Sacramento County Court Case Search
A Sacramento County court case search can help you locate criminal, civil, family law, probate, traffic, small claims, and landlord-tenant case information through Sacramento Superior Court. This article explains which official search system to choose, what information each search requires, how historical records differ from current portal records, and where to go when you need to view a case file or request copies.
The court provides several search systems rather than one search form for every case. Selecting the correct case category is the first step. Family law and traffic have their own search forms, criminal cases have a separate public portal, and civil, probate, small claims, and unlawful detainer searches require an account.
Which Court Search Do You Need?
The official Sacramento Superior Court Case Search page organizes access by case type. It is a useful starting point when you have court paperwork but are unsure which online system to open. Match the category on your paperwork to the court’s search options before entering names or numbers.
Criminal: Search the criminal public portal by party name or case number.
Civil: Open the civil search and create an account when prompted.
Family law: Search by name, case number, or filing date.
Probate: Open the probate search and create an account when prompted.
Traffic: Search by driver license number, citation number, or case number.
Small claims: Open the small claims search and create an account when prompted.
Unlawful detainer: Use the landlord-tenant search with the required party names and property address, and select “Limited Civil.”
These categories also determine what you should have ready. A family law case-number search requires a case number, while a traffic case-number search also requires a date of birth. An unlawful detainer search requires information about both the parties and the property. Preparing for the particular form avoids switching between systems without the details needed to continue.
Information to Gather Before Searching
Keep any court notice, citation, or other case paperwork beside you while searching. Identify whether the number you have is labeled as a court case number or a citation number. The traffic system provides separate forms for those identifiers, so use the form that matches the number on the document.
For a name search, have the party’s name available. If you are searching family law records, an approximate filing period can help because the name-search form allows an optional filing date range. If you already have the family law case number, the separate case-number form provides a direct way to search without supplying dates.
For traffic searches by driver license or case number, prepare the date of birth as well as the relevant number. For a citation search, preserve any letters appearing before or after the digits. For landlord-tenant cases, gather the specific names of the parties and the property address associated with the case before opening the search.
Criminal Cases and the New Portal
Sacramento Superior Court implemented a new case management system for all criminal cases effective August 10, 2026. The court established a new public portal for access to those records and for document filings. The Sacramento Superior Court criminal public portal provides searches by party names and case numbers.
The portal offers limited criminal case information to the public. That distinction matters when deciding what you need: locating a case online and viewing the documents within its file are separate tasks. A case search should not be treated as a promise that every document associated with the matter will be available on the screen.
Documents From Before the Change
The court states that cases from before August 10, 2026, may not contain digitized documents. If you locate an older criminal case but cannot view documents, consider that stated limitation before assuming the search identified the wrong matter. The transition date concerns the availability of digitized material, not simply which search box to use.
Public kiosks for viewing digitized criminal records are available at the criminal front counter on the second floor of the courthouse. The court also provides telephone assistance for accessing criminal records. The number appears in the office list at the end of this article.
Searches, Calendars, and Check-In
The criminal portal separates case searches, calendar options, and check-in functions. Choose “Searches” when your purpose is to locate case information. Choose the calendar feature when you want to view the portal’s calendar options.
The portal also serves as the check-in system for trials, preliminary hearings, and mental health diversion. Looking up a case and checking in are different functions. If your purpose is check-in, select that feature rather than treating a completed case search as completion of the check-in process. Use of the portal requires agreement to the court’s Terms of Use.
Civil, Probate, and Small Claims Searches
The court’s main Case Search page provides separate entries for civil, probate, and small claims matters. Each of these search features prompts users to create an account before using the search. Plan for that step even if you only intend to look up case information.
The public portal’s login screen requests an email address and password and includes a verification question. An “Access denied” message accompanied by “You must log in to view this page” identifies an access requirement. It does not establish anything about the existence or outcome of a particular court case.
Choose the case category before proceeding through account access. Civil, probate, and small claims appear as distinct choices on the court’s page, and older civil and probate filings also have a historical search route. For those two categories, the filing year helps determine which system to consult.
Historical Civil and Probate Records
The court’s Historical Case Search covers civil cases filed from 1936 through 1995 and probate cases filed from 1948 through 2007. The court directs users to its newer public portal for all other civil and probate cases.
