Colorado Court Records Search by Name

Independent court-record guide: Public-Court-Records.us is an independent educational website. It is not the Colorado Judicial Branch, a Colorado county or district court, Denver County Court, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, PACER, LexisNexis, CoCourts, or any government agency. This guide explains official and Judiciary-authorized access routes. It does not provide legal advice, certify records, perform an official criminal-history check, or bypass sealed or confidential court records.

Colorado Court Records Search by Name: There Is No Free Statewide Full Case Search on the Judicial Branch Website

Colorado works differently from states that operate a free statewide public case-history portal. The Colorado Judicial Branch does not provide direct online access to complete trial-court case records or document files through its website.

The Judicial Branch does provide a free Docket Search that can locate scheduled court events by party name, case number, attorney, county, courthouse, court type and date. But if you need the complete register of actions for a Colorado state trial-court case, the Judiciary directs online users to approved commercial record-search vendors. If you need the actual complaint, judgment, divorce decree, sentencing order, will, or other document, request it from the court that maintains the file.

Colorado Judicial sources checked: Aug. 31, 2026 CJD 05-01 current amendment: Nov. 10, 2025 Free docket search + paid ROA access Denver exception covered

Colorado has three different levels of online court-record access

Colorado Court Record Route Finder

Select what you actually need

This tool does not transmit a person’s name or case number. It only identifies the proper Colorado record route.

Court date by name Full case history Court document Criminal case Divorce / family Probate / will Water-right case Denver County Court Municipal case Colorado appeal Criminal history Federal case

Use the free Colorado Judicial Branch Docket Search.

Search by individual or business name, then add a required date filter and another relevant filter. The result is designed to help locate scheduled court activity—not to provide a person’s complete historical case list.

Open Official Colorado Docket Search

Use a Judiciary-linked commercial records vendor.

Colorado says statewide county and district court registers of actions can be searched by name or case number through commercial vendors such as Background Information Services and LexisNexis/CoCourts. Charges apply. These vendor results are not the official court record.

Request the document from the filing court.

Use Colorado’s Record/Document Request Form or contact the clerk. Commercial record-search sites do not provide official court-document copies.

Official Record/Document Request Form

Determine County Court vs District Court.

County Courts handle misdemeanors, traffic infractions and felony complaints, while District Courts handle felony criminal cases and other matters within district-court jurisdiction. Search the register of actions or request the specific disposition from the court.

Use District Court records.

Outside Denver’s special structure, domestic-relations matters are District Court cases. A public redacted dissolution decree or separation agreement can have different access treatment from other domestic-relations filings.

Outside Denver, probate generally belongs to District Court.

Denver is different because it has a constitutionally separate Denver Probate Court. For an actual will, letters, petition or closing document, submit a court-record request to the proper court.

Use the correct Colorado Water Division.

Colorado has seven specialized water divisions. Water cases concern water rights, use and administration and use case-specific Water Court resources in addition to statewide records access.

Denver County Court is administered separately from Colorado’s state-court system.

Use Denver County Court’s own Public Portal. Colorado’s statewide Record Request form specifically tells users to route Denver County Court cases to Denver instead.

Denver County Court Public Portal

Use the municipality’s court.

Colorado municipal courts are locally funded and generally handle city or town ordinance violations. Their records are not automatically interchangeable with state County or District Court records.

Use Colorado appellate resources.

The Colorado Court of Appeals and Colorado Supreme Court publish case announcements, opinions and other appellate materials. For an official appellate case document, contact the appellate clerk.

Use the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for statewide criminal history.

Colorado’s own court-record request form says a complete statewide criminal-history arrest record check should be obtained through CBI rather than treating a court-name search as a complete criminal-history report.

Colorado CBI Records Check

Use PACER.

Federal District of Colorado cases are separate from Colorado state court records and use the federal PACER/CM-ECF system.

Official PACER

Free Colorado name search: use Docket Search only for scheduled court activity

The Colorado Judicial Branch’s free Docket Search is useful when the practical question is:

• “When is this person’s court date?”
• “Which courthouse has the hearing?”
• “Which courtroom is listed?”
• “Is the appearance virtual?”
• “What is the case number for this scheduled hearing?”

It is not designed as a historical “show me every case this person has ever had” database.

