Route a Texas Case to the Clerk Who Actually Holds It
Texas does not keep every trial-court record in one complete public database. A felony case may be with the District Clerk, a misdemeanor or probate matter with the County Clerk, an eviction with a Justice of the Peace, and a city ticket with a municipal court.
Start by identifying the county, case type and court level. Then search the county’s official portal or re:SearchTX, confirm the cause number and request the exact docket, order, judgment or certified copy from the record-holding clerk.
Each county can use different websites and case-management systems.
Local clerks remain the official custodians of trial-court records.
A cause or case number is safer than a name-only search.
Order it directly from the clerk maintaining the case.
Statewide resources checked August 3, 2026.
Which Texas court office should you search?
Common district-court matters include felony criminal cases, divorce, many family cases, larger civil disputes, land-title cases and juvenile matters.
See District Clerk search stepsCounty clerks commonly maintain Class A and B misdemeanors, probate, guardianship, mental-health and county-court-at-law records.
See County Clerk search stepsJustice courts commonly handle evictions, small claims, debt claims, repair-and-remedy cases and county Class C misdemeanors.
Find the correct JP courtMunicipal courts handle city-ordinance violations and many Class C tickets issued inside city limits.
Search municipal casesSearch the Supreme Court of Texas, Court of Criminal Appeals and all 15 Courts of Appeals through the statewide appellate system.
Search appellate recordsFederal district, bankruptcy and federal appellate records are not stored in Texas county court portals.
Open the federal routeThree tools that work across Texas counties
Use this when you do not know the court name, judge, clerk, address or phone number.
- Choose Court or Personnel.
- Select the court type and county.
- Run the search.
- Open the result for current contact information.
Use this for a statewide electronic search of accessible e-filed case information and documents.
- Sign in or register.
- Search by cause number, party or attorney.
- Filter by county, court, case category and filing date.
- Verify the result with the official clerk.
Use this to reach an official county website when you know the county but not its clerk portal.
- Select the county on the map.
- Open the county’s official website.
- Choose District Clerk, County Clerk or Courts.
- Look for Case Search, Judicial Records or Court Records.
What re:SearchTX can and cannot do
Useful for
- Searching more than one county
- Finding a cause number
- Locating e-filed case information
- Reviewing accessible docket information
- Viewing available electronic documents
- Searching by party, attorney or case number
Do not rely on it alone for
- Same-day local updates
- Every old or archived case
- Every Justice or municipal case
- Sealed or confidential documents
- A certified court copy
- Proof that no case exists anywhere in Texas
When to search the Texas District Clerk
- Felony criminal cases
- Indictments and informations
- Bond and pretrial orders
- Pleas, judgments and sentences
- Post-conviction filings
- Divorce
- Parent-child cases
- Child-support litigation
- Protective-order cases
- Juvenile matters with restricted access
- Larger civil lawsuits
- Land-title disputes
- Tax suits
- Injunctions
- Other matters assigned to district court
When to search the Texas County Clerk
County clerks commonly maintain Class A and Class B misdemeanor cases filed in constitutional county courts or county courts at law.
Search for wills, estate administrations, guardianships and related probate proceedings unless a statutory probate court uses another route.
County courts at law can hear civil matters, appeals and other cases within the jurisdiction created for that county.
How to search Texas court records by name
Understand the fields shown in a Texas court search
Field |
What it means |
What it does not prove |
Next action |
|---|---|---|---|
Cause or case number |
The identifier assigned to a specific court case. |
That another case with the same person is connected. |
Use it for every later search or copy request. |
Case style |
The shortened caption naming the parties. |
That every party or alias appears in the shortened display. |
Open the party list or petition. |
Case type |
The clerk’s category, such as felony, divorce, probate or civil. |
The exact claims, allegations or charges. |
Read the initiating pleading or charging instrument. |
Court |
The court currently associated with the case. |
That every hearing occurs at one physical location. |
Verify the hearing notice and court address. |
Filed date |
When the clerk opened or accepted the case. |
When the underlying event happened. |
Read the petition, complaint, indictment or citation. |
Status |
A broad system label such as active, pending, disposed or closed. |
How each claim or count ended. |
Locate the judgment, dismissal or final order. |
Docket event |
A filing, hearing, order, service event or other case action. |
That the linked document is publicly downloadable. |
Request the document by event date and title. |
Disposition |
The result entered for a charge, count, claim or case. |
That every part of a multi-count case ended the same way. |
Read each count and the signed judgment. |
Judgment or final order |
The signed court document resolving identified issues. |
That no appeal or later enforcement action exists. |
Check post-judgment events and appellate history. |
Document image |
An electronic copy available through the portal. |
That it is certified or the complete file. |
Order a certified copy when official proof is required. |
Docket sheet, court document or transcript?
