To run a family case lookup in CT, use the Connecticut Judicial Branch’s free Case Look-up portal at jud.ct.gov. It covers active and closed Superior Court family matters, including divorce, custody, child support, and paternity, and you can search by party name or docket number without paying a fee or visiting a courthouse. What you’ll see is the docket: motions filed, orders entered, and scheduled hearings. Getting actual copies of the documents is a separate request to the clerk.
How to Run the Search
Start at the Case Look-up page on jud.ct.gov and select the link for Civil / Family / Housing cases.1Connecticut Judicial Branch. Case Look-up That opens the inquiry portal where you enter your search criteria.
You have two options. A party-name search asks for last name and first name of someone involved in the case. The system matches characters literally, so a hyphen, an accent, or a small typo will return nothing. If you have the docket number, use it. It’s the alphanumeric code printed on every piece of official court correspondence, including summonses, hearing notices, and filed motions.
The portal also asks you to pick a court location. Family cases are organized by judicial district, and a name search in the wrong district won’t turn up the case.
Once you submit, the system returns a list of matches. Click a docket number to open the Case Detail page, which functions as the case’s timeline: every motion filed, every order the judge entered, and any upcoming dates such as pretrial conferences or hearings.
Picking the Right Judicial District
Connecticut’s Superior Court divides into 13 judicial districts:2Connecticut Judicial Branch. Judicial Districts
- Ansonia-Milford
- Danbury
- Fairfield
- Hartford
- Litchfield
- Middlesex
- New Britain
- New Haven
- New London
- Stamford-Norwalk
- Tolland
- Waterbury
- Windham
The district a case is filed in is usually based on where one or both parties live. Docket numbers include a prefix indicating the district, so even a partial docket number often tells you the right court location.
What Family Cases You Can Find
The family division of Superior Court handles domestic relations matters, and the online lookup covers the major categories:3Connecticut Judicial Branch. Official Court Forms – Family
- Divorce filings, including contested, responses, and nonadversarial (uncontested) dissolutions
- Standalone custody and visitation petitions filed outside a divorce action
- Motions to modify existing orders on custody, visitation, or support
- Contempt filings alleging violation of a court order
- Applications for family restraining or protective orders
Child support and paternity cases also fall within the family division. The Case Detail page shows chronological docket entries from the initial complaint through any post-judgment motions. The entries themselves are visible, but the underlying documents usually aren’t. You’ll see a description of what was filed without being able to read the filing itself.
Records That Won’t Appear Online
Several categories of family-related records are restricted or invisible in the online system.
Juvenile Proceedings
Records involving minors in juvenile matters are confidential by statute. Under Connecticut law, juvenile case records are restricted to court use and cannot be inspected by the public without a court order. That covers court filings, juvenile probation reports, psychological evaluations, and records held by agencies contracted to provide services to juveniles.4Justia. Connecticut Code Title 46b Chapter 815t Section 46b-124 These cases won’t appear in a family case lookup.
Sealed Cases
A judge can order an entire case file sealed when a specific interest outweighs the public’s right of access. An agreement between the parties alone isn’t enough. Sealed cases don’t appear in search results at all.
Redacted Personal Information
Even in publicly accessible cases, certain details are stripped from the online display. Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and the full names of minor children are typically suppressed. You’ll see that a motion was filed and what it concerns, but sensitive identifiers within the filing are redacted.
Getting Copies of Court Documents
The online portal shows you what’s been filed, but most documents can’t be downloaded or printed from it. For actual copies, contact the clerk’s office in the judicial district where the case was filed and give them the case name and docket number.5State of Connecticut Judicial Branch. FAQs about Court Records
Connecticut’s copy fees are:6Connecticut Judicial Branch. Court Fees
- Standard court documents: $1.00 per page
- Certification of a copy under seal: $2.00
- Certified copy of a judgment file: $25.00 flat
- Exemplified copies: $20.00
- Audio recordings of proceedings: $25.00 per day, per docket number, available for hearings on or after November 1, 2018
For divorces, the document people most often need is the judgment file, the court’s final order dissolving the marriage. The $25 flat fee applies regardless of page count. If you need a certified copy for something like remarriage or updating government records, plan on the $25 judgment fee plus $2 for certification.
Finding Older or Paper Records
The online lookup covers cases in the current electronic system, and older records predating the digital transition may not appear. For historical court records, the Connecticut State Library maintains judicial records in its State Archives, separate from what the Judicial Branch holds.7Connecticut State Library. Court Records for Historic and Genealogical Research
If a relatively recent case doesn’t turn up online, it may still exist in paper form at the courthouse. Contact the clerk’s office in the relevant judicial district with whatever identifying information you have. Even without a docket number, the clerk can sometimes locate a case using the parties’ names and an approximate filing date.