Published
October 10, 2026
Whether the public can read a state court filing online depends entirely on the state: as of October 2026, nine states and the District of Columbia offer free online access to many filed documents, while 19 states keep filings for the general public at courthouse terminals. The rest charge per page or subscription, or leave access to each county clerk.
Why Court Records Aren't in One Place
Federal and state courts are separate court systems. The federal judiciary's online system, PACER, covers only U.S. district, bankruptcy and appeals courts. Divorces, evictions, debt-collection suits, car-accident cases, probate, traffic tickets and most criminal prosecutions are handled in state courts, and each of the 50 states runs its own judiciary with its own budget, its own technology and its own rules on who may see a court file.The result is a patchwork. Some states built one statewide case management system and opened it to the public. Others adopted electronic filing for lawyers but still show the filed documents only on a courthouse computer. In some states there is no statewide system at all, and each county clerk decides what goes online and what it costs.
Three Different Questions
Three separate things get lumped together as "court records online," and states answer them differently:- Statewide e-filing: whether lawyers and parties file documents electronically through one system across the state's trial courts. Most states now have it, at least for attorneys in civil cases.
- Online case search: whether the public can look up a case's docket, meaning the list of parties, filings, hearings and outcomes. Many states offer this free even when they do not show documents.
- Filed documents online: whether a member of the public who is not a party can open the actual complaint, motion or order from home. This is where states differ most.
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The Big Picture
Counting the District of Columbia, the 51 jurisdictions break down roughly into four groups based on what the general public can see online as of October 2026:- Free online documents (9 states and D.C.): Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina, plus the District of Columbia. Coverage still has limits, such as civil cases only, documents filed after a certain date, or specific courts.
- Paid online documents (10 states): Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Texas, Utah and West Virginia charge per page, per document or by subscription.
- Courthouse only (19 states): Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Most of these offer a free online docket search, but the documents themselves are viewed at a courthouse terminal or requested from the clerk.
- County by county (12 states): California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington leave online access largely to each county or court, so the answer depends on where the case was filed.
Court Records Access by State
Each row reflects the state judiciary's own website as of October 2026. "Filed documents online" describes access for a member of the public who is not a party to the case. Lawyers of record and parties often have broader access through the e-filing system.| State | Statewide E-Filing | Online Case Search | Filed Documents Online | Case Search / Official Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Yes — AlaFile | Paid (Alacourt) | Paid online: Alacourt charges per search, plus $5 for the first 20 pages of a document image | Alacourt |
| Alaska | Yes — TrueFiling | Free statewide | Courthouse only, except some criminal and minor-offense documents for registered users | Alaska CourtView case search |
| Arizona | Yes — Superior Court and most justice courts | Free (most courts) | Paid online: $10 per document through eAccess (Superior Court civil and criminal cases filed since 2010) | Arizona Public Access case search |
| Arkansas | Yes — eFlex | Free statewide | Free online through Search ARCourts | Search ARCourts |
| California | Varies — each of 58 superior courts runs its own | County by county | Varies by county; Los Angeles charges per page. State rules bar remote access to many case types | California Courts |
| Colorado | Yes — Colorado Courts E-Filing | Paid third-party vendors only | Courthouse or records request; not on the Judicial Branch website | Colorado Judicial Branch records guide |
| Connecticut | Yes — Judicial Branch E-Services | Free statewide | Free online for many e-filed civil cases; family documents generally not online | Connecticut Case Look-up |
| Delaware | Partial — Superior Court and Chancery civil | Civil cases only (free) | Free at courthouse terminals; remote documents require a paid File & ServeXpress subscription | Delaware Courts docket search |
| District of Columbia | Yes — eFileDC (Superior Court) | Free | Free online for civil, probate and tax cases; criminal documents only in some cases | D.C. Courts cases online |
| Florida | Yes — Florida Courts E-Filing Portal | County by county (67 clerks) | Varies by county; most clerks show non-confidential documents free, with family and probate behind a registered account | Florida Courts E-Filing Portal |
| Georgia | County by county — several vendors | County by county | Varies by county and vendor; accounts required | Georgia Judicial Gateway E-Access |
| Hawaii | Yes — JEFS | Free statewide | Paid online: $3 per document through eCourt Kōkua, or $125 a quarter | Hawaii State Judiciary records |
| Idaho | Yes — iCourt | Free statewide | Courthouse kiosks or the clerk | Idaho iCourt Portal |
| Illinois | Yes — eFileIL (civil) | County by county | Varies by county circuit clerk; Supreme and Appellate Court filings since April 2025 are free online | Illinois Courts e-services |
