To look up a case number, start with any paperwork you already have from the case, then search the free PACER Case Locator for federal matters or your state judiciary’s online portal for state matters using the party’s full legal name and an approximate filing date. Most searches take under ten minutes and cost nothing if you stay within the free access thresholds.
Check Your Own Documents First
If you were a party, witness, or notified victim, the case number is almost certainly already printed on paperwork you have. Look at summonses, complaints, subpoenas, court orders, and letters from attorneys. The number sits near the top of the first page, just below the court name and above the party names. This is faster than any online lookup and avoids fees entirely.
If you have no paperwork because the case belongs to someone else, you’ll need to search court records directly. Which system you use depends on whether the case is federal or state, and how old it is.
What You Need Before You Search
Three pieces of information will get you to the right record in most systems.
First, the correct full legal name of at least one party. Court databases match names exactly, so a misspelling can hide the record. Common surnames return long result lists, which makes the next two items important.
Second, the court that handled the case. Federal district courts hear cases involving federal law, constitutional questions, and disputes between residents of different states. State courts handle nearly everything else, including most criminal matters, family law, probate, and small claims. Search the wrong system and the record won’t appear even though it exists.
Third, an approximate filing date. Even the correct year filters out most irrelevant results. A name, the right court, and a rough timeframe are usually enough to land on a single matching record.
How to Search Federal Cases on PACER
Federal case records are maintained through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system.1United States Courts. Find a Case (PACER) Registration for an account is free. Once you’re logged in, you can either search the specific court where you think the case was filed or use the PACER Case Locator to run one search across every federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy court.2Public Access to Court Electronic Records. PACER Case Locator
The Case Locator offers simple and advanced modes. You can search by party name, by partial case number, or by combining fields including date ranges and geographic regions. Individual court data is transferred to the Case Locator each night, so newly filed cases appear within about 24 hours. If you already know which court handled the case and want real-time information, search that court’s system directly.2Public Access to Court Electronic Records. PACER Case Locator
PACER Fees
PACER charges $0.10 per page, capped at $3.00 per document. If your total charges stay at $30 or less in a quarterly billing cycle, the entire amount is waived.3United States Courts. Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule Looking up a case number and skimming a docket sheet almost always stays under that threshold, so most casual searches are effectively free.
Full fee exemptions are available to indigent individuals, pro bono attorneys, academic researchers, and nonprofit organizations, but they require a formal request to the court.4PACER: Federal Court Records. PACER Pricing: How Fees Work
What PACER Won’t Show You
Some federal filings are restricted even to registered PACER users. Documents in Social Security Administration cases are limited to parties in the case. Appellate courts also restrict certain document types in social security and immigration matters.5PACER: Federal Court Records. What Information Is Available Through PACER You can still confirm the case exists and pull the case number; the underlying filings won’t open unless you’re a party.
How to Search State and Local Cases
Most state judiciaries run their own free online case search portals. Enter a party name, optionally narrow by date range or case type, and the system returns matching records with the case number displayed on each row next to the filing date and parties.
To find the right portal, search for your state’s name plus “court case search” or go to the state judiciary’s main website and look for a public records or case lookup section. Some states run one unified system covering every trial court. Others require county-level searches, which means you need to know or reasonably guess which county handled the filing.
Unlike PACER, most state portals are free to search and free to view basic docket information. Downloading or printing documents may carry a small per-page charge, but finding a case number and reviewing the docket costs nothing in the majority of systems. Results usually include a clickable case number that opens the full docket, showing every filing and court action from the initial complaint onward.
Calling the Clerk or Visiting the Courthouse
When online searches come up empty, or you’re not sure which court to search, call the clerk of court. Every federal district and every state trial court lists the clerk’s number on its website. Staff can run a name search through their internal database and give you a case number over the phone.
Clerk’s staff will help you locate records but can’t give legal advice or explain what filings mean. Federal courts charge $34 per name or item when staff conduct the search for you.6United States Courts. District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule State court fees vary by jurisdiction, and some don’t charge at all for a basic phone lookup.
Most federal and state courthouses also have public access terminals in the clerk’s office where you can search at no charge.7United States Courts. Access to Court Proceedings Those terminals connect to the court’s internal system and sometimes display more detail than the public website. Staff can help you navigate the interface. If you need paper copies, federal courts charge $0.50 per page for reproductions.6United States Courts. District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule State court copy fees vary, and certified copies generally cost more than plain reproductions.
When You Can’t Find the Case
Some cases won’t appear in any public search because a judge has sealed them. The case number itself may be hidden from public databases, not just the documents inside.
Categories commonly sealed or restricted include juvenile records, pretrial bail and presentence investigation reports, unexecuted warrants, documents containing juror information, and filings that could identify a cooperating witness. Judges also seal records to protect classified information, trade secrets, or details tied to an ongoing criminal investigation. In civil cases, protective orders during discovery can shield parties, and settlement terms and discovery materials often stay confidential after a case resolves.8United States Courts. Accessing Court Documents – Journalist’s Guide
If you’re convinced a case exists but can’t find it, it may be sealed. Members of the public can file a motion asking the court to unseal records, but that takes a formal written request to the judge and a showing that public access outweighs the reasons for sealing. The court is not required to grant it.
Older Federal Cases at the National Archives
Federal court records older than roughly 15 years are typically transferred from the courthouse to the National Archives and Records Administration. Those cases won’t appear in PACER. To locate them, search the National Archives Catalog on the NARA website. NARA stores records at regional facilities based on where the court sits, and staff can help you navigate holdings split across locations or time periods.9National Archives. National Archives Court Records For anything more recent than 15 years, contact the originating court or search PACER.
Reading a Federal Case Number
Once you find a federal case number, the format tells you what you’re looking at. A typical number reads like 1:21-cv-5678-MW. The first digit identifies the division or office within the district. The two-digit number after the colon is the filing year. The letters flag the case type: “cv” for civil, “cr” for criminal, “mc” for miscellaneous, and “m” for magistrate matters. The next number is the sequential filing order for that year, and the trailing initials belong to the presiding judge.10United States District Court – District of New Jersey. What Is the Significance of the Number and Letters in My Case Number State numbering systems vary. Some mirror the federal structure with embedded year and case-type codes; others are purely sequential. Recognizing the format helps confirm you’ve pulled the right record when a name search returns multiple hits.
Private Aggregator Websites
Third-party services pull data from many court systems into one search interface. They’re useful when you don’t know which jurisdiction a case was filed in and want to cast a wide net. You enter a name and the service checks hundreds of courts at once.
Most aggregators require a subscription or one-time payment to reveal full case details. Their data isn’t real-time either, since they refresh connections to government databases on varying schedules, so recent filings or updates may not appear. Verify any case number found through a private service against the official court system before relying on it.
One boundary to keep in mind: when these services are used for employment screening, tenant checks, or lending decisions, the results become consumer reports governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.11Federal Trade Commission. Fair Credit Reporting Act Under the FCRA, anyone taking adverse action against you based on such a report must notify you and give you the chance to dispute inaccurate information. That protection covers you as a consumer, not as someone doing the searching.