Search Criminal Court Records

Start with the court system, then use party names or a case number. The court label should remain with every docket or document result. For federal cases, search the known court in PACER; if the court is unknown, use PACER Case Locator’s nationwide federal index. For a state case, use that judiciary’s official criminal-case portal. Pennsylvania is one example: UJS Case Search accepts a docket number or Participant Name with first/last name, county and available date-of-birth filter; select the relevant criminal court/docket type.

Open the case docket, confirm the defendant and court, and identify the entry for the complaint/indictment, disposition, judgment or sentencing order you actually need. Read each charge’s recorded outcome and any later entry; a charge is an allegation, while a conviction is a judgment of guilt. An index hit alone does not establish either the complete case file or a conviction. This also makes it clearer when a second record system is genuinely needed.

In PACER, follow an available docket-document link; if a document is missing or unavailable, ask the filing court’s clerk about public copies and certification. Pennsylvania’s separate Request a Record form goes to the court handling the case. Quote the case number, document title and filing date. Ask the recipient whether it needs a certified copy before ordering, and keep the court and retrieval date with what you save.

Recheck spelling, case number, court and date range. For a missing federal case, try PACER Case Locator, then contact the likely filing court. PACER does not provide public access to sealed documents, and some older criminal documents are unavailable electronically. Pennsylvania also excludes sealed, expunged and limited-access cases from public Case Search; recent docket entries can be delayed. No result is not proof that no case exists. A court docket remains separate from a repository background check.