Shelby County TN Court Records Search: Case Lookup, Clerks, Copies & PACER
Use this Shelby County, Tennessee-specific guide to search official court records by case number or name through Circuit Court, Chancery Court, Criminal Court, General Sessions Civil, General Sessions Criminal, Probate Court, Juvenile Court, Memphis City Court, Tennessee appellate courts, and federal PACER routes.
Public-Court-Records.us is independent. This page is not Shelby County Government, Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk, Shelby County Chancery Court, Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk, Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk, Shelby County Probate Court, Shelby County Juvenile Court, Memphis City Court, Tennessee Courts, PACER, a court clerk, a law firm, a government agency or a Consumer Reporting Agency.
Responsible-use warning: a name match does not prove identity. A charge, complaint, indictment, citation, lawsuit, petition, docket entry, warrant application, ticket balance or judgment listing does not prove guilt or liability. Court records can be incomplete, delayed, sealed, expunged, restricted, confidential, corrected later or unavailable online. Do not use this page as an employment, housing, tenant, credit, insurance or FCRA-regulated screening product.
Shelby County court records are split across several clerks and portals
Shelby County does not have one single search box for every court record. Circuit Court, Chancery Court, Criminal Court, General Sessions Court, Probate Court, Juvenile Court and Memphis City Court use different official routes. The right place to search depends on whether you need a civil case, divorce, felony, misdemeanor, traffic ticket, eviction, probate estate, guardianship, juvenile matter, city ticket, appeal, land record, archive record or federal case.
Circuit, Chancery, Probate and many civil court offices are centered at the Shelby County Courthouse.
Criminal Court and General Sessions Criminal offices use Walter L. Bailey Criminal Justice Center routes.
Shelby copy guidance says post-1999 divorce records may be searchable online, while older divorces require archive retrieval.
Several Shelby court copy routes list ordinary copy fees at fifty cents per page.
Shelby County court-record route finder
Select what you are trying to find. This privacy-safe helper runs in your browser only and does not collect names, dates of birth, case numbers, addresses or personal information.
Circuit Court handles many civil cases, divorces, appeals from lower courts, personal-injury claims, contracts, name changes and similar matters. Use the case information portal, then request official or certified copies through the Circuit Clerk/File Room route.
How to search Shelby County court records without using the wrong portal
Shelby County has several official case-information systems. Circuit and Chancery records use separate CourtConnect-style searches. General Sessions Civil uses a separate civil case route. Criminal Court and General Sessions Criminal now route case information through the Shelby County Criminal Justice System portal, where users may need to register and sign in.
Look for Circuit, Chancery, Criminal, General Sessions, Probate, Juvenile, Memphis City Court, Tennessee appellate court, federal district court or bankruptcy court on the notice, ticket, judgment, summons or order.
A complete case number usually produces cleaner results than a broad name search. Keep spaces, dashes, prefixes, years, court codes, indictment numbers and booking numbers exactly as shown.
For name searches, compare court, case type, filing date, party role, attorney, judge, courtroom, docket activity, judgment and disposition before relying on a result.
The Criminal Court page says users who do not know an indictment number and booking number should use the Shelby County CJS portal, register and sign in, and use Smart Search.
Probate document-search instructions say to search the docket number as 8 total characters with leading zeros, such as A0001111, PR001111 or PR011111.
Circuit and Chancery copy guidance routes divorce decrees and civil records through the courthouse file rooms in Room B48. Probate, Criminal, General Sessions, Juvenile and Memphis City Court use their own copy or records routes.
Use the Register of Deeds for deeds, mortgages and liens; County Clerk or vital-record offices for many birth, death and marriage items; Sheriff’s Office for inmate/warrant information; Tennessee Public Case History for appeals; and PACER for federal cases.
Which Shelby County record route should you use?
