Retrieving Civil Cases
| Civil cases filed prior to 1989 | Contact a divisional office for archive information. |
| Civil cases filed from 1990 to present | You may access the docket sheet and most documents during this time period using your PACER login. Access to documents is limited in cases filed prior to the implementation of CM/ECF. Contact a divisional office for information regarding entries that do not have a document attached |
| Sealed Civil Cases | Access to sealed cases is restricted to court personnel only. |
| Social Security Cases, Immigration Cases | Access to these type cases is restricted to attorneys of record only |
Retrieving Criminal Cases
| Criminal cases filed prior to November 1, 2004 |
Contact a divisional office for more information regarding retrieval of the case file or document |
| Criminal cases filed prior to November 1, 2004 | Access to documents are denied except to attorneys of record. Contact the clerk for retrieval of the file or a document. |
| Criminal cases filed after November 2004 to present | Criminal cases may be accessed using the PACER system. A login and password are required to access PACER unless using a public terminal located in the lobby of each divisional office, except the Marshall division. |
| Sealed Criminal Cases | Access to sealed cases is restricted to court personnel only. |
Retrieving Case Files From the Records Center
Most case files prior to electronic filing are stored in the Federal Records Center located in Fort Worth, Texas. Before contacting the records center for retrieval of these records, you must have the accession, location and box number assigned to the case file.
The archive information is available on the docket sheet in most cases. If the information is not listed, contact the division where the case was filed for archive information.
You may contact the records center at the following street address or phone number.
Federal Records Center
1400 John Burgess Dr
Ft Worth, Texas 76140
Phone Number: 817-551-2000
Fax Number: 817-551-2021
http://www.archives.gov/frc/