A basic search result showing parties, case number, court, type, filing date and status.
Use it to locate the case, not as final proof.
A chronological list of filings, hearings, orders and case activity.
Use it to identify the document title and date.
The initiating document describing civil claims, family requests or other relief sought.
It contains allegations, not a final ruling.
The formal charging document in a criminal prosecution.
A filed charge is not a conviction.
A signed ruling resolving a motion, claim, charge or the entire case.
Check whether later orders changed it.
A clerk-issued record summarising a criminal case outcome when that service is offered.
Ask what information the letter includes.
The trial-court documents formally assembled for an appeal.
It is different from a normal case-file copy.
A written record of spoken proceedings prepared from the reporter’s record.
Contact the reporter or court for price and availability.
Evidence admitted or offered during a hearing or trial.
Access can require the clerk, reporter, court coordinator or a court order.
Order an official Texas court record from the clerk
Plain copy
A normal photocopy or electronic image without the clerk’s certification.
Useful for personal review, research or understanding the case.
Certified copy
A copy carrying the clerk’s certification that it is a true and correct copy from the official record.
Often requested for government, licensing, immigration, employment or legal use.
Why a Texas county court case may not appear online
Find a Texas case that predates the online portal
Not every Texas court document is open online
Record type |
Likely public access |
Possible restriction |
Best next step |
|---|---|---|---|
Ordinary civil docket |
Often publicly searchable. |
Sensitive attachments or sealed filings may be unavailable. |
Request the identified public document from the clerk. |
Criminal case |
Many case indexes, orders and judgments are public. |
Sealed, expunged, juvenile or protected material is restricted. |
Ask for the public docket or disposition. |
Divorce or family case |
Some docket and order information may be public. |
Children’s information, financial data and sensitive exhibits may be redacted or restricted. |
Request the exact decree or order. |
Juvenile case |
Generally restricted. |
State law limits public access. |
Ask the clerk about authorised-party access. |
Adoption |
Generally confidential. |
Access may require legal authority or a court order. |
Contact the District Clerk handling the file. |
Mental-health case |
Restricted. |
Medical and statutory confidentiality protections apply. |
Ask about authorised access. |
Probate or guardianship |
Many filings and orders may be public. |
Medical, financial and protected-person information can be restricted. |
Request only the document needed. |
Protective order |
Public access is limited and subject to safety rules. |
Applications, addresses and protected-person details may be restricted. |
Use the maintaining court for an official record. |
Use four different sources for four different answers
Booking date, custody, housing, release, jail charge and bond information.
Incident report, arrest narrative, probable-cause affidavit and related police records.
Filed charge, docket, court orders, plea, dismissal, judgment, sentence and disposition.
Broader public Texas criminal-history information reported to the state system.
Criminal disposition words to read carefully
The case has not reached a final court resolution.
The identified charge or case was dismissed; check whether another count remains.
A plea or finding can exist without a final conviction at that stage, subject to the court’s order.
The court entered a conviction for the identified charge.
The defendant was found not guilty of the identified charge.
The trial-court result may be under review in a higher court.
Search sensitive Texas cases without requesting too much
Divorce and family
- Search the District Clerk in most counties.
- Use the names at the time the case was filed.
- Look for the final decree, modification order or dismissal.
- Do not assume every exhibit is publicly available.
- Request a certified decree when official proof is required.
Probate and estate
- Search the County Clerk or statutory probate clerk.
- Use the decedent’s full legal name and death year.
- Look for the application, will, order and letters.
- Confirm whether an independent or dependent administration was opened.
- Ask which documents contain restricted information.
Search Texas appeals, business cases and federal courts
Search the Supreme Court of Texas, Court of Criminal Appeals and the state’s 15 Courts of Appeals.
- Search by full or partial case number.
- Filter civil or criminal cases.
- Search by filing date, party style or attorney.
- Open available appellate documents.
Business Court case records and hearing details are accessed through re:SearchTX.
- Sign in with an eFileTexas or re:SearchTX account.
