How to Search Court Records and Check a Criminal Record
US federal cases are on PACER at $0.10 a page, capped at $3 per document, and fees are waived if you spend $30 or less in a quarter. State and local courts have their own portals. In Canada, CanLII publishes decisions free, and court registries hold the files. In England and Wales, Find Case Law publishes many judgments free. Criminal record checks are a separate system, and they usually need the person's consent.
Methods, step by step
- Work out which court. Most cases are heard locally: a state, county or municipal court in the US, a provincial court in Canada, or a county, magistrates' or Crown court in England and Wales. Federal courts (US and Canada) and the higher courts deal with fewer, larger cases.
- US federal: use the PACER Case Locator. Register for PACER, sign in to the PACER Case Locator, and search by party name across district, bankruptcy and appellate courts. Searches by case number are cheaper. PACER charges $0.10 a page, up to $3 per document, and you aren't billed if you spend $30 or less in a quarter. Court opinions are free, and so is viewing records at a federal courthouse.
- US state and county: use the court's own portal. Search the state or county name plus "court case search". Most portals let you search by party name or case number. Some counties put records online free; others only offer them at the courthouse.
- Canada: search CanLII for decisions. CanLII is free and covers decisions from all Canadian courts and many tribunals. For a case that didn't produce a written decision, contact the court registry where it was filed. Some provinces run their own online case lookups.
- England and Wales: search Find Case Law. On Find Case Law, type a party name, keyword or neutral citation into Search by keyword or neutral citation, or use Advanced search to filter by court and date. It covers judgments from England and Wales courts and tribunals, plus UK-wide cases from the Supreme Court and Privy Council, mostly from the early 2000s on. Most magistrates' decisions aren't there.
- Confirm the identity. Before relying on a record about someone with a common name, match it against a date of birth, a middle name, an address or a case number.
Example walkthrough
Checking whether a contractor has been sued
Illustrative example. The names, numbers and details are invented placeholders, not a real person or case.
You're about to hire "Placeholder Renovations LLC" for a large job in a US county. On the county court's portal, a party-name search for the company finds two small-claims cases from last year, both brought by homeowners and both ending in judgments against the company. You also check the state's business search to confirm the LLC is active. Taken together, that's enough to ask the contractor about it directly, or to get other quotes.
United States
PACER covers federal courts. It charges $0.10 per page, no more than $3 per document, and if you spend $30 or less in a quarter the fees are waived. State courts run separate systems; many counties have free online dockets. There's no free national criminal database for the public. Background checks used for jobs, housing or credit are regulated by the FCRA.
Canada
CanLII is a free database of decisions from all Canadian courts and many tribunals, generally complete for most courts from 2001 on. Court files are held by the court registries. Criminal record checks go through police services or accredited companies, with the person's consent, and sometimes fingerprints.
United Kingdom
The National Archives' Find Case Law publishes judgments from courts and tribunals in England and Wales free, but not every case; most magistrates' court decisions aren't there, and Scotland has its own courts service. Criminal records aren't publicly searchable. If you work in England or Wales you can get your own record through a basic DBS check (£20); Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own routes. Employers request higher-level checks on candidates, with consent, depending on the role.
Common dead ends, and why they fail
- "National criminal record" sites. In the US there's no free, complete national database the public can search. These sites compile county data that can be incomplete or outdated, and using it for jobs, housing or credit brings in the FCRA.
- Expecting every case online. Case-law databases publish judgments. Cases that settled, were dismissed or never produced a written decision often aren't there.
- Party-name searches on PACER. Common names return a lot of pages, and you pay for search results even when there's no match. Use a case number if you have one.
- UK criminal records. These aren't publicly searchable. Only the person themselves, or an employer with their consent, can request a DBS check.
What if nothing works
- Phone or email the court clerk or registry. They can tell you what exists, what's public and how to get a copy.
- For a record about yourself, request it: a basic DBS check (England and Wales), a criminal record check through your local police (Canada), or an FBI Identity History Summary (US).
- For screening a tenant or employee, use an FCRA-compliant screening company in the US, with the person's consent.
Using records for screening
Screening a tenant, employee or borrower in the US falls under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, so use an FCRA-compliant screening company with the person's consent; why people-search sites are the wrong tool.
What people search for on this topic
"On a person", "for free" and "online" lead, followed by a long list of states (Texas, Mississippi, California, Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, and on Bing North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Florida). Court systems are state-run, so demand is fragmented by state.
Canada-flavoured suggestions are provincial (Ontario, Alberta), and "uk" appears. The question form shows uncertainty about the basics: "are all court cases public record", "can you see someone's court records".
This topic supports one strong general guide plus state pages, but state pages are only worth writing if each one names the real portal.
Google's top suggestions for how to find court records (US, captured October 12, 2026):
- how to find court records
- how to find court records on a person
- how to find court records for free
- how to find court records online
- how to find court records in texas
Two intents sit side by side: checking someone else ("by name", "of a person") and checking your own record ("can you check your own criminal record", "criminal record check status").
Country variety is wide: Canada, Ontario and BC; the UK; and outside our scope, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa and Saudi Arabia ("absher"). In Canada and the UK, checks on someone else need their consent, so the own-record intent is the one we can serve well.
"For free" appears here too, though official checks usually carry a fee.
Google's top suggestions for how to check criminal record (US, captured October 12, 2026):
- how to check criminal record online
- how to check criminal record
- how to check criminal records for free
- how to check criminal record by name
- how to check criminal record online free
Autocomplete shows what people commonly type, not how many. There are no search volumes here. The method and the full capture are on our search demand page.
FAQ
Is PACER free?
Not usually. Searches and documents cost $0.10 per page. Documents are capped at $3 each, but searches and reports have no cap. You aren't billed if you run up $30 or less in a quarter, and court opinions are always free.
Can I check someone's criminal record?
Not freely in Canada or the UK, where checks need the person's consent. In the US many court records are public, but screening for jobs or housing must follow the FCRA.
Where are Canadian court decisions published?
CanLII publishes decisions free. Full court files are held by the court registry.
Why can't I find a case online?
Many cases don't produce a published judgment, and some local courts don't have online dockets. Contact the clerk or registry.
Are federal court opinions free on PACER?
Yes. PACER says court opinions are always free, and so is viewing case information at any federal courthouse.
Related guides
Also on Searches.com
Sources
Facts checked October 12, 2026 against the official sources linked on this page. Laws and fees change; check the source before you rely on a detail.