Pay attention to the different ending years. A civil case filed in 2000 falls outside the historical civil range, while a probate case filed in 2000 falls within the historical probate range. Applying one cutoff to both categories can send you to the wrong system.
These ranges refer to when the case was filed. Use the filing year when choosing between historical access and the newer portal, rather than substituting the date of a later hearing or document. If your paperwork includes several dates, identify which one refers to the filing of the case.
Family Law Search Options
Family law offers three separate search methods: name, case number, and filing date. Choose the method that fits the information you already have. The required fields differ, and an optional date filter on one form should not be confused with the required dates on another.
Name Search With Optional Dates
The family law name search requires a name. It also provides optional start and end filing dates to narrow the search when needed.
If you know the name but do not have a useful filing period, the date range is optional on this form. If you do know the relevant period, you can supply it to focus the search. Keep the distinction between a filing date and a hearing date in mind when choosing the range.
Search by Case Number
The family law case-number search requires the case number. This is the appropriate form when you have that identifier from court paperwork and want to search using it.
Enter the number in the case-number field rather than placing a party’s name there. The court provides a separate name-search form for that purpose. Matching the information to the correct field is especially useful when moving between family law and traffic searches, because their case-number forms have different requirements.
Search by Filing Date
The family law filing-date search requires both a start filing date and an end filing date. Unlike the optional range on the name-search page, both dates are required for this method.
The family law search pages also provide “Case File Request” and “Case File Request Status” options. Those functions address requests for a case file and the status of a request. They are separate from selecting a search method to locate case information.
Traffic Cases and Citation Searches
Traffic records have three search routes. Two require a date of birth, while the citation form provides fields suited to information on a ticket. Choose the route based on the identifier you have available.
Case Number and Date of Birth
The traffic case-number search requires a case number and date of birth. The form identifies the date format as month, day, and year.
A case number alone does not satisfy both required fields. Have the date of birth ready before beginning, and make sure you are using the traffic form if the matter concerns a traffic case. The family law case-number page is a different search service.
Driver License and Date of Birth
The traffic driver-license search requires the license number and date of birth. This provides another route when the identifier you have is a driver license number rather than a court case number or citation number.
Use the license-number field for the driver license identifier. A vehicle license is a separate field offered through the citation-search page. Keeping those two labels distinct helps prevent entering a vehicle identifier into a driver-license search.
Citation Numbers, Letters, and Agencies
The traffic citation search instructs users to include all characters before or after the citation number. The court gives “12345 CH” and “HP 12345” as examples. Copy the entire identifier from the citation instead of entering only its digits.
The page also provides an additional search option using a last name or business name, or a vehicle license. Other fields include the agency and issued year. For red-light camera violations, the court specifically directs users to select “Red Light Camera (RLC)” as the agency.
Read the labels before transferring information from a ticket. The citation number, vehicle license, agency, and issued year represent different pieces of information. The citation page’s instructions are particularly useful when the ticket number includes a letter prefix or suffix that could otherwise be overlooked.
Landlord-Tenant Case Access
Unlawful detainer is the court’s category for landlord-tenant case searches. The court requires entry of the specific names of the parties and the property address associated with the case. It also instructs users to select “Limited Civil” as the case type.
Prepare those details together. This search has more specific access requirements than a general name lookup, so a party name by itself does not meet the requirements described by the court. The property address should be the address associated with the case.
The unlawful detainer search also requires an account. The older unlawful detainer access page states that these cases have moved to a new system. Use the unlawful detainer entry on the court’s main Case Search page to follow the court’s current access route, and retain the “Limited Civil” selection when choosing the case type.
Case Information and Document Copies
Decide whether you need to identify a case, view its records, or request copies. The court maintains a separate Court Records page for viewing records and requesting copies, with instructions organized by case type.
That page includes civil, criminal, family court, juvenile, probate, small claims, traffic, and unlawful detainer records. Select the category matching your case so that your request follows the relevant records instructions. The page also provides a court-records confidentiality statute entry.
For criminal records, the portal’s limited public information and its warning about older digitized documents are relevant to this next step. For family law, the search pages offer case-file request and request-status functions. In each instance, distinguish the search result from the separate process for obtaining access to the material you need.
Court Records Contact
Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento
916-874-5522, option 1