Status of a Case
Information about Civil cases (excluding family law, probate, small claims, traffic, appeals, juvenile traffic, unlawful detainer cases under $25,000, and juvenile cases) can be obtained by:
- Reviewing the case on the Public Portal,
- Calling the Civil Division at 916-874-5522 (press 3),
- Sending a letter, including appropriate fees to the Records Unit,
- Hiring a private agency to retrieve information, or
- Going to the Civil Records Unit, Room 102 (Window 16) in the Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse.
The Civil Division is open Monday through Friday (except court holidays) from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and is located at 720 9th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Civil staff can answer questions about the status of documents, upcoming scheduled hearings and events, and can tell you when certain documents are due to be filed according to Case Management Program guidelines.
Civil staff are not permitted to give legal advice, or tell you how to proceed in your case pursuant to Government Code section 68082 - external link.
Viewing, Copying, and Certifying Court Files or Documents
Public cases and documents filed after November 13, 2007 may be viewed via the Public Portal
For standard copies, you may also print them directly from the Public Portal
To get certified or exemplified copies of a civil file or document:
- Hire a private agency to assist you,
- Go to the Civil Records Unit in the Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse Room 102 (Window 16), or
- Complete a Request for Copies of Civil Records (CV\E-300) and mail it with the appropriate fee(s) to the Records Unit.
Written requests sent to the Records Unit take approximately 4-6 weeks to complete and require fees for copying, certifying, and researching.
Legacy Case Files
Cases and documents filed before November 13, 2007, are not available digitally. You will need to view the physical case file. All physical civil files are kept at an off-site retention facility and take approximately 10 business days to be delivered to the main courthouse.
If you want to request one of these files, you may order it. Go to the Civil Records Unit in the Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse Room 102, or call the Civil Records Unit at 916-874-7186. Most civil court files are public records and may be viewed by anyone. To see a court file, you must present valid picture identification, such as a current driver's license.
If you need copies from a physical file, you may NOT remove pages from the file. The Records Clerk can make copies for you at $0.50 per page.
Public Copier Info
A privately maintained copy machine is available in the Records Unit and copies cost $0.25 each. Copiers only accept cash or copy cards- not credit cards. Copy cards cost $1.00 and can be purchased at the dispensers located in Room 101. The dispensers accept only $1.00 bills.
Customers with questions or refund requests on the balance of their copy cards may contact Caltronics at 916-363-2611.
Fees
The following charges apply if you wish court staff to search for and copy documents. You may send a blank check, made out to Sacramento Superior Court, bearing the words, "Not to exceed [amount] dollars" in the memo section.
- $15.00 for searching records or files, for each search longer than 10 minutes
- $0.50 per page for copies
- $40.00 per certification of a copy of paper, record or proceeding on file (in addition to $0.50 per page for copies)
- $50.00 per exemplification (in addition to $0.50 per page for copies)
Pursuant to Government Code Sections 70627 - external link and 70633 - external link, ALL FEDERAL and government agencies within California are exempt from paying copy fees. All city, county or state agencies outside of California shall be charged fees for regular copies and certified copies. There is no fee for Exemplifications requested by government agencies outside of California.