How to search California court records

California has no statewide trial-court search at all. Each county runs its own independent case-management system, so finding a record means first identifying the right county, then searching that county's own portal. Cost varies by record type — some searches are free, others require a paid account or a formal records request.

county by county varies criminal data

Open the official California portal →

What's actually there

California has NO statewide trial-court search. Each of the 58 county superior courts runs its own system; use the court locator, then search that county.

Other official lookups for California

How California's courts are organized

California has a single trial-court level: the superior court. There is one superior court for each of the 58 counties, and a large county may run many courthouses that all belong to the same superior court. Felonies, misdemeanors, traffic, civil suits of every size, small claims, family law, probate, and juvenile cases all start there.

Appeals go to the Courts of Appeal, which are organized into six appellate districts headquartered in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno, and San Jose. The California Supreme Court sits at the top and chooses which Court of Appeal decisions to review; it must review every death-penalty judgment.

There is no statewide search of trial-court cases. Each superior court runs its own online index, and what each one covers differs. The only statewide case lookup is the Appellate Courts Case Information system, which covers Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases.

Searching a county superior court online

Start with the Judicial Branch's Find Your Court tool, which takes a ZIP code or city name and returns the nearby court locations. Most superior court websites then have an Online Services or Case Search page.

What you can see online is limited by California Rules of Court, rule 2.503. Courts must, where feasible, offer remote electronic access to registers of actions (the docket list), calendars, and indexes in all case types, and to the documents in most civil cases. Documents in criminal, family, juvenile, guardianship and conservatorship, mental health, and certain protective-order cases may be viewed electronically only at the courthouse, not from home.

Each court sets its own search tools. Examples published by the courts themselves: San Francisco's lookup covers civil, family, probate, and small claims cases filed since 1987; Alameda's public portal covers civil, family, and probate, with criminal cases in a separate portal; San Mateo's index excludes confidential cases and asks you to call for criminal cases filed before 1993.
Some courts post no criminal index online at all. Santa Barbara, for example, says criminal files must be viewed at a records window or public terminal.
Confidential cases do not appear online. Sutter, for example, says cases with SQ in the case number are confidential and must be viewed at the courthouse with photo ID.

Getting copies or certified copies

Copies come from the records or clerk's office of the superior court where the case was filed. Most courts take requests in person, by mail with a copy request form, and some by email; certified copies generally have to be picked up or mailed rather than emailed.

Copy fees are set statewide by the Government Code and listed in the statewide civil fee schedule that each court posts. Santa Barbara's current court records page, for example, lists $0.50 per page for copies (Gov. Code 70627(a)), $40 to certify a document plus $0.50 per page (Gov. Code 70626(a)(4)), and $15 for a records search that takes longer than 10 minutes (Gov. Code 70627(c)). A person with an approved fee waiver can get one copy of necessary documents without charge. Appellate records are requested from the clerk of the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court that handled the case.

Records that are not public, and cleaning a record

California has several separate record-relief laws. The best known is dismissal under Penal Code section 1203.4, often called expungement: after probation is completed, the court can set aside the guilty plea or verdict and dismiss the case. Section 1203.425 adds automatic relief, under which the state Department of Justice reviews its records and grants relief to eligible convictions without a petition. Other laws allow sealing of arrests that did not lead to conviction, juvenile records, and some marijuana and human-trafficking-related records.

Dismissal or automatic relief usually does not erase the record. The Attorney General explains that a notation is added to the state criminal history instead, and that notation controls what can be shared for employment and licensing checks; criminal-justice agencies can still see the record. Records sealed under statutes such as Penal Code 851.8 are withheld from employment and licensing checks but stay in the database for criminal-justice use. This is a general description, not legal advice. The Judicial Branch's Clean Your Record self-help pages walk through each path and the forms; talk to a lawyer or your county court's self-help center before filing.

California tip: court web addresses and case types

Most superior courts use a web address of the form countyname.courts.ca.gov (for example alameda.courts.ca.gov or sanmateo.courts.ca.gov), which makes it easy to tell an official court site from a lookalike. Before searching, check which case types the county's tool covers: many split civil, criminal, traffic, and family into separate portals, and a name that returns nothing in one may appear in another. For appeals, use the Appellate Courts Case Information system and choose the Supreme Court or the correct appellate district first.

Sources

Checked against the official sources above in October 2026. Court rules and fees change; the court's own site is the final word. This is general information, not legal advice.

Federal cases filed in California

State portals don't cover federal court. If the case you're looking for might be a federal criminal prosecution, civil suit, or bankruptcy, use CourtRecordsFree's live federal search — it queries CourtListener/RECAP directly and isn't limited to any one state.

Largest counties in California

Los Angeles County — The largest trial court in the nation.
San Diego County — Party Name Search covers civil, criminal, family, mental health and probate cases.
Orange County — Civil case index reaches back to 1996 for unlimited/complex civil actions and 2005 for limited civil.

Search tips

Try both "Last, First" and "First Last" — courts index names inconsistently.
Middle initials and suffixes (Jr., III) often matter for common names.
A date of birth or case number is the only reliable way to confirm you found the right person.
An arrest or charge shown in a docket is not a conviction — read the disposition.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to search California court records online?

It depends on what you're looking for. Some record types on California's portal are free; others require payment or a formal request.

Does this include criminal records?

Yes. California's portal includes criminal case records alongside civil cases, though sealed and expunged cases are not shown.

Does one search cover the whole state?

No single search. California has no statewide index — you need to find the right county first, then search that county's own system.

Links move. If the California portal link above is dead, tell us on the corrections page.