Use this table before searching. It prevents false no-record results and keeps Circuit, Chancery, Criminal, General Sessions, Probate, Juvenile, Memphis City Court, Register/Archives, appellate and federal records separate.
| Need | Correct official route | Best next step |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit civil case, divorce, personal injury, contract, name change or appeal from a lower court | Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk / Circuit Court Case Information | Search by case number or name. For copies, use Room B48/File Room or the Circuit Court records request process. |
| Chancery divorce, tax sale, declaratory judgment, injunction, mandamus, replevin or equity matter | Shelby County Chancery Court / Clerk and Master / Chancery Case Information | Search by person name, business name or case type, then request copies through Chancery copy/public-records routes. |
| Felony criminal case, indictment, booking-linked Criminal Court case or felony payment case number | Shelby County Criminal Court / CJS portal | Use the Shelby County CJS portal, register/sign in when required, use Smart Search and verify case number format before paying or ordering copies. |
| General Sessions civil lawsuit, forcible entry and detainer, interpleader, small civil matter or judgment | General Sessions Civil Division / Civil CourtConnect | Search by person name, business name, case type, judgment route, docket report or case activities. |
| General Sessions criminal, misdemeanor, preliminary hearing or traffic ticket | General Sessions Criminal Division / Shelby County Criminal Justice System Portal | Register through the CJS link after the ICJIS upgrade and search case information through the criminal justice portal. |
| Probate estate, will, conservatorship, guardianship, name change or judicial hospitalization | Shelby County Probate Court / Probate Case Information / View Documents | Search for the docket number by name if needed, then use View Documents with the 8-character docket-number format. |
| Juvenile, child support, dependency, delinquency, custody-related juvenile file or juvenile expungement | Shelby County Juvenile Court Clerk / Central Records | Contact Juvenile Court before searching. Many juvenile records are confidential, sealed, restricted or limited to authorized parties. |
| Memphis Police ticket, traffic violation, ordinance summons, photo enforcement or city citation | City of Memphis City Court Clerk | Use Memphis City Court Clerk payment and records routes. Do not assume every city ticket is a county General Sessions record. |
| Deed, mortgage, lien, property title, tax lien, old court index, marriage archive or historical record | Shelby County Register of Deeds / Shelby County Archives | Use Register/Archives search and archive indexes. Archives can help with historic material but may not issue certified court copies. |
| Federal civil, federal criminal, federal appellate or bankruptcy case | PACER / U.S. District Court Western District of Tennessee / U.S. Bankruptcy Court Western District of Tennessee | Use PACER Find a Case or the specific federal court. Shelby County court portals do not contain federal dockets. |
Shelby County court copies, certified copies and records requests
Online case lookup is not the same as an official certified court record. Copy costs and certification rules depend on the court and custodian. Ask the correct clerk whether the document must be certified, exemplified, stamped, archived, retrieved, redacted or reviewed before release.
| Request type | Fee or rule shown by official materials | Practical instruction |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit or Chancery non-certified copies | $0.50 per page | Use case number, party names, court, filing date range and document title if known. |
| Circuit or Chancery certified copies | $5.00 plus $0.50 per page | Ask whether the receiving agency needs certification. Certified divorce decrees often require the court that granted the divorce. |
| Circuit Court copies and certified-copy service | Circuit fee materials list copies at $0.50 per page and certified copy service at $5.00 | Use the Circuit Court Clerk File Room route for certified civil or divorce records. |
| General Sessions copies | General Sessions court-cost materials list copies at $0.50 | Use Civil or Criminal Division records routes depending on case type. |
| Probate black-and-white copies | Probate Court lists printed black-and-white copies at $0.50 per page | Use the Probate copy email/office route and provide docket number, name, document and case type. |
| Divorces before 1999 | Shelby copy guidance says pre-1999 divorces must be retrieved from Archives before a total cost can be provided | Expect delay and ask whether certified copies must come from the court file room, not Archives. |
| General Sessions public-record request | Public-record request page directs users to contact the office by email, mail/room, or phone | Provide case number, name, date range, document description and whether certification is required. |
Shelby County copy-cost estimator
This estimator is only a planning aid. The court or clerk controls the actual page count, certification need, archive retrieval, redaction, postage, payment method and delivery process.
Official Shelby County court-record links and what to do after opening each one
Use these official and court-recognized links with the after-opening steps below. Do not treat private background-check pages, scraped indexes or sponsored people-search sites as official court records.