Current Docket Search fields

How to search a Colorado court date by name

1. Open Colorado Judicial Branch Docket Search.
2. Choose Individual or Business under Party.
3. Enter First Name and Last Name for an individual.
4. Enter Business Name instead when the party is an organization.
5. Select the relevant date range or specific date.
6. Add at least one additional filter besides date. The current search interface requires another filtering criterion.
7. If known, select County or Judicial District.
8. Select Court Type when it helps distinguish County Court from District Court.
9. Run the search.
10. Review Case Number, Hearing Type, Location, Appearance Type and Courtroom.
11. For an imminent hearing, recheck the docket shortly before appearing because schedules can change.

How to search full Colorado trial-court case history by name

Colorado’s Judicial Branch explicitly states that trial-court case documents and case files are not directly available through the Colorado Judicial Branch website.

Instead, it links to commercial providers that can search a real-time register of actions from the statewide electronic database.

Colorado Judicial Branch-listed record vendors

What a Colorado register of actions can contain

Colorado says the commercial statewide register-of-actions services can include records from categories such as:

The vendor database is real-time, but it is still not the official record

Colorado’s public-access guidance says vendor data comes in real time from the Colorado Judicial Department’s electronic database for county and district courts.

At the same time, Colorado expressly warns that:

• the vendor information is provided “as is”;
• it does not constitute the official record of the court;
• it does not represent every case or every case type filed with Colorado courts; and
• copies of actual documents are not available from the commercial search services.

How to get the actual Colorado court document

Colorado provides a statewide Record/Document Request Form for many state trial-court records.

The request form is useful for documents such as:

Official court-record request workflow

1. Find the case number if possible. A case number reduces search work and helps prevent identity errors.
2. Determine the Colorado county and court location.
3. Open the Record/Document Request Form.
4. Enter the case number if known.
5. Select the case type.
6. Enter the filing year if known.
7. Select the county/location of the records, or indicate that you do not know the county.
8. Enter the names on the case.
9. Select the exact documents needed.
10. Indicate whether certification or exemplification is required.
11. Submit the request.
12. Wait for the applicable court to contact you with the final availability, fee and delivery information.

Colorado court-record copy fees

The current statewide Record/Document Request Form displays estimated charges assessed under Chief Justice Directive 06-01.

Fees reviewed August 31, 2026. The online form describes these as estimates. The specific clerk determines the final amount and any legally required waiver.

Search by case number whenever possible

A Colorado case number is usually a better key than a common party name because it points toward one specific case.

The state’s request form gives a standard example such as:

2019T999999

Colorado case identifiers commonly include:

County Court vs District Court in Colorado

Each Colorado county has County Court and District Court functions, but their jurisdiction differs.

Denver is the major exception to Colorado’s normal trial-court structure

Colorado’s Second Judicial District—Denver—is structurally different from every other Colorado judicial district.

Denver has four constitutionally separate courts:

• Denver District Court;
• Denver County Court;
• Denver Probate Court; and
• Denver Juvenile Court.

The Denver County Court is administered separately from the Colorado state courts and functions as both a county and municipal court.

Denver County Court has its own Public Portal

Denver County Court currently offers a separate Public Portal.

What its public portal can do

Denver County Court documents require a separate request

Denver County Court currently directs document requests to different clerk locations based on case type.

Denver currently lists ordinary document copies at $0.25 per page and warns that additional fees can apply for extensive redaction.

Denver Probate Court is another separate records route

Most Colorado counties handle probate through District Court. Denver has a separate constitutional Probate Court.

Denver Probate Court currently accepts record/search requests:

• in person;
• by telephone;
• by mail;
• by email; or
• through its online records request route.

Denver Probate request information

Municipal Court records outside Denver are also local

Colorado statutes permit locally funded Municipal Courts whose jurisdiction is limited to municipal ordinance violations.

Examples can involve:

• city ordinance violations;
• certain local traffic matters;
• municipal-code offenses; and
• other matters assigned by local ordinance and Colorado law.

Colorado Water Court records require water-division routing

Colorado’s specialized Water Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over matters involving the determination of water rights, water use and administration, and other water matters.

Colorado has seven Water Divisions based on major river basins.

Water Division pages also publish current and archived Water Court Resumes and rulings. Those resources can be useful when ordinary party-name searching does not answer a water-right research question.