| Indiana | Yes — Indiana E-Filing System | Free statewide (MyCase) | Free online for most civil case types; criminal cases show sentencing orders only | Indiana MyCase |
| Iowa | Yes — EDMS | Free statewide (dockets) | Courthouse terminals; parties see their own case documents online | Iowa Courts Online search |
| Kansas | Yes — Kansas eCourt (all 105 counties) | Free statewide | Free online through CaseSearch for documents filed after each county joined eCourt | Kansas CaseSearch |
| Kentucky | Yes, for attorneys in several civil case types | Not for the general public (CourtNet is for attorneys and agencies) | Courthouse only, through the county circuit clerk | Kentucky Court of Justice records |
| Louisiana | Parish by parish | Paid, parish by parish | Paid online subscriptions set by each of the 64 parish clerks | Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure art. 253 |
| Maine | Partial — rolling out by region | Partial (free account) | Courthouse terminals; online documents only where the court makes them available | Maine eCourts public access |
| Maryland | Yes — MDEC | Free statewide (case summaries) | Courthouse terminals; remote documents are for parties and attorneys only | Maryland Judiciary Case Search |
| Massachusetts | Yes — eFileMA | Free statewide (MassCourts dockets) | Courthouse kiosks or the clerk; online documents are for registered attorneys | MassCourts case search |
| Michigan | Partial — MiFILE, court by court | Participating courts only | Varies by court; copies come from each clerk | MiCOURT Case Search |
| Minnesota | Yes — eFile and eServe | Free statewide | Free online through MCRO for most documents filed since July 2015 | Minnesota Court Records Online |
| Mississippi | Yes — MEC | Paid (PAMEC) | Paid online: $0.20 per page plus a $10 annual registration | Mississippi Electronic Courts |
| Missouri | Yes — Missouri eFiling System | Free statewide (Case.net) | Free online for public documents filed since July 1, 2023 | Missouri Case.net |
| Montana | Partial — rolling out by district | Partial (index only) | Courthouse or the clerk of court | Montana Courts public portals |
| Nebraska | Yes — mandatory for attorneys | Paid (JUSTICE) | Paid online: $17 one-time search including document images, or a subscription | Nebraska JUSTICE e-services |
| Nevada | County by county | County by county | Varies by county; Clark County runs its own records portal | Nevada court records guide |
| New Hampshire | Yes — NH e-Court | Partial (LUCIE, free account) | Courthouse kiosks; LUCIE shows case summaries, not documents | New Hampshire LUCIE |
| New Jersey | Yes — eCourts | Free statewide | Free online for e-filed civil, special civil and foreclosure documents | New Jersey Courts find a case |
| New Mexico | Yes — Odyssey File & Serve | Free statewide (Case Lookup) | Courthouse only for the general public; fuller online access for attorneys, press and approved users | New Mexico Courts Case Lookup |
| New York | Partial — NYSCEF, mandatory in some counties | Free statewide | Free online for Supreme Court cases e-filed in NYSCEF (guest search) | NYSCEF (search as guest) |
| North Carolina | Yes — eCourts (all 100 counties) | Free statewide | Free online through the eCourts Portal; confidential and sealed filings withheld | North Carolina eCourts |
| North Dakota | Yes — Odyssey eFiling | Free statewide | Courthouse or the county clerk | North Dakota Courts public access |
| Ohio | County by county | County by county | Varies by county clerk; remote access is optional for each court | Supreme Court of Ohio e-filing |
| Oklahoma | Pilot in some counties | Free (OSCN counties) | Varies by county | Oklahoma State Courts Network |
| Oregon | Yes — OJD eFile | Free statewide (case info) | Courthouse terminals; online documents through a paid OJCIN subscription for eligible users | Oregon Judicial Department find a case |
| Pennsylvania | Partial — PACFile and county systems | Partial (UJS Portal, not civil trial cases) | Varies by county prothonotary | Pennsylvania UJS Portal |
| Rhode Island | Yes — Odyssey File & Serve | Free statewide (docket only) | Courthouse terminals; online documents for attorneys | Rhode Island case information |
| South Carolina | Yes — Common Pleas, all 46 counties | Free, county by county | Varies; document images are not available in every county or case | South Carolina case records search |
| South Dakota | Yes — eFile SD | Free (case summaries, free registration) | Courthouse terminals | South Dakota eCourts |
| Tennessee | County by county | County by county | Varies by county clerk; some charge subscriptions | Tennessee AOC statewide case system RFP |
| Texas | Yes — eFileTexas (civil) | Free statewide (re:SearchTX, free account) | Paid online: $0.10 per page, $1 minimum per document, through re:SearchTX | re:SearchTX |
| Utah | Yes — through approved filing providers | Paid (Xchange) | Paid online: $1 per document through Xchange, plus search or subscription fees | Utah Courts Xchange |
| Vermont | Yes — eFile & Serve | Partial (civil summaries) | Courthouse terminals; state law bars remote public access to criminal, family and probate records | Vermont Judiciary electronic access |
| Virginia | Partial — circuit courts that opt in | Partial (free case information) | Courthouse; online documents for approved subscribers through each circuit clerk | Virginia Courts case information |
| Washington | County by county | Free statewide index | Varies by county clerk | Washington statewide case search |
| West Virginia | Yes — all 55 counties | Free statewide (WVPASS, free registration) | Paid online: $0.25 per page through WVPASS | West Virginia WVPASS announcement |