Use this as the county-level starting point for Chancery, Circuit, Criminal, General Sessions, Juvenile, Probate and Veterans Court routing.
- Choose the court named on your document.
- Do not assume every case is in Circuit Court.
- Use the correct court clerk for copies.
- Use PACER only for federal matters.
Use this for Circuit Court Clerk contact, office address, hours and civil/divorce record routing.
- Confirm the case belongs to Circuit Court.
- Use Circuit Case Information for available lookup.
- Call the File Room for copies when needed.
- Use Room 324 or Room B48 guidance before visiting.
Use this for Circuit Court person/case-type search, judgment search and docket report routes when available.
- Search by case number if known.
- Use person or business name carefully.
- Use judgment or docket report route if that matches your need.
- Request certified copies from the clerk, not from a screenshot.
Use this for Chancery Court matters such as divorces, delinquent tax sales, declaratory judgments, mandamus, replevin and equity-type matters.
- Confirm Chancery is the correct court.
- Use the Chancery case-information portal.
- Contact Room 308 or the File Room for copies.
- For hearing questions, contact the courtroom clerk.
Use this for Chancery person-name, business-name, case-type, judgment and case-activity searches.
- Search by party or business name if case number is unknown.
- Use judgment search when looking for judgments.
- Use display-case information for docket activity.
- Use certified copy request routes for official proof.
Use this for divorce decrees, civil records and tax-sale record copy guidance.
- Identify whether the divorce was Circuit or Chancery.
- Provide date and case ID if known.
- Use Room B48 for in-person file-room pickup.
- Remember Archives cannot provide certified copies.
Use this for felony Criminal Court case information, Criminal Court Clerk contact and online payment routing.
- Use CJS if you do not know the indictment and booking number.
- Register and sign in to search case information.
- Use Smart Search to find the case.
- Verify indictment, booking and case-number formatting before paying.
Use this for Criminal Court and General Sessions criminal case information when official pages direct you there.
- Create an account or sign in if required.
- Use Smart Search.
- Check whether the case is Criminal Court or General Sessions Criminal.
- Do not treat a charge listing as a conviction without disposition review.
Use this for General Sessions civil and criminal divisions, office locations and clerk contact details.
- Use Civil Division for civil lawsuits and detainers.
- Use Criminal Division for misdemeanors, preliminary hearings and traffic matters.
- Use the correct portal for civil vs criminal.
- Contact the correct division before visiting.
Use this for General Sessions Civil person, business, case-type, judgment and case-activity searches.
- Choose person/business search if you do not know the case number.
- Choose judgment search for judgment-specific research.
- Choose case activities for docket-style information.
- Contact Civil Division for official copies or questions.
Use this for conservatorships, guardianships, judicial hospitalization, name changes, wills and estates.
- Search Probate Case Information when available.
- Use copy-order email or office route for copies.
- Expect privacy limits in guardianship or mental-health matters.
- Call 901-222-3750 for document-search questions.
Use this before searching Probate documents online.
- Find the docket number through Probate Case Information if needed.
- Open View Documents.
- Enter the docket number with 8 total characters.
- Add leading zeros exactly as the Probate examples show.
Use this for Juvenile Court Clerk contact, court-date, expungement, summons, filing, appeal and records-request routing.
- Do not assume juvenile records are public.
- Use Central Records or the listed records-request route.
- Bring or provide proper authority when required.
- Do not republish juvenile identifying information.
Use this for Memphis Police tickets, traffic violations, ordinance summons, photo enforcement and City Court records.
- Confirm the ticket was issued by Memphis Police or City of Memphis.
- Use the City ePayments route when paying eligible traffic fines.
- Call 901-636-3400 for City Court record questions.
- Do not confuse Memphis city tickets with county Criminal Court records.
Use this for Tennessee Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals case history.
- Search by appeal case number, case style, party name or organization.
- Remember appellate records are not the same as trial-court records.
- Check document and date coverage notes.
- Contact the Appellate Court Clerk for more current information.
