To get a certified copy of a court document, contact the clerk of the court that handled the case, provide the case number and document title, and pay a per-page copy fee plus a flat certification fee. Learning how to get certified court documents is mostly a matter of knowing which court holds the record and what the clerk needs to find it. Most requests can be made in person, by mail, or through an online portal, and in-person requests are often filled the same day.
Find the Court That Holds Your Record
Court records stay with the court that handled the case. A divorce decree is usually at the county or circuit court where the divorce was granted. A federal criminal judgment lives with the U.S. District Court that entered it. A bankruptcy discharge sits with the bankruptcy court that handled the case. Municipal, county, state trial, state appellate, federal district, federal bankruptcy, and federal appellate courts all keep their own files, and none of them can produce a certified copy of another court’s record.
If you don’t remember where the case was filed, the federal system offers a nationwide search. PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) lets you search across all federal courts by party name or case number. Access costs $0.10 per page with a $3 cap per document, and you won’t owe anything until your charges exceed $30 in a billing quarter.1United States Courts. Appendix 2 – Electronic Public Access Program FY2026 You can register at pacer.uscourts.gov and use the PACER Case Locator to search nationally.2Public Access to Court Electronic Records | PACER: Federal Court Records. Public Access to Court Electronic Records Most state courts have their own online case-search portals on the clerk’s website. If online searching turns up nothing, call the clerk’s office.
Gather the Information the Clerk Will Ask For
Missing information is the most common reason a records request stalls. Before you contact the court, pull together as much of this as you can:
- The case number the court assigned when the case was filed. This is the single most important item. Without it, the clerk has to run a manual search, which adds time and often an extra fee.
- The full legal names of the parties (plaintiff and defendant, or petitioner and respondent). Spelling matters.
- The title of the specific filing you need, such as “Final Judgment,” “Divorce Decree,” “Sentencing Order,” or “Discharge of Debtor.” A single case file can contain hundreds of documents; a vague request will either be refused or cost far more than you expected.
- The approximate filing date, which helps the clerk locate the document in older cases.
If you don’t have the case number, look through the court’s online docket search or PACER before you file the request. Some clerks will search by party name for an added fee — in federal courts that fee is $34 per name searched.3United States Courts. District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule Ten minutes of searching online can save you that charge.
Submit the Request
Courts generally offer three ways to request a certified copy: in person, by mail, and online. Not every court offers all three, and the details vary between jurisdictions.
In Person
Walking into the clerk’s office is the most reliable method. You fill out a request form at the counter, pay the fee, and in many cases walk out with your certified copy the same day. If the file has to be pulled from storage, you may be asked to come back. Bring a government-issued ID and your payment. Accepted methods typically include cash, money orders, and major credit cards, though some offices don’t take personal checks.
By Mail
Most courts accept mail-in requests. Download the request form from the clerk’s website, fill it out, and mail it with your payment (usually a money order or cashier’s check; don’t send cash). One detail people commonly miss: many courts require you to include a self-addressed stamped envelope with enough postage to cover the return mailing. Without it, your request may sit unprocessed. Expect mail requests to take one to several weeks depending on the court’s workload.
Online
A growing number of courts accept requests through an online portal where you upload forms and pay electronically. Some courts issue electronic certified copies with digital seals. Federal courts increasingly allow you to locate and view documents through PACER, though PACER itself provides only uncertified copies; you’ll still need to contact the specific clerk’s office for a certified version.4United States Courts. Court Records
Whichever method you use, specify “certified copy” on the form. Courts also produce plain photocopies, which cost less but won’t be accepted anywhere legal authentication is required. If the form has check boxes for copy type, confirm you selected the certified option before submitting.
What It Costs
You’ll typically pay two separate charges: a per-page reproduction fee and a flat certification fee per document.
Federal courts follow a uniform fee schedule set by the Judicial Conference of the United States. Federal district courts charge $0.50 per page for paper reproductions and $12 for certification of each document. A record search costs $34 per name or item.3United States Courts. District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
State court fees vary. Per-page copy charges commonly fall between $0.50 and $2.00, and certification fees range from roughly $5 to $30 per document. Some courts also charge a search fee if you don’t provide a case number. Check the clerk’s website for the exact fee schedule before submitting a request; paying the wrong amount is a common reason for delays.
