Many court records are available to the public without the need for filing formal Freedom of Information requests. This includes records of most civil--non-criminal--actions of all descriptions. To find court records easily, you will need to know the exact name of at least one of the parties to the action. It is also important to know or to learn in exactly what court the action was handled.

Judicial Websites

Before resorting to fee-based websites for gathering background information, it is wise to check yourself to see if the records are open for examination by the general public. The National Center for State Courts maintains a website giving web addresses for each state's official judicial website as well as links to specialized courts within many states. Although most courts charge copy and certification fees for copies of court records, records that have not been sealed from the public are generally available for examination in the offices of the court clerk in which they are maintained. The records of federal courts are also often opened to public inspection. Many parts of bankruptcy and other federal court files are available for public inspection even to individuals who do not have any particular connection to the petitioning party.

Take Down Pertinent Information

If you have located a court file by searching a state's judicial website, you may still need to read the file to gather the information you are attempting to gather. Before visiting or contacting the clerk's office of a particular court, it will help to know the exact caption of a case as well as the official docket number of the case and the year in which the action was initiated. The caption of a case is almost always in the form of Jane Doe v. John Doe; In the Matter of: John Doe; or In re: John Doe.

Paid Services

In some cases, court records will not be readily available through the office of the court clerk. Once that resource has been exhausted, you may choose to use the services of a paid search service. For example the official website of the Colorado Judicial District lists four such services.

Source:

University of North Texas: Public Records

University of Florida College of Law: Electronic Public Access to Court Records

More Information:

NCSC Court Websites