Use this for federal district, appellate and bankruptcy records.
- Use PACER Case Locator if the federal court is unknown.
- Use Western District of Tennessee for Memphis/Shelby federal district cases.
- Use Western District Bankruptcy Court for bankruptcy records.
- Review PACER pricing before opening searches, reports or documents.
Shelby County courthouse, clerk and record-location guide
Shelby County uses multiple courthouse and clerk locations in Memphis. Always confirm the correct room, division, office hours, copy procedure, payment method and security rules before visiting.
| Location or office | Address / phone | Record-access relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court Clerk’s Office | 140 Adams Avenue, Room 324, Memphis, TN 38103; 901-222-3800 | Circuit civil, divorce, appeals from lower courts, civil case records, forms, filing and certified-copy routing. |
| Circuit and Chancery File Room | Shelby County Courthouse, 140 Adams, Room B48, Memphis, TN 38103; Circuit file room 901-222-3808; Chancery 901-222-3900 | Divorce decrees, civil records, tax-sale records, older file retrieval and Circuit/Chancery certified copy pickup. |
| Chancery Court Clerk and Master’s Office | 140 Adams Avenue, Room 308, Memphis, TN 38103; 901-222-3900 | Chancery cases, divorces filed in Chancery, tax sales, equity matters, public-record copy request routing and courtroom clerk questions. |
| Criminal Court Clerk’s Office | 201 Poplar Avenue, Suite 3034, Memphis, TN 38103; 901-222-3200 | Felony Criminal Court case information, criminal payments, indictment/booking-related case numbers and Criminal Court copy questions. |
| General Sessions Civil Division | Judge D’Army Bailey Courthouse, 140 Adams, Room 106, Memphis, TN 38103; 901-222-3400 | Civil lawsuits, forcible entry and detainer, interpleaders, civil judgments, civil docket reports and General Sessions Civil records. |
| General Sessions Criminal Division | Walter L. Bailey Criminal Justice Center, 201 Poplar, Suite LL-81, Memphis, TN 38103; 901-222-3500 | Misdemeanors, preliminary hearings, traffic tickets, General Sessions criminal case information and public-record requests. |
| General Sessions 24-Hour Clerk’s Office | 271 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38103; 901-222-3600 | 24/7 criminal clerk location listed by General Sessions; call before relying on it for record-copy service. |
| General Sessions Mullins Station Office | 1075 Mullins Station Road, Room W115, Memphis, TN 38134; 901-222-7900 | Satellite General Sessions service location; confirm service type before visiting. |
| Probate Court and Clerk’s Office | 140 Adams Avenue, Room 124, Memphis, TN 38103; 901-222-3750 | Wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, judicial hospitalization, name changes, birth-certificate corrections and Probate copies. |
| Juvenile Court Clerk / Central Records | 616 Adams Avenue, Memphis, TN 38103; Juvenile Court Clerk 901-222-0600; Central Records Room 161 | Juvenile dockets, juvenile filings, summons/subpoenas, expungements and restricted juvenile records. |
| Memphis City Court Clerk | Mailing address: 201 Poplar LL-80, Memphis, TN; phone 901-636-3400 | City of Memphis traffic tickets, ordinance summons, photo enforcement and City Court records. |
| Western District of Tennessee federal court | Odell Horton Federal Building, 167 North Main Street, Memphis, TN 38103; 901-495-1200 | Federal district case records and PACER access, not Shelby County state court records. |
Shelby County online access limits users often miss
- Circuit and Chancery searches are separate systems.
- Divorce records may be in either Circuit Court or Chancery Court.
- Post-1999 divorce records may be searchable online, but older divorces can require archive retrieval.
- Shelby County Archives cannot provide a certified copy of a court record.
- Certified copies must come from the proper court custodian.
- General Sessions criminal information now routes through the Shelby County Criminal Justice System Portal after the ICJIS upgrade.
- Users may need to register and sign in to use CJS.
- Criminal Court payment instructions depend on whether the case number begins with C or requires indictment and booking numbers.
- Online payment updates may not appear immediately.