- Filter by Business Court division.
- Search the cause number or party.
- Verify the controlling order and hearing notice.
Use PACER for U.S. district, bankruptcy and federal appellate records.
- Register for a PACER account.
- Search the specific court or national case locator.
- Search by party, case number or filing date.
- Review PACER fees before opening lengthy reports.
Ask for the exact Texas court document
County: [Texas county]
Court: [court name and number]
Cause number: [number]
Case style: [party v. party / State of Texas v. defendant / Estate of name]
Document requested: [judgment, dismissal, decree, order, petition, will, docket sheet or other exact title]
Document or docket date: [date, if known]
Please confirm whether your office maintains this record, the total copy and certification fee, accepted payment methods and available electronic, mail or pickup delivery options. Please provide a cost estimate before processing if the total will exceed $[amount].
Avoid these Texas court-search dead ends
Use the local county or court portal when the statewide result is missing, delayed or incomplete.
The Office of Court Administration does not maintain individual trial-court case files.
Felony, divorce and many larger civil matters are usually maintained by the District Clerk.
A JP case can be difficult to locate without the precinct and place number.
Read the actual judgment, dismissal, decree or final order.
An online PDF may be informative but insufficient when an official certified copy is required.
Family, probate and older cases may use a former, maiden or business name.
A court case does not replace the sheriff booking or police incident report.
The case may be archived, restricted, filed elsewhere or maintained in a separate local system.
Texas county court record lookup questions answered
Is there one official website for all Texas county court records?
No single Texas Judicial Branch website contains every trial-court record from all 254 counties. re:SearchTX provides statewide electronic access to many e-filed cases and documents, but local coverage varies. The official record remains with the district clerk, county clerk, justice court, municipal court or other clerk that maintains the case.
Should I contact the Texas District Clerk or County Clerk?
Start with the District Clerk for felony criminal cases, divorce and many family cases, larger civil cases and other district-court matters. Start with the County Clerk for Class A and Class B misdemeanors, probate, guardianship and many county-court-at-law cases. Local responsibilities can overlap, so use the county website or Texas Judicial Directory when uncertain.
How do I search Texas court records by a person’s name?
Choose the county and correct court level first. Enter the last name before adding the first or middle name. Narrow the results with a cause number, filing-date range, court, case type or birth date when the portal displays one. Verify the person with several matching details because a name alone does not establish identity.
What is re:SearchTX and is it an official court-record system?
re:SearchTX is the statewide electronic access-to-court-records program connected with eFileTexas. It can help registered users find case information and accessible documents from participating courts. It is not a complete replacement for local clerk systems, and users should verify important information with the official clerk of the court.
Why can I not find a Texas court case online?
The case may be in another county or court, recently filed, archived, stored under a different name, available only through the clerk, or restricted by law or court order. Justice and municipal cases may also use separate local portals. Contact the clerk with the name, approximate filing date, case type and cause number when known.
How do I obtain a certified Texas court record?
Request the document from the clerk that maintains the case. Identify the county, court, cause number, case style and exact document needed. State that you need a certified copy rather than an ordinary copy, ask for the current fee and accepted payment method, and confirm whether the clerk can deliver it electronically, by mail or at the counter.
Are Texas divorce, probate and family court records public?
Many docket entries, orders and filings may be publicly available, but access depends on the record and case. Adoption, juvenile, mental-health, sealed and expunged records are generally restricted, and family or probate documents may contain redactions or confidential exhibits. Ask the clerk what can legally be inspected or copied.
Do Texas county court records include arrest records?
A criminal court file may show the filed charge, docket, bond orders, plea, judgment and disposition, but it is not the same as a jail booking or police arrest report. Use the county sheriff or jail for custody records, the arresting agency for the incident report, the clerk for the court case and Texas DPS for broader public criminal-history information.
Where do I search Texas traffic tickets, evictions and small claims?
Search the municipal court when the ticket was issued by a city or concerns a city ordinance. Search the appropriate Justice of the Peace court for many county Class C cases, evictions, small claims, debt claims and repair-and-remedy cases. The county precinct and place number may be needed.
Where do I search Texas appellate and federal court records?
Use the Texas Judicial Branch appellate case search for the Supreme Court of Texas, Court of Criminal Appeals and Texas Courts of Appeals. Use PACER for federal district, bankruptcy and federal appellate cases. A Texas county clerk portal does not include federal records.