To look up federal court cases, use PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) at pacer.uscourts.gov, or one of several free alternatives such as CourtListener, GovInfo, or a public terminal at any federal courthouse. PACER charges $0.10 per page with a $3.00 cap per document, and if your total stays at or below $30.00 in a quarter, the charges are waived entirely.1United States Courts. Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule The search itself is quick once you have the right identifiers and know which court heard the case.
Gather These Details Before You Search
A focused search costs less and finishes faster. The single most useful piece of information is the case number, because a case-number search takes you straight to the docket without generating billable search-result pages. If you don’t have the number, get the full names of the parties, whether people or businesses. Partial names work, but you’ll sort through more results.
You also need to know which court to look in. The federal system has 94 district courts at the trial level, 13 courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court.2United States Courts. Court Role and Structure Most cases begin in the district where the events happened or where the parties live. If you’re not sure, the PACER Case Locator searches across all federal courts at once.3PACER. PACER Case Locator
Searching on PACER
Register for a free account at pacer.uscourts.gov by giving your name, address, and payment information.4PACER. Register for an Account The account costs nothing to create; charges begin only when you access documents.
After logging in, open the PACER Case Locator. It works as a national index for district, bankruptcy, and appellate courts. You can run a basic case or party search, or use the advanced filters for region, court type, date range, or nature of suit. Search by case number whenever you can, because party-name searches often produce long result lists that accumulate charges before you open a single document.
When you find the right case, clicking the docket number opens a chronological list of every filing. The docket sheet shows the parties, their attorneys, the presiding judge, and a short description of each document with its filing date. Clicking a document number opens a preview that shows the page count and cost before you download, so you won’t be charged without seeing the price first.
One limit worth knowing: the Case Locator is an index, not a live feed. For real-time filings in an active case, go directly to that court’s CM/ECF system, which you can reach through PACER.
What PACER Costs
The fee schedule has a few layers worth understanding before you start clicking:
- Documents, docket sheets, and search results run $0.10 per page.
- No single document costs more than $3.00, regardless of length.
- Audio recordings of hearings cost $2.40 per file.
- If your total charges stay at $30.00 or less in a billing quarter, the entire amount is waived.
- Judicial opinions are always free.
- Search results are billed by the pages generated even when the search returns nothing, and there’s no cap on search-result fees.
Academic researchers can request a fee exemption for scholarly projects, and individual courts decide whether to grant it.5PACER. Frequently Asked Questions Courts can also waive fees for indigent litigants, pro bono attorneys, and nonprofits when doing so promotes public access.1United States Courts. Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule
Free Ways to Find the Same Records
You often don’t need to pay anything. Experienced researchers check the free sources before opening PACER.
CourtListener and the RECAP Archive
The RECAP Archive, run by the nonprofit Free Law Project, holds tens of millions of PACER documents that other users have already purchased. When someone downloads a document from PACER with the free RECAP browser extension installed, the file is added to the public archive. Anyone can then read it for free on CourtListener.6Free Law Project. RECAP Suite – Turning PACER Around Since 2009 Check CourtListener first; the document you want may already be there.
Judicial Opinions on GovInfo
If you only need the court’s written decision and not the underlying motions or briefs, the U.S. Government Publishing Office posts opinions from appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts on govinfo.gov. You can browse by court, date, or keyword without an account.7GovInfo. United States Courts Opinions
Public Terminals at the Courthouse
Every federal courthouse has public access terminals for viewing case records at no cost. No PACER account is needed. Screen viewing is free; printing costs $0.10 per page.1United States Courts. Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule For a large volume of filings on a single case, a few hours at the courthouse can be cheaper than pulling everything online. Clerk’s office hours vary, but they’re generally open weekdays during business hours.
Sealed Documents and Redacted Information
Not every part of a federal case file is public. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 requires parties to redact sensitive information before filing. Social Security numbers are trimmed to the last four digits, birth dates reduced to just the year, minors identified only by initials, and financial account numbers shortened to the last four digits.8Cornell Law School / Legal Information Institute. Rule 5.2 Privacy Protection For Filings Made with the Court The responsibility sits with the filing party and their attorney.
Judges can also seal entire documents or entire cases when privacy or safety concerns outweigh the public’s right of access. Sealed records won’t appear in PACER search results, or you’ll see a docket entry with no downloadable file. There’s no general public unsealing process; a party has to file a motion, and the judge decides whether keeping the file sealed is still justified.
Older Cases at the National Archives
Cases closed decades ago may not be in PACER at all. Federal agencies must transfer permanent records to the National Archives and Records Administration no later than 30 years after the records were created, and many court records move sooner.9eCFR. 36 CFR Part 1235 – Transfer of Records to the National Archives of the United States
To find an archived case, start by contacting the clerk of the court where it was originally filed. The clerk can give you the transfer number and box number you’ll need to order from NARA; without those identifiers, NARA staff can’t locate the file. Then submit a request using one of NARA’s order forms (Forms 90 through 93, depending on whether the case is bankruptcy, civil, criminal, or appellate).
Current NARA reproduction fees are $35.00 for a package of pre-selected documents and $90.00 for an entire case file of up to 150 pages. Files over 150 pages incur a labor surcharge of $22.00 per 15-minute increment.10National Archives. NARA Reproduction Fees Overnight delivery adds $30.00 and a certified seal costs $15.00 per package. Turnaround can run several weeks, so build in time.
Certified Copies, Transcripts, and Audio
If you need an official paper copy rather than a screen view or PDF, the clerk’s office reproduces records at $0.50 per page. A certified copy bearing the court’s seal costs an additional $12.00 per document. These fees are uniform across all district courts.11United States Courts. District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
Transcripts of proceedings are priced separately. The first party to order a transcript pays the original rate; later requesters pay a copy rate. The Judicial Conference sets maximum per-page rates by delivery speed:
- 30-day (ordinary) delivery: $4.40 per page for the original, $1.10 for the first copy to each additional party
- 14-day delivery: $5.10 per page for the original
- 7-day (expedited) delivery: $5.85 per page for the original
Transcripts also become available on PACER 90 days after production at the standard $0.10 per page with no cap, which is much cheaper than ordering from the court reporter.13PACER. PACER Pricing: How Fees Work If you’re not in a hurry, waiting saves real money. Audio recordings of hearings are available on PACER for $2.40 per file when the court records them digitally.