- A charge, ticket or warrant-related entry is not a conviction.
- Probate document search requires a docket number.
- Probate docket-number searches require leading-zero formatting for 8 total characters.
- Guardianship, conservatorship and judicial-hospitalization records may have privacy limits.
- Juvenile Central Records keeps juvenile dockets and records, but Tennessee juvenile confidentiality rules can limit access.
- Dependent and neglect juvenile proceedings are not open to the public under Tennessee juvenile rules.
- Memphis city tickets route to Memphis City Court Clerk.
- Deeds and liens route to Register of Deeds.
- Historic court indexes may route to Archives.
- Federal cases use PACER and federal courts.
- Inmate and warrant records are not the same as final court dispositions.
How to read Shelby County case results responsibly
- Plaintiff: party bringing a civil lawsuit.
- Defendant: party responding to a civil lawsuit, criminal charge or traffic citation.
- Petitioner: party asking the court for relief or an order.
- Respondent: party responding to a petition.
- Decedent / estate / ward: common in Probate Court records.
- Appellant: party seeking appellate review.
- Complaint, petition or civil warrant: starts a civil case; it does not prove liability.
- Indictment, information or citation: charging document; it is not a conviction.
- Docket report: chronological case activity or proceeding history.
- Judgment: court decision that may still need satisfaction, appeal or modification review.
- Disposition: outcome of a charge or case, but verify the latest docket and certified record.
- Certified copy: clerk-stamped copy accepted by many courts and agencies as a true copy of the original.
Shelby County appeals, Tennessee Public Case History and PACER
Tennessee Public Case History allows users to look up cases in the Tennessee Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals through C-Track. It can be searched by appeal case number, case style, party name or organization. The Tennessee appellate page notes that appeals with records filed after September 1, 2006 are included and that information is current as of the end of the prior business day.
- Save the Shelby County trial court case number.
- Look for the appellate case number if a notice of appeal was filed.
- Use Public Case History for appellate status, orders, judgments and opinions where available.
- Contact the Appellate Court Clerk’s Office for more current or official appellate file information.
Federal cases are separate from Shelby County court records. Memphis federal district cases route through the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Bankruptcy cases route through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Both use PACER for federal docket and document access.
- Use PACER Find a Case if you do not know the federal court.
- Use Western District of Tennessee for federal district cases tied to Memphis or Shelby County.
- Use Western District Bankruptcy Court for bankruptcy records.
- Review PACER pricing before opening searches, reports or documents.
What to do if your Shelby County court-record search fails
- You searched Circuit Court when the case is Chancery, Criminal, General Sessions, Probate, Juvenile, Memphis City Court or federal.
- You searched by name when a docket number, indictment number, booking number, ticket number or case number is required.
- The name spelling, middle initial, business suffix, alias or party role is different.
- The case number is missing spaces, dashes, a year, a C prefix, indictment number, booking number or Probate leading zeros.
- You need to register or sign into CJS before searching criminal case information.
- You expected Archives to provide a certified copy, but certified copies must come from the court custodian.
- Record is sealed, expunged, juvenile, dependent-and-neglect, adoption-related, mental-health-related, confidential or restricted.
- Record is older, archived, paper-only or not indexed online.
- Record is a city ticket, land record, vital record, police report, jail record, warrant record, appellate case or federal case.
- Portal shows a docket, but the document itself requires a copy request.
- Official proof requires a certified copy, not an online screen or docket printout.
Use Shelby County court records responsibly
- A complaint, citation, indictment, civil warrant, petition or warrant application is not proof that the allegation is true.
- An arrest, booking, jail listing or police report is not a court disposition.
- A dismissed case may still need the actual order to understand the result.
- A judgment may not show whether money was paid, appealed, vacated, satisfied or settled.
- Do not use this page for FCRA-regulated screening.
- Do not harass, threaten, shame or retaliate against anyone.
- Do not republish unnecessary personal information.
- Do not try to bypass sealing, expungement, juvenile confidentiality, mental-health restrictions, protected-address rules or court access limits.
Frequently asked questions about Shelby County court records
How do I search Shelby County Tennessee court records online?