Courts that require payment up front won’t process your request until fees are received in full. For mail-in requests, make the money order or cashier’s check payable to the clerk of court (or whatever entity the court specifies). For online requests, most courts accept major credit and debit cards.
Old and Archived Records
Court clerks eventually transfer closed case files to off-site storage. For federal cases, older records move to National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Federal Records Centers. Retrieving these files takes longer and costs more than pulling a document from the clerk’s active files.
You can order copies of closed federal bankruptcy, civil, criminal, and appellate case files from NARA online through the National Archives Order Reproductions page, or by downloading and mailing the appropriate form (NATF Forms 90 through 93, depending on case type).5National Archives. Obtaining Copies of Court Records in the Federal Records Centers NARA charges $35 for pre-selected documents and $90 for an entire case file, with extra labor charges for files over 150 pages. Certification adds $15 per document.6National Archives. NARA Reproduction Fees In-person review at NARA facilities has been discontinued; use the online or mail ordering process, or visit the federal court’s own clerk’s office if it still holds the records.
State courts have their own archival storage arrangements, and retrieval fees and timelines vary. Expect the process to take several weeks for archived files. For very old cases, call the clerk’s office first to confirm the records still exist and where they’re stored.
Expect Some Redactions
Don’t be surprised if the certified copy you receive has some information blacked out or abbreviated. Federal courts follow a privacy protection rule that limits what personal information appears in court filings. Documents filed with the court may include only the last four digits of a Social Security or taxpayer identification number, the year of an individual’s birth, a minor’s initials instead of their full name, and the last four digits of financial account numbers.7LII / Legal Information Institute. Rule 5.2 Privacy Protection For Filings Made with the Court Most state courts follow similar rules, though specifics vary. If you need the unredacted version for a legitimate legal purpose, you’ll generally need to file a motion with the court explaining why.
Sealed Records Are a Different Process
Not all court records are available to the public. Sealed records, common in juvenile cases, certain family law matters, and cases involving trade secrets or national security, require a court order before anyone, including the parties to the case, can obtain copies. No sealed record will be released without a judge’s approval.
If you need a certified copy of a sealed document, file a motion to unseal with the court that sealed it. The motion should explain who you are, why you need the document, and the legal basis for unsealing. Judges weigh the public interest in access against privacy and safety concerns when deciding these motions. In civil cases, sealed documents may automatically become public after a waiting period following the case’s final disposition, often around 90 days, unless a party files a motion to keep them sealed. If you’re a party to the case, your attorney may already have copies of sealed filings, which could save you the trouble of a formal motion.
If the Document Will Be Used Abroad
If you need to use a U.S. court document in another country, many foreign governments require it to carry an apostille, a certificate confirming the document’s authenticity under the Hague Apostille Convention. A regular certified copy from a court clerk won’t be enough.
For federal court documents, the clerk or deputy clerk of the issuing federal court may be able to issue the apostille directly. Otherwise, send the certified copy to the U.S. Department of State’s Authentications Office in Washington, D.C. The fee is $20 per document, and you must include a completed DS-4194 form specifying which country the document will be used in.8U.S. Department of State. Request for Authentications Service DS-4194
Processing times depend on how you submit the request:9U.S. Department of State. Requesting Authentication Services
- By mail, about five weeks from the date the office receives your request.
- Walk-in drop-off, seven business days. The drop-off window is narrow: Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., with a limit of 15 documents per visit.
- Emergency appointment, same-day processing, but only if you have an immediate family member abroad facing a life-or-death emergency. Call 202-485-8000 to schedule.
For state court documents, the apostille is typically issued by the secretary of state in the state where the court sits, not by the U.S. Department of State. Check your state’s secretary of state website for the specific process and fees.
Certified vs. Exemplified Copies
A certified copy, with one clerk’s signature and one court seal, is enough for most situations. Occasionally you’ll encounter a requirement for an exemplified or triple-certified copy. Exemplification adds layers of authentication: the clerk certifies the document, a judge certifies the clerk’s authority, and another official (often the clerk of a higher court or the secretary of state) certifies the judge’s authority. Courts that accept cases transferred from other jurisdictions sometimes require exemplified copies to establish that the original court had proper authority. Exemplification fees generally run between $8 and $50 on top of the standard certification fee. If whoever is requesting your document specifically asks for exemplification, confirm exactly what they need. The term isn’t used consistently across jurisdictions, and over-authenticating wastes money while under-authenticating means starting the request over.