To run a DC Superior Court case search, go to dccourts.gov and pick the portal that matches your case type: the Odyssey Portal for civil matters (landlord-tenant, small claims, probate, civil tax) and the eAccess system for criminal, criminal tax, and Domestic Violence Division cases.1District of Columbia Courts. Superior Court Case Search Both are free, require no account, and let you search by case number or by party name.
Pick the Right Portal First
Choosing the wrong system is the single most common reason a search comes up empty. The Superior Court splits its records between two portals, and a case filed in one will not appear in the other. Civil Division matters live on Odyssey. Criminal Division, criminal tax, and Domestic Violence Division matters live on eAccess, at eaccess.dccourts.gov.2District of Columbia Courts. Welcome Page – District of Columbia Superior Court eAccess If you aren’t sure which division handled your case, try both.
One other mix-up to rule out before you start: the DC Superior Court is not the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Superior Court handles local DC matters. The federal district court handles federal cases and keeps its records in a different system entirely.
Searching by Case Number
A case number search is faster and more reliable than a name search, but the format has to be exact. Enter the four-digit year, a space, the case type abbreviation, another space, and a six-digit case number padded with leading zeros. A case written on your paperwork as 17ADM1 goes into the search box as 2017 ADM 000001.2District of Columbia Courts. Welcome Page – District of Columbia Superior Court eAccess Drop a space or a leading zero and the system returns nothing, which is why people often assume their case is missing when it is actually sitting there under the correct format.
The case type abbreviation is printed on any paperwork the court sent you. Common ones include CMD for criminal misdemeanors, CF for criminal felonies, CA for civil actions, LT for landlord-tenant, and SC for small claims.
Searching by Party Name
Without a case number, you can search by party name. Use a first and last name for an individual or the full business name for a company. Name searches can return hundreds of hits, and the display caps at roughly 1,000 matches, so a date-range filter is usually necessary to narrow results to something workable.1District of Columbia Courts. Superior Court Case Search
A few fields are tied to specific case types. Date of birth only works for criminal searches; add it to a civil or probate search and the system returns zero results instead of ignoring the field.2District of Columbia Courts. Welcome Page – District of Columbia Superior Court eAccess Date of death is available only for probate searches.
What the Online Docket Shows
Each case page displays the docket, a chronological log of every filing, hearing, and court action. You can see whether the case is open, closed, or pending, who the parties are, which judge is assigned, and when the next hearing is scheduled. For some case types, scanned images of filed documents like motions and orders are available alongside the docket entries.
The portals are reference tools, not an official records repository. A docket page printed from the website will not substitute for a certified copy in a legal proceeding. If you need a document bearing the court’s seal, you have to request it from the Clerk’s Office for a fee.
When a Search Returns Nothing
Beyond formatting errors, some cases genuinely do not appear online because the law keeps them out of public view. Juvenile case records are confidential under DC law and cannot be inspected by unauthorized persons.3D.C. Law Library. DC Code 16-2331 – Juvenile Case Records; Confidentiality; Inspection and Disclosure Adoption records are sealed from the moment the petition is filed, and even the parties themselves need a court order to see them.4D.C. Law Library. DC Code 16-311 – Sealing and Inspection of Records and Papers Mental health commitment proceedings are also restricted.
Individual cases can also be sealed or expunged by judicial order, including under DC’s Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022, which expanded eligibility for clearing criminal records.5Government of the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Fiscal Impact Statement – Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 Sealed records are hidden from public view; expunged records are erased from the public database. In both situations the search returns nothing, and you will not see any indication that a record ever existed.
Sensitive personal identifiers are also kept off the public docket even in otherwise public cases. Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and similar data are filed on separate non-public forms and never surface in the online system.
Getting Records That Aren’t Online
For records the portals won’t show, or for certified copies, go to or write to the Clerk of the Superior Court at the Moultrie Courthouse, 500 Indiana Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. The Clerk’s Office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The general number is 202-879-1010, and eAccess technical help has its own line at 202-879-1700.6District of Columbia Courts. Superior Court – District of Columbia Courts2District of Columbia Courts. Welcome Page – District of Columbia Superior Court eAccess
Bring the case number if you have one. Without it, the clerk runs a manual search, which takes longer and costs more. Standard fees for record services are $0.50 per page for photocopies, $5.00 per document for certified or true seal copies, and $10.00 per name for a record search.7District of Columbia Courts. Family Filing Fees
Older files may be stored off-site. When that happens the clerk has to order the file in, which can take several business days, so build in time if your case goes back more than a few years.
Two Fixes That Solve Most Failed Searches
If a search comes back empty and you believe the case exists, check two things before anything else. First, confirm you are on the right portal: Odyssey for civil, eAccess for criminal. Second, confirm your case number is in the full format with leading zeros, so 2024 CMD 001234 rather than 2024 CMD 1234. Those two corrections resolve the majority of first-attempt failures.