Court Records

These records are housed at the Washington National Records Center (FRC), which is no longer open to the public. To view archived court records at the courthouse, a deputy clerk must order them from the FRC. It generally takes five to ten business days for the records to arrive.

Court Records

Civil Docket Reports from 1902 - 1949 are listed in the Clerk's Office on Indexes only. To view one of these docket reports, you will need to go the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Civil Docket Reports from 1947 – March 1987 may be viewed on microfilm in the Clerk’s Office. The exception would be cases that were still pending in March of 1987 or re-opened after that date. These pending or re-opened cases may be available on the PACER (Public Access to Court Records) website or the public terminals in the Clerk’s Office.

Criminal Docket Reports from 1938 – mid 1991 may be viewed on microfilm in the Clerk’s Office. The exception would be cases that were still pending in mid-1991 or re-opened after that date. These pending or re-opened cases may be available on the PACER website or the public terminals in the Clerk’s Office.

Civil cases opened after March 1987 and Criminal Cases opened after mid 1991 are also available on the PACER website or the public terminals in the Clerk’s Office.

Copies, Certification and Search Fees

Retrieval fee for first box of records from Federal Records Center or National Archives	$70.00
Retrieval of second and additional boxes from Federal Records Center or National Archives	$43.00 per box
Electronic retrieval fee from Federal Records Center or National Archives	$11.00
Copies of any paper or record (charge is per page)	$0.50
Certified copy (certification fee + $0.50 per page copy fee)	$12.00
Exemplification - Triple Seal (Exemplification Fee + $0.50 per page copy fee)	$24.00
Reproduction of recordings of proceedings	$34.00
Search fee	$34.00
Apostille (Apostille Fee + $0.50 per page copy fee)	$50.00
Copies printed from courthouse public terminals (charge is per page)	$0.10

To obtain information about requesting Adoption Petitions filed in this Court from January 1906 - September 14, 1956, click this link: https://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/adoption-petitions.
The Clerk's Office does not store trial exhibits. Please contact counsel of record.
Information about obtaining birth and death certificates for the District of Columbia can be requested by clicking this link: https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/vital-records.
For all marriages, please contact the D.C. Superior Court directly for certified copies of marriage licenses vis email: MarriageBureau@dcsc.gov or by calling the phone number 202-879-1010.
For divorces that occurred from present day - 1957, please contact the D.C. Superior Court directly for certified copies of divorce decrees via email: FamilyCourtCertifiedCopies@dcsc.gov or by calling the phone number 202-879-1010.
For old divorces that occurred from the years 1902 - 1956, please contact us via email: records@dcd.uscourts.gov.

If you have any questions or would like to order records, please contact us via email: records@dcd.uscourts.gov.

PAYING AN eBILL WITH PAY.GOV

eBilling is a pay.gov application that allows the Records department to send and manage electronic payments. Customers can be billed for items such as copies, certifications, record box retrievals, and other items. For step-by-step instructions on paying an eBill with pay.gov, click here.