Public case does not mean every Colorado document is public

Colorado’s active Chief Justice Directive 05-01 governs access to court records and balances public access with privacy and legal restrictions.

Current access rules restrict or exclude several record categories.

Colorado has a special Sealed Case Search—but it is only for the defendant

The Colorado Judicial Branch provides a special Sealed Case Search that can confirm whether a conviction case was automatically sealed under a specific statute.

The tool has strict limitations:

• only the defendant may use it;
• only one case can be checked at a time;
• the defendant must provide identifying information;
• the user must declare under penalty of false swearing that they are the defendant; and
• the tool does not confirm every possible type of Colorado sealing.

Criminal court records and statewide criminal history are different

A court record tells you what happened in a particular judicial case. A Colorado criminal-history record is a separate product maintained through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

How to verify a Colorado court-record name match

• compare complete first and last name;
• check middle name or initial where displayed;
• check suffixes;
• confirm county;
• confirm County Court vs District Court;
• confirm the complete case number;
• check filing year;
• review party role;
• compare attorney information where relevant;
• use date-of-birth data only when lawfully available and necessary; and
• do not claim a match when meaningful identity uncertainty remains.

Arrest, charge, conviction and sentence are separate events

Colorado appellate records require a different research approach

The Colorado Court of Appeals is usually the first appellate court for District Court decisions, Denver Probate Court decisions and Denver Juvenile Court decisions. The Colorado Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort.

The Judicial Branch publishes:

• Court of Appeals case announcements;
• published Court of Appeals opinions;
• unpublished Court of Appeals opinions;
• Supreme Court case announcements; and
• Supreme Court opinions.

Older Supreme Court records may be at the Colorado State Archives

The Colorado Supreme Court currently warns that the majority of its court records created before 2014 are available only through the Colorado State Archives.

If you need an older Supreme Court file, contact the Supreme Court clerk first to determine the location rather than assuming the record should be online.

Federal Colorado court records use PACER

Federal civil and criminal cases are not contained in Colorado’s state county/district court search.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado uses CM/ECF for case management and PACER for public electronic access.

Current federal court locations

PACER search workflow

1. Open PACER.
2. Register for an account when required.
3. If you know the case is in the District of Colorado, search that federal court.
4. If you do not know which federal court holds the matter, use PACER Case Locator.
5. Use a case number when available.
6. If searching a person or business name, narrow the search before producing a large result set.
7. Confirm the federal case number.
8. Review the docket.
9. Check the displayed PACER fee before opening large documents.

What if a Colorado court search returns nothing?

1. Looking for today’s/future court date? Use the Judicial Branch Docket Search.
2. Looking for a complete historical case list? Docket Search is the wrong tool; use a Judiciary-linked register-of-actions provider.
3. Have the case number? Search/request by number instead of name.
4. Denver traffic or misdemeanor? Check Denver County Court’s separate system.
5. Municipal citation? Search the city or town Municipal Court.
6. Probate in Denver? Use Denver Probate Court rather than ordinary District Court.
7. Water-right dispute? Identify the correct Water Division.
8. Old case? Ask the filing court whether the file is off-site or archived.
9. Sealed or confidential? Do not attempt to bypass the restriction.
10. Need criminal history rather than a court case? Use CBI.
11. Appeal? Search Colorado appellate resources.
12. Federal? Use PACER.

What to do after locating the correct Colorado case

1. Save the complete case number.
2. Confirm the filing county.
3. Confirm County Court, District Court, Water Court, Denver County Court or Municipal Court.
4. Verify the person’s identity.
5. Review the register of actions.
6. For criminal matters, locate the disposition and sentence rather than relying on the first charge.
7. Determine whether you need a docket summary or actual filed document.
8. If you need a document, identify the clerk maintaining the file.
9. Select the exact document instead of asking vaguely for “all records.”
10. Ask whether certification or exemplification is required.
11. Verify copying and retrieval charges.
12. For an urgent hearing or new filing, confirm current information with the court.

