District of Columbia Court Records

Washington DC has a single local court system and a separate federal one. The Superior Court of the District of Columbia is the trial court for everything a state court would handle, with civil, criminal, family, probate, tax and landlord and tenant divisions, and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest local court. Both are federal courts in origin, created by Congress, but they function as the District's own judiciary. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit hear federal cases, including many suits against federal agencies, and their records are in PACER.

Superior Court case records are searched free through the DC Courts eAccess portal, which shows the docket, the parties and the case events for civil, criminal, probate and tax cases, with family and juvenile matters closed. Copies come from the clerk's office at the Moultrie Courthouse on Indiana Avenue.

Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.

The Superior Court handles all local trial matters in the District through the divisions below, and the Court of Appeals is the District's highest court.

• Family Court Operations DivisionDivorce, custody, child support, adoption and juvenile cases
• Probate DivisionEstates, wills, trusts, guardianship and conservatorship cases
• Civil DivisionCivil cases other than family matters, with case search and calendars
• Landlord and Tenant BranchEviction and other cases between property owners and tenants
• Small Claims BranchMoney claims of $10,000 or less
• Civil Actions BranchLawsuits over $10,000 and cases affecting real property
• District of Columbia Court of AppealsHighest court of the District, with opinions and case search
• Criminal DivisionFelony, misdemeanor and criminal traffic cases
• Domestic Violence DivisionCivil protection orders and domestic violence misdemeanor cases
• Problem solving and community courtsDrug court, mental health and misdemeanor community courts
• Court Reporting DivisionTranscripts of Superior Court proceedings, made on paid request

The eAccess portal is searched by party name or case number and shows the docket entries, the attorneys, the judge and the scheduled hearings. Criminal cases show charges and dispositions, civil cases show filings and judgments, and probate shows estates and guardianships. Documents themselves are viewed at the courthouse or ordered from the clerk, and certified copies carry a fee. The Court of Appeals publishes its opinions online and its docket is searched through the same portal.

• DC Courts eAccessFree case search for Superior Court and Court of Appeals records
• DC CourtsThe Superior Court and Court of Appeals, divisions, forms and clerk's offices
• Washington DC Public RecordsThe District's agencies and records offices

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia hears a large share of the nation's suits against federal agencies as well as ordinary federal civil and criminal cases in the District, and the DC Circuit is often the last stop before the Supreme Court on regulatory matters. Their dockets and documents are in PACER, and their opinions are free on the courts' websites and on GovInfo. The Supreme Court's docket is public on its own site.

• United States District Court for the District of ColumbiaFederal trial court for the District with opinions and the PACER link
• United States Court of Appeals for the DC CircuitOpinions and the docket of the DC Circuit
• PACER Federal Court RecordsHow to search federal dockets

A criminal history check for the District comes from the Metropolitan Police Department, which issues police clearance letters to the person concerned, and Superior Court criminal dockets are public through eAccess. The District's sealing law lets people ask the Superior Court to seal arrests that did not lead to conviction and many convictions after a waiting period, and a 2022 law expanded automatic sealing, phasing in over several years. Sealed cases disappear from eAccess.

• Metropolitan Police DepartmentPolice clearance letters and arrest records
• Criminal RecordsWhat criminal history is public and how to get it, state by state
• Washington DC PoliceDistrict police and records contacts

The Family Court of the Superior Court has original jurisdiction over divorce under D.C. Code 11-1101, and its Domestic Relations Branch at the Moultrie Courthouse keeps the files. Domestic Relations Rule 79-I permits inspection and copying of Family Court files and records unless prohibited by statute, rule or order, and Rule 5-III allows sealing only by written court order. There is no standard sworn financial affidavit; financial disclosures are made on court forms and served on the other parties when the judicial officer orders them under Rule 26(a)(1), and anything filed is public except that Rule 5.2 replaces Social Security and taxpayer numbers with SS# and TID# and cuts account numbers to the last four digits.

The DC Courts online case search does not list domestic relations among the case types it covers, so a divorce file is reviewed in person at the Domestic Relations Branch, which also issues certified copies by request to FamilyCourtCertifiedCopies at dcsc.gov or 202-879-1212. The District of Columbia asset search page explains what the judgment and any filed financial disclosures reveal.

• PACER, federal court recordsFederal district, bankruptcy and appeals case files
• U.S. Courts, Federal Court FinderFind the federal court for any address