters are:

  • Location — judicial district, county, or specific courthouse
  • Court type — county court, district court, or both
  • Case number — four-digit year plus case class code (CR for criminal, CV for civil, and so on) and sequence number
  • Party name — first and last name for individuals, or business name
  • Attorney name or bar number
  • Date range — today, one week, one month, three months, or six months

Spelling has to be exact. The system matches on the character string you enter, so a misspelled name returns nothing. If you have a case number from a summons, complaint, or hearing notice, use it instead of a name search. It’s the most direct route to the right record.

What you get back is the schedule of hearings and case activity. That’s usually enough to answer questions like when the next hearing is, which judge is assigned, or whether a motion has been filed. For a longer procedural history or to see the full register of actions, you’ll likely need one of the authorized vendors or a records request.

Authorized Third-Party Vendors

The Judicial Branch does not offer full case-document access on its own site. It authorizes three vendors to provide real-time register-of-actions data covering civil, criminal, domestic, small claims, and traffic cases:2Colorado Judicial Branch. Access Guide to Public Records

  • Background Information Services (bisi.com)
  • LexisNexis Colorado Courts Record Search (cocourts.com)
  • Tessera Data (tesseradata.com)

These platforms let you search across multiple counties at once, which is why they’re common for background checks. Two limits to keep in mind. First, they show the register of actions, meaning a summary of filings and events, not copies of the underlying documents. If you need a document itself, you still have to request it from the court. Second, the vendor data is provided “as is” and is not the official court record. For anything you plan to use in a legal filing or as formal documentation, go through the clerk.

Getting Copies from the Clerk

Every Colorado courthouse has a clerk’s office open during business hours. Many have public access terminals in the lobby or near the counter where you can search case information yourself.3Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Courts Public Access Terminal Viewing docket information on those terminals is free.

If you need a printout or copies of filed documents, bring the case number or party names to the counter. The clerk pulls the records and generates copies on the spot. This is the most reliable way to get the current, official version of a document.

Requesting Records Online or by Mail

When a trip to the courthouse isn’t practical, use the Judicial Branch’s online record request form at coloradojudicial.gov.4Colorado Judicial Branch. Record/Document Request Form You’ll provide contact information along with case-specific details: case number, case type, year filed, county or court location, party names, and the date of birth of the primary party if you have it. You also select the specific documents you want, such as a divorce decree, a disposition order, or a register of actions.

Requests involving suppressed cases, juvenile records, probate records, or documents containing confidential information may require a government-issued photo ID. Under normal circumstances, the court responds within three business days. Fees follow the same schedule as in-person requests, set by Chief Justice Directive 06-01.

One exception: Denver County Court cases are not handled through the statewide form. Those requests go directly to the Denver County Court clerk’s office.

Federal Cases Aren’t in the State System

If your case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado or the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, it won’t show up on the state’s docket search. Federal court records live on PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) at pacer.uscourts.gov.5PACER: Federal Court Records. PACER Pricing: How Fees Work A free account is required to log in. Once registered, you select “Colorado District Court” from the system’s dropdown to access District of Colorado dockets.6Public Access To Court Electronic Records (PACER). Login

PACER charges $0.10 per page for documents, search results, and reports, with a $3 cap on any individual document. If you spend $30 or less on court records in a calendar quarter, the fees are waived.5PACER: Federal Court Records. PACER Pricing: How Fees Work For a casual lookup of a case or two, you’ll likely stay under that threshold.

Reading Appellate Opinions

Rulings from the Colorado Supreme Court and Colorado Court of Appeals are searched separately, through the Colorado Case Law Search at research.coloradojudicial.gov.7Colorado Judicial Branch. Colorado Case Law Search It’s free and provides published opinions from both courts plus unpublished opinions from the Court of Appeals. It’s a research tool for reading the actual decisions, not a docket system, so you won’t find hearing schedules there.

What You Can’t See

Colorado’s open records law makes court records public by default,8Justia. Colorado Code 24-72-201 – Legislative Declaration but several categories are restricted.

Juvenile Delinquency Records

Juvenile records are not open to the general public. Only specific people can inspect them without a court order: the juvenile, a parent or guardian, attorneys of record, and the guardian ad litem.9Justia. Colorado Code 19-1-304 – Juvenile Delinquency Records Anyone else needs the court’s consent and must show a legitimate interest in the proceedings. There’s a narrow exception for serious offenses: limited information about juveniles charged with or adjudicated for certain felonies or weapons offenses is public, but even then the juvenile’s name, birth date, and photograph are excluded.

Adoption Records

All adoption records in Colorado are confidential.10FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes 19-5-305 – Confidentiality They can be opened only under specific statutory exceptions or when a court finds good cause.

Mental Health Proceedings

Records from mental health evaluations and treatment under Colorado’s mental health statutes are confidential and privileged. They can be disclosed to courts as needed to administer those proceedings but are not available through a standard docket search.

Suppressed and Sealed Cases

A judge can suppress or seal a specific case file when privacy concerns outweigh the public interest in access. A suppressed case disappears from standard searches: docket entries won’t appear and the clerk cannot release information without a court order. Sealed records work the same way, removing the case from public view while preserving it for potential future court use.

Sealing Your Own Criminal Record

If you have a Colorado criminal record you want off public searches, the path depends on how the case ended.

Colorado courts automatically seal records when a case is completely dismissed, when you’re acquitted, or when you finish a diversion agreement or deferred judgment that results in all charges being dismissed.11Justia. Colorado Code 24-72-705 – Sealing of Criminal Records No petition is needed.

For actual convictions, you file a motion to seal, but you have to wait a set period after either the final disposition of your case or your release from supervision, whichever comes later. You cannot have any new convictions during the waiting period. The waiting periods by offense severity are:12FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes 24-72-706 – Sealing of Criminal Conviction Records

  • Petty offenses and drug petty offenses: 1 year
  • Class 2 or 3 misdemeanors and drug misdemeanors: 2 years
  • Class 1 misdemeanors, class 4–6 felonies, and level 3–4 drug felonies: 3 years
  • All other eligible offenses: 5 years

For lower-level offenses, the court may seal the record without a hearing if the district attorney doesn’t object. For more serious offenses, the DA can object and a hearing is held. Class 1 and class 2 felonies and level 1 drug felonies are not eligible at all. You cannot be required to waive your right to petition for sealing as a condition of a plea agreement.

Fees

Chief Justice Directive 06-01 sets the fee schedule that all state courts follow.13Colorado Judicial Branch. Chief Justice Directive 06-01 – Directive Concerning Assessment of Court Fees and Costs Viewing a docket on a public terminal at the courthouse is free. Once you request copies, the costs are:

The research-and-redaction fee is the one that catches people off guard. A straightforward printout of a register of actions costs next to nothing, but if the clerk has to dig through archived files or redact confidential information, the $30-per-hour charge kicks in after the first free hour. A complex records request spanning multiple years can add up quickly.

Most courts accept credit and debit cards (American Express is generally not accepted), cash for in-person payments, and checks or money orders made payable to “Clerk of Court” for mail requests. Separate checks are required for separate cases. Fees may be waived for government entities and in certain other situations outlined in the directive.