Official Colorado sources reviewed

• Colorado Judicial Branch — Access Guide to Public Records — statewide court-record access routes, commercial record vendors, Denver exception and court-record request guidance.
• Colorado Judicial Branch Docket Search — current party, business, attorney, case, location and date search fields.
• Colorado Record/Document Request Form — record types, request fields, fees, Denver routing and three-business-day response guidance.
• Chief Justice Directive 05-01 — Access to Court Records — current active access policy, amended effective November 10, 2025.
• Colorado Trial Courts by County — County Court, District Court, Water Court and appellate jurisdiction summary.
• Denver Second Judicial District — unique four-court Denver structure.
• Denver County Court Public Portal — case-number search and active future court-date searches.
• Denver County Court — Court Services — document request locations, name-search limitation and commercial-search routing.
• Denver Probate Court — probate records, request methods, fees and statewide-index limitation.
• Colorado Water Courts — seven Water Divisions and court locations.
• Colorado Sealed Case Search — defendant-only automatic-sealing verification tool and limitations.
• Colorado Court of Appeals Case Announcements — current published and unpublished appellate case announcements.
• Colorado Supreme Court Case Announcements — current Supreme Court case-announcement archive.
• Colorado Supreme Court Records & Policies — Supreme Court records requests and pre-2014 archive warning.
• Colorado Bureau of Investigation — statewide criminal-history and records services.
• Colorado CBI Records Check — name-based statewide criminal-history route referenced by Colorado courts.
• U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado — PACER — federal record access.
• District of Colorado Court Locations — Denver, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Durango federal locations.

Research review date: August 31, 2026. Court schedules, record-access policies, vendor arrangements, fees and case status can change. Verify a legally significant or time-sensitive matter with the court maintaining the official record.

Frequently asked questions about Colorado court records search by name

1. Is there a free statewide Colorado court records search by name?

Colorado does not provide a free statewide full historical case-record search directly through the Judicial Branch website. The Judicial Branch does provide a free Docket Search that can search scheduled hearings by party name. For statewide registers of actions by name or case number, Colorado directs users to approved commercial record vendors.

2. How do I find a Colorado court date by someone’s name?

Use the Colorado Judicial Branch Docket Search. Choose Individual or Business, enter the party name, select a date or date range and add another required filter such as county, courthouse or court type. Results can display the case number, hearing type, location, appearance type and courtroom.

3. Where can I search a person’s complete Colorado state court case history?

Colorado links to commercial vendors such as Background Information Services and LexisNexis/CoCourts for real-time statewide registers of actions. Charges apply. Vendor information is not the official court record and does not necessarily represent every case or case type.

4. Can I download Colorado court documents from CoCourts or another statewide vendor?

Colorado states that copies of court documents are not available from the commercial statewide record-search services. Request the complaint, judgment, sentence order, divorce decree, will or other document from the court where it was filed or through Colorado’s Record/Document Request Form.

5. How much does a Colorado certified court record cost?

The statewide Colorado Judicial Branch Record/Document Request Form currently estimates ordinary copies at $0.25 per page, a name search at $5 and a certified or exemplified copy at $20 per document. Off-site retrieval and research/redaction costs can apply. The responsible clerk determines the final charge.

6. Why can’t I find a Denver traffic or misdemeanor case in the normal Colorado system?

Denver County Court is administered separately from Colorado’s state trial courts and also functions as a municipal court. Traffic or misdemeanor cases within Denver city limits may therefore require the Denver County Court Public Portal or Denver’s separate records-request process.

7. Where do I search Colorado probate records?

Outside Denver, probate matters are generally handled by District Court. Denver is different because it has a separate Denver Probate Court. For an actual will, letters, petition or certified probate document, contact the court maintaining the probate file.

8. Are sealed Colorado court cases searchable by the public?

Sealed and expunged cases are generally excluded from ordinary public access. Colorado has a specialized Sealed Case Search for certain automatically sealed conviction cases, but that tool may only be used by the defendant and does not cover every type of sealing.

9. Where do I search federal court cases in Colorado?

Use PACER for federal cases filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Federal records are separate from Colorado County Court and District Court records.

10. Can a Colorado court-record name search be used as a background check?

A court-record search is not the same as a statewide criminal-history check. Colorado courts direct users seeking statewide criminal history to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Public-Court-Records.us is not a Consumer Reporting Agency and should not be treated as an FCRA consumer-reporting service for employment, housing, credit, insurance or similar eligibility decisions.