Colorado Case Number Lookup: Format, Name Search, and Copies

A Colorado case number lookup starts at the Judicial Branch’s free Docket Search at coloradojudicial.gov, which covers county, district, and appellate courts statewide.¹ Enter the case number if you have it, or search by party name with a county or judicial district filter. The portal shows docket entries and case status; it does not provide copies of the filed documents themselves, which you request separately from the clerk of court.²

How Colorado Case Numbers Are Formatted

Colorado case numbers follow a general pattern: a two- or four-digit filing year, a letter code for the case type, and a sequence number. A criminal case might appear as 16CR01234, where “16” is the filing year and “CR” marks it as criminal. A misdemeanor might read 17M1234, and a juvenile delinquency case 15JD7891.³ Other common letter codes include CV for civil, DR for domestic relations, and GS for general sessions.

Sequence number length isn’t uniform across case types or years, so enter the number exactly as it appears on any court paperwork you already have. A leading zero that you drop can turn a valid number into a dead search.

Running the Search on the Docket Search Portal

Open the Docket Search page at coloradojudicial.gov. The form includes dropdown menus for the judicial district (Colorado has 22) and county, plus fields for case number and party name. You need at least one filter beyond a date range to run a search.¹

With a case number in hand, enter it directly. This is the most reliable method and typically returns a single match. The search covers trial courts across the state along with the Court of Appeals, Supreme Court, and Water Courts.

Click a result to open the case. You’ll see the parties, the case type, the presiding judge, the current status, and a chronological register of actions listing filings, motions, hearings, and orders. Common status terms include open or active (the case is still being litigated), closed (resolved by judgment, dismissal, or settlement), and stayed (paused by court order).⁴

Searching by Name When You Don’t Have a Number

If you don’t have the case number, search by party name. Use the person’s full legal name with correct spelling. Where the system allows a date of birth, add it — common names can otherwise produce dozens of matches.

Narrowing by location helps too. Selecting the judicial district or county where the case was filed cuts out unrelated results from across the state. The county dropdown runs from Adams to Yuma and includes separate listings for Denver District, Denver Juvenile, and Denver Probate courts.¹

For a fuller register of actions than the free portal shows, the Judicial Branch directs the public to three authorized commercial vendors — Background Information Services, LexisNexis (cocourts.com), and Tessera Data — each with its own fees.² Even the paid vendor sites show docket entries and case summaries only, not the filed documents.

What the Results Show, and What They Don’t

This is where people get tripped up. The docket is a log of what happened, not a file cabinet. An entry like “Motion to Dismiss filed” tells you the motion exists; the actual brief is not available for download through the free portal or the commercial vendors.²

Even on records that are publicly accessible, Colorado courts redact sensitive personal identifiers before releasing documents. Under Chief Justice Directive 05-01, the following are removed from public copies: Social Security numbers (including partial SSNs), financial account numbers (unless only the last four digits appear), tax identification numbers, driver’s license numbers, and personal identification numbers such as passport or state ID numbers.⁵ Financial data beyond a basic summary is blocked from remote electronic access entirely, though it may be viewable in paper form at the courthouse.

Getting Copies of the Actual Filings

Since neither the Docket Search nor the vendor databases provide document images, there are two ways to get the paperwork itself.

One is the Colorado Judicial Branch’s online records request form, linked from the Access Guide to Public Records. You submit the request and the relevant court contacts you with instructions and any fees.²

The other is contacting the clerk of court directly at the courthouse where the case was filed. This is often faster for simple requests and is the only route for records that require in-person verification. Copy fees are set by statute:

Certified copies: $20 per document.
Uncertified single-sided copies: $0.25 per page.
Uncertified double-sided copies: $0.50 per page.
Parties to the case: $15 maximum for copy fees.⁶

Many court filing fees increased on January 1, 2025, under House Bill 2024-1286, so confirm current amounts with the specific court before submitting a large request.⁶

Cases filed before the court’s electronic system went live aren’t in the database at all. For older records, contact the clerk of court in the county where the case was originally filed. Staff search time for non-digitized records is an additional cost that varies by courthouse.

Cases and Details That Won’t Show Up

Not every case appears in a public search. Chief Justice Directive 05-01 establishes categories of court records that are sealed, suppressed, or otherwise restricted.⁵ A sealed record is accessible only to judges and authorized court staff; anyone else needs a court order. A suppressed record is slightly less restrictive: the parties and their attorneys can access it, but no one else can without a court order.

Entire case types are excluded from public access, including juvenile delinquency, dependency and neglect, truancy, mental health, and judicial bypass proceedings. For these, court staff can disclose only the case number and the next court date in response to a name inquiry.

Domestic relations cases themselves are publicly listed, but financial statements, affidavits, and detailed account data within them are suppressed and unavailable through remote electronic access. Criminal records can also be sealed after a case closes, though a substantial list of offenses — including DUIs, domestic violence, sexual offenses, crimes of violence, and felonies covered by the Victim Rights Act — can never be sealed.⁷

Municipal Court Cases

City-level cases — ordinance violations, minor traffic offenses, and low-level criminal matters handled by a municipal court — are generally not included in the statewide Docket Search or the authorized vendor databases. The General Assembly has encouraged cities to integrate their municipal records into the state system, but participation is not universal.⁸

Contact the specific city’s municipal court for these records. Some larger cities run their own portals: Denver County Court, for example, has a public case search by case number, arrest booking number, or party name, though name searches there return only cases with active future court dates.⁹ Smaller cities usually require a call or visit to the clerk’s office.

Federal Cases Filed in Colorado

Federal criminal prosecutions, bankruptcies, civil rights lawsuits, and other matters under federal law won’t appear in the state system. Federal cases from the U.S. District Court of Colorado are available through PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records).¹⁰

PACER differs from the state system in a useful way: it provides downloadable document images, not just docket entries. Access costs $0.10 per page, capped at the equivalent of 30 pages per document, and fees are waived automatically if your charges stay at $30 or less in a quarterly billing cycle.¹¹ Parties and their attorneys of record also get one free look at each electronically filed document. Register at pacer.uscourts.gov before searching.

Fixing an Error on a Court Record

If you find a misspelled name, a wrong date, or another clerical mistake on a docket entry rather than in a court order, contacting the clerk of court directly is often the fastest fix. Clerks can correct data-entry errors in the electronic system without a formal motion.

For errors in a judgment or order, the typical remedy is a motion under Colorado Rule of Civil Procedure 60(a), which allows courts to correct clerical errors in judgments, orders, or other parts of the record. Rule 60(a) covers genuine clerical mistakes, not substantive disagreements about what the court decided; for those, Rule 60(b) applies and carries stricter requirements and time limits. The motion is filed in the court where the case was handled.

1
Colorado Judicial Branch. Docket Search
2
Colorado Judicial Branch. Access Guide to Public Records
3
Denver DA. Find My Courtroom or Case
4
Colorado Judicial Branch. Glossary of Legal Terms
5
Colorado Judicial Branch. Chief Justice Directive 05-01 Concerning Access to Court Records
6
Colorado Judicial Branch. List of Fees
7
Colorado Judicial Branch. Sealing Criminal Records – April 2025
8
Justia Law. Colorado Code Title 16 – Integrated Court Online Network
9
Denver County Court. Quick Search – Public Portal
10
U.S. District Court of Colorado. Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)
11
United States Courts. Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule