Locate a federal court case by using the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) or by visiting the Clerk’s Office of the courthouse where the case was filed.
Federal case files are maintained electronically and are available through the internet-based Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service. PACER allows anyone with an account to search and locate appellate, district, and bankruptcy court case and docket information. Register for a PACER account.
Case files may also be accessed from the public access terminals in the clerk’s office of the court where the case was filed.
Most cases created before 1999 are maintained in paper format only. Access paper case files from the court, where the case was filed, or at one of the Federal Records Centers (FRCs). Contact the court where the case was filed for more information.
All bankruptcy courts have a telephone information system, also known as the Voice Case Information System, that enables callers to obtain basic case information through a touchtone phone. This is free to use and available 24 hours a day.
Court opinions are available for free on PACER to anyone with an account. Additionally, access to court opinions from many appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts are available for no fee in a text searchable format through a partnership with the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO), consistent with the E-Government Act.
When court records and case files are eligible for permanent preservation, they are transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for storage and preservation. These records can be accessed directly from NARA.
Individual researchers working on defined research projects intended for scholarly work can use the attached form (pdf) to request PACER fee exemptions from multiple courts. In accordance with the EPA fee schedule, the request should be limited in scope, and not be intended for redistribution on the internet or for commercial purposes.
Please note, if you are seeking a fee exemption from a single court and/or for non-research purposes, contact that court directly.
Define the data needs for research using the Federal Court Cases Integrated Database (IDB) provided free of charge by the Federal Judicial Center. The IDB has case data (not documents) for criminal, civil, appellate, and bankruptcy cases that can help researchers refine their requests.
Information on accessing opinions and case-related documents for the Supreme Court of the United States is available on the court’s website.
If you have any questions, please contact the PACER Service Center at pacer@psc.uscourts.gov or (800) 676-6856.
A survey of PACER users, conducted in 2021, measured user satisfaction and identified areas for improvement with PACER services. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts is using the survey results to evaluate and prioritize future changes to PACER services and features.