Start by identifying the court. Use Shelby County Circuit Court Case Information for Circuit Court records, Chancery Court Case Information for Chancery records, General Sessions Civil CourtConnect for General Sessions civil records, the Shelby County CJS portal for Criminal Court and General Sessions criminal records, and Probate Case Information for probate records.
Can I search Shelby County court records by name?
Yes, several official Shelby County systems support name searches, including Circuit Court, Chancery Court, General Sessions Civil, and Probate case-information routes. A name match alone does not prove identity, so verify the court, case number, filing date, party role, attorney, docket activity, judgment, and disposition.
Which Shelby County court handles divorce records?
Divorce records may be in Circuit Court or Chancery Court, depending on where the divorce was granted. Shelby County’s copy guidance says users should know whether the divorce was in Circuit or Chancery, the date, and the case ID if available. Circuit and Chancery file rooms are in Room B48 at 140 Adams.
Which Shelby County court handles felony records?
Felony criminal records generally route through Shelby County Criminal Court and the Criminal Court Clerk. The Criminal Court page directs users to the Shelby County CJS portal for case information and says users must register and sign in to search if they do not know the indictment and booking number.
Which Shelby County court handles misdemeanors, preliminary hearings, traffic tickets, civil lawsuits, and evictions?
General Sessions Court handles many misdemeanor, preliminary-hearing, traffic-ticket, civil-lawsuit, forcible-entry-and-detainer, and similar limited-jurisdiction matters. General Sessions civil records use the civil CourtConnect route, while General Sessions criminal case information now uses the Shelby County Criminal Justice System portal after the ICJIS upgrade.
How do I search Shelby County Probate Court records?
Use Shelby County Probate Case Information to search by case name or case number. To view Probate documents, the Probate Court instructions say you need the docket number, then use View Documents and type the docket number as 8 total digits with leading zeros, such as A0001111 or PR001111.
How much do Shelby County court record copies cost?
Circuit and Chancery copy guidance lists non-certified copies at $0.50 per page and certified copies at $5 plus $0.50 per page. Circuit Court filing-fee materials also list copies at $0.50 per page and certified copy service at $5. General Sessions court-cost materials list copies at $0.50. Probate Court lists printed black-and-white copies at $0.50 per page. Confirm current fees with the proper clerk before ordering.
Are Shelby County Juvenile Court records public?
Juvenile records can be restricted. Shelby County Juvenile Court Central Records maintains juvenile court records and dockets, but Tennessee juvenile confidentiality rules limit public access, especially for dependent and neglect matters. Contact Juvenile Court Central Records before assuming a juvenile file can be searched online.
Are Shelby County land records and historic records the same as court records?
No. Land records such as deeds, mortgages, liens, powers of attorney, property titles, and tax liens route to the Shelby County Register of Deeds. Historical court indexes and older archival materials may route through Shelby County Archives. These are separate from active court case lookup systems.
Are Shelby County federal and bankruptcy cases in county court portals?
No. Federal district and bankruptcy cases are not Shelby County Circuit, Chancery, Criminal, General Sessions, Probate, Juvenile, or Memphis City Court records. Use PACER, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, or the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee for federal records.
Official-source review notes
This guide was reviewed against official Shelby County Courts pages; Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk, Circuit Court, Circuit departments, Circuit case-information and filing-fee materials; Shelby County Chancery Court, Chancery case-information and public-copy guidance; Shelby County Criminal Court and Shelby County Criminal Justice System portal information; General Sessions Court Clerk, General Sessions Civil CourtConnect, General Sessions Criminal Justice System Portal, General Sessions court-cost and public-records pages; Shelby County Probate Court, Probate Case Information and Probate document-search instructions; Shelby County Juvenile Court Clerk and Central Records materials; Memphis City Court Clerk information; Shelby County Register of Deeds and Archives resources; Tennessee Public Case History and Appellate Court Clerk information; Western District of Tennessee federal court resources; Western District of Tennessee Bankruptcy Court resources; and PACER pricing/fee-change sources. Review date: September 2, 2026.