How to search Maryland court records

Maryland runs a single statewide case-lookup system, so one search — with the name spelled correctly — reaches courts across the entire state. There's no charge and no account required — results are visible to anyone who searches.

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What's actually there

Maryland Judiciary Case Search is one of the most open free statewide systems in the country.

Other official lookups for Maryland

DPSCS inmate locator

How Maryland's courts are organized

Maryland has two trial courts. The District Court of Maryland is a fully state-funded court with statewide jurisdiction. It handles all landlord-tenant cases, motor vehicle violations, misdemeanors and certain felonies, and civil claims of $5,000 or less, and it shares civil claims between $5,000 and $30,000 with the circuit courts. It never holds jury trials. The circuit courts are the other trial courts. They are where jury trials take place, and juvenile cases are handled in their juvenile divisions.

Appeals go to the Appellate Court of Maryland (formerly the Court of Special Appeals) and then the Supreme Court of Maryland.

Maryland Judiciary Case Search is free and covers all four levels: District Court traffic, criminal and civil cases; circuit court criminal and civil cases; and appellate cases from the Appellate Court and the Supreme Court.

Using Maryland Judiciary Case Search

Case Search is free, needs no account, and has been online since January 2006. You accept a disclaimer and pass a CAPTCHA, then search by person or business name or by case number. Name searches look for exact names by default. For a partial match, type at least the first letter of the last name followed by a % sign. Results are capped at 600 records, so add a court, case type, first name or filing date range if you hit the limit. The session times out after two minutes of inactivity.

Results show a case summary, not the file: party names, city and state, case number, date of birth, trial date, charges and disposition. Documents are not online. The Judiciary says Case Search should not be used for background checks and points instead to the state's fingerprint-based Criminal Justice Information System at the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

Not included: case types protected by the Maryland Rules on Access to Court Records (Rules 16-901 to 16-912), plus shielded, sealed and expunged records.
How far back it goes depends on the county; most circuit courts start in the late 1990s, while Baltimore County criminal begins in 1984 and Prince George's in 1982.
Appellate cases run from term year 2015 (Supreme Court) and 2016 (Appellate Court) forward.
Minor traffic cases closed for 36 months move to a history database and drop off Case Search, though a clerk can pull one back for 30 days.

Getting copies and certified copies

To see the full file, go to the clerk's office in the courthouse where the case was filed. You can view most documents there and ask for copies. Requests must be made in person or in writing; clerks do not take telephone requests.

The circuit court fee summary schedule lists copies at 50 cents a page, certification at $5 plus 50 cents a page, and exemplification at $10. The schedule lists no fee for mailing copies. Check the specific clerk's page before mailing a request, and ask the District Court clerk for its own charges.

Expunged and shielded records

Maryland's expungement law is in the Criminal Procedure Article, sections 10-105, 10-107 and 10-110. Since October 1, 2021, cases ending in acquittal, dismissal, not guilty or nolle prosequi are expunged automatically after three years if you do nothing, or you can petition sooner by signing a general waiver. Probation before judgment and stets can usually be expunged after three years. Certain misdemeanor convictions become eligible five years after the sentence is complete, certain felonies and second-degree assault seven years, first- or second-degree burglary and felony theft ten years, and domestically related convictions fifteen years. DUI and DWI convictions cannot be expunged, and all charges arising from the same incident (a unit) generally must be eligible together.

Petitions are usually filed in the court where the case ended, using form CC-DC-CR-072A or 072B, and the Judiciary offers a free guided interview. The Case Search FAQ notes three ways information leaves public view: it can be shielded, sealed or expunged. For help with your situation, talk to a lawyer or contact the Maryland Court Help Center at 410-260-1392.

Tip: missing charge numbers are not an error

If a Case Search result lists charges as 1, 4 and 5, the gaps are deliberate. Under Criminal Procedure section 10-107, related charges from one incident form a unit, and when part of a case is expunged the court removes those charges from public view. Separately, minor traffic offenses cannot be expunged by the courts at all; only the Motor Vehicle Administration can do that under Transportation Article section 16-117.1.

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 Maryland

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.

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 Maryland court records online?

Yes. Maryland's statewide search is free to use, with no account or subscription required.

Does this include criminal records?

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

Does one search cover the whole state?

Maryland runs one statewide system, so a single search covers the whole state.

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