Criminal Case Information Requests
Requesting Copies of Court Records
Requesting records/information for one person
Most information on a case can be obtained by visiting the Court’s Online Case Lookup tool, re:Search. Criminal documents can be viewed on the Court’s onsite kiosks. For copies of case summaries or case documents, a Request for Case Information Form can be submitted. Documents are available at a cost of $0.50/page at any of our court locations. Defendants and attorneys of record can request copies of the case summary on a given case for free. Victims can request copies of the case summary and/or copies of their protective orders on a given case for free. These requests must be accompanied by proof of valid ID for the defendant, victim or a business/bar card for the attorney of record. You can make this request either in person or by mail. A case summary can also be certified for a fee of $40 per case. Our court considers this to be the most accurate and easy to read form of information for our cases. Unless you need case information for Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, for a formal hearing or have been specifically told that a case summary print out is unacceptable, then this may be the best option for you.
Requesting a docket print out instead of copies of documents from a case file may streamline your request.
Complete the Request for Case Information Form and mail or bring it to the court with payment. If you are requesting a case summary print out, you will also need to provide a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE). A SASE is an envelope that you write your name and address and place proper postage (stamp) on it. The envelope will then be used to mail your request back to you. Please be sure to use a legal-sized envelope so your public docket will fit. Further instructions are on the form.
Please note that no requests can be made or sent by fax.
Requesting records/information for more than one person (Bulk Request)
If you are requesting information for more than one person, please use the Request for Bulk Case Information form available in PDF and excel format.
Request for Bulk Case Information form (PDF)
Request for Bulk Case Information form (Excel)
For name search requests, third party requestors may submit first and last names. Middle names are optional. Court staff will only return names that are an exact match to what is requested. Please keep this in mind when including a middle name. If you need different variations of a name, please list them separately. Court staff are prohibited from using a date of birth or partial date of birth when conducting third party name search requests, even if a date of birth is provided. Requests will also include the scope, or file date, to look back to. Staff will return any criminal cases filed after that file date.
When the Court determines there is a hit, we will identify whether the case number is available in the online case portal, re:Search. If the case is in re:Search, we will note that the case is publicly available and refer you to re:Search for the case summary. If you need additional information on the case, please submit a Request for Case Information Form. If the case is not available in re:Search, we will return a case summary from our legacy system. The Court charges 50 cents a page for a case summary.
Most information on a case can be obtained by visiting the Court’s Online Case Lookup tool, re:Search. The Court also has onsite kiosks that allow you to see criminal case documents. These documents may contain information that help you narrow down your search for common names.
Submit the form along with payment in the form of a check made out to "SLO SUPERIOR COURT" by mail or in person at the Clerks' office counter during regular business hours. Requests can also be emailed to slocrim@slo.courts.ca.gov
Research Procedure at the Counter (in person requests)
Due to the on-going budget cuts and the Court’s current fiscal crisis, the Court will no longer be conducting background checks at the counter, effective June 1, 2012.
In order to reduce significant wait times for members of the public and in order to be able to retrieve, review and redact electronic records, pursuant to CRC Rule 2.507, any request for background research information must be submitted in writing, either at the counter or by mail. The Court will no longer process these requests immediately at the counter. The Court will process these requests on a first come-first serve basis, and you will be notified when your request is ready for pick up. Research of 10 minutes or more will be charged at a rate of $15 for each 10-minute increment, as well as a $.50 per page charge for copies from the court file or copies of the case summary.
A drop box is provided for these requests at the counter at the San Luis Obispo branch, 1050 Monterey Street, Rm. 220. The clerk will call once the request is complete and ready for pick-up.
Please alert the clerk if you are here to view, or have questions about, your personal court file or if you are the attorney of record for a defendant in a criminal or traffic matter.
Transcripts
Copies of transcripts must be ordered from the Court Reporter that reported the case. For information on obtaining copies of an official transcript please review the Purchasing a Transcript section of the Courtroom Operations Website.