| Wisconsin | Yes — all 72 counties | Free statewide (WCCA) | Courthouse or the clerk; online documents for parties and attorneys only | Wisconsin Circuit Court Access |
| Wyoming | Partial — district courts, circuit courts phasing in | None for the public | Courthouse terminals and the State Law Library | Wyoming Judicial Branch |
States With No Single Statewide System
In about a dozen states, the honest answer to "can I look this up online" is "it depends on the county." California's 58 superior courts each run their own e-filing and records portals, and statewide court rules bar remote access to many case types, including family, juvenile and criminal cases. Florida's 67 county clerks each operate their own records sites under statewide access standards. Georgia sends users from a state gateway out to county clerks and private vendors, each with its own account. Ohio's court rules let each court decide whether to offer remote access at all.Tennessee is an outlier even among these. Its courts adopt e-filing one by one under local rules, and the state's Administrative Office of the Courts has issued a request for proposals for a statewide case management and e-filing system. Louisiana's 64 parish clerks each sell their own online subscriptions.
Where Access Has Recently Changed
The map is not static, and several states opened up in the last few years:- Missouri began showing public documents on Case.net for filings made on or after July 1, 2023.
- West Virginia launched WVPASS on March 10, 2025, with documents from all 55 counties back to 1999 at $0.25 a page.
- Illinois made Supreme Court and Appellate Court documents filed on or after April 1, 2025 free online and has named the 102 county circuit courts as its next step.
- North Carolina finished moving all 100 counties onto its eCourts system in October 2025.
- Kansas replaced its district court portal with a free CaseSearch site in November 2025.
- New Hampshire launched the LUCIE case information portal in 2026, which shows case summaries but not documents.
- Rhode Island and Wyoming have both begun looking at remote public access to documents, which neither offers today.
Federal Cases Are a Separate System
Nothing in the table covers federal lawsuits, including most of the class actions and securities cases covered on this site. Those are filed in federal court and live on PACER, which charges $0.10 per page today and is scheduled to rise to $0.12 per page on January 1, 2027, with the first $30 a quarter waived ($40 from 2027). The free CourtListener archive and its RECAP browser extension hold copies of many federal filings that someone has already paid for. The full history of those fees is in PACER Explained: The Paywall on Court Records.What the Table Does Not Capture
Court access rules change often, and a state-level summary flattens real differences between courts and case types. Every state withholds sealed cases and confidential case types, and many keep family, guardianship and protective-order documents offline even when they show the docket. Most portals also say their online information is not the official court record; certified copies come from the clerk of the court that holds the case. Where a state's own website did not clearly answer a question, the row says "varies" or describes the access the court confirms.Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't there one national website for court records?
Federal and state courts are separate systems. PACER covers only the federal courts, and each of the 50 states runs its own judiciary with its own budget, technology and rules on who may see a court file. Some states run a single statewide portal; others leave records to each county clerk.
Which states let the public read court filings online for free?
As of October 2026, Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina, plus the District of Columbia, offer free online access to many filed documents through a statewide or court-wide system. Each excludes confidential case types, and several cover only certain courts, case types or filing dates.
Is a statewide e-filing system the same as public online access?
No. E-filing lets lawyers and parties submit documents electronically, but many states with complete statewide e-filing, including Iowa, Wisconsin, Maryland and Rhode Island, still let the general public view the filed documents only at a courthouse terminal. Online document access is a separate policy decision.
Are online court records the official record?
Usually not. Most state portals say their online case information is provided for convenience and is not the official court record. Certified copies come from the clerk of the court that holds the case, generally for a fee.
Can sealed or confidential cases be found online?
No. Every state withholds sealed cases and confidential case types from public online access. Juvenile, adoption and mental health cases are commonly excluded, and many states also keep family, guardianship and protective-order documents offline even when the docket is listed.
Sources
Each state's row links to its public case search where one exists, or otherwise to the official judiciary page the row is based on. Additional sources:- Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts — statewide case management RFP
- Illinois Supreme Court — free remote access to reviewing court documents
- Kansas Judicial Branch — CaseSearch launch
- California Rules of Court, rule 2.503 — remote access limits
- Supreme Court of Ohio — public access primer
- Vermont Judiciary — electronic access
About This Page
OpenClassActions.com is a consumer news and information site, not a law firm. This article is general information about how public access to court records works. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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