How to search court dockets

State Courthouses

Trial Court case information is available at designated public access computers located in District, Boston Municipal, Probate and Family, Superior, Housing, and Land Courts and County Registry of Deeds sites.

The public access PCs run the eAccess application and allow searches by name, case type, and case number.  The search results display case information, including party, event, docket, and disposition details.  However, you can't view case documents. Actual case documents are available for public inspection in the Clerk, Register, and Recorder's Offices.
 

Internet

Certain Trial Court case information is also available to the public online at www.masscourts.org. You don't need a log in. To access this information:

1. Go to www.masscourts.org and type the letters in the challenge image. If you can't read the letters, click the New Challenge Image hyperlink. 
2. Click the button that says "Click here to search public records." You'll then select the court department and court division you're searching in. The court location will automatically fill for you. 
3. After you complete these fields, search tabs for name, case type, case number, and ticket/citation # will appear. You can choose which way you'd like to search for your case. Most criminal cases can only be searched by docket number. If you're searching by docket number, make sure you enter the number exactly how it appears. Please note that the ticket/citation # tab can only be used for Boston Municipal Court and District Court cases. For instructions on how to use each search tab, see Instructions for Massachusetts Trial Court Electronic Case Access.
4. Once you hit search, you will see a list of cases. Use the navigation bar at the bottom of the page to navigate through pages of results. Click the column headers to sort the search results. Each retrieved record represents a party in a case, therefore case numbers may appear multiple times in the search results. Please note that the system displays a maximum of 100 records for each search, so you'll need to narrow your search criteria if you can’t see all of the records in the selected range.
5. To see more information about a case, click the desired case's hyperlink. You'll see public information about the case, including party, event, docket, and disposition details. However, you can't view case documents. Actual case documents are available for public inspection from the information counters of the courthouses. If you'd like to print a case, click the print icon in the upper-right corner.
6. If you'd like to find other cases, use the menu items at the top of the page. Choose:
   1. Results to return to the list of retrieved cases
   2. Search to change search criteria, choose a different search method, or to search for cases in a different court
   3. Home to return to the welcome page once you're finished searching