How to Use Alaska CourtView to Search by Name

An Alaska CourtView search by name is done through the Alaska Court System’s CourtView Public Access Website, which indexes trial court cases statewide and lets you pull results by typing a person’s or company’s name into the Party Name Search.¹ One search covers every Superior and District Court location, so you don’t need to know which courthouse handled the case. Before you trust what you see, know that CourtView is not a criminal background check, has almost no records from before 1990, and hides several categories of cases from public view.

Where to Start

Go to courts.alaska.gov and click the link labeled “Search Trial Court Cases / Pay Online.”¹ That opens the CourtView interface. Choose the Party Name Search tab to look someone up by name.

Searching for a Person

Enter the last name and first name. If you’re not sure about spelling, type just the first few letters of the last name. A search for “Christ” will bring back Christensen, Christiansen, Christianson, and other variations.² Using a first initial instead of a full first name can also catch records where the name was entered differently.

Your results show every case where that name appears as a party, along with the role the person played (plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, or respondent). If the list is long, narrow it by adding a middle initial, picking a specific court location, choosing a case type (criminal, civil, domestic relations), or setting a date range.

Searching for a Business

Company names are entered less consistently than personal names, so one search usually isn’t enough. The Alaska Court System recommends running three:²

Enter the first word of the company name in the Company Name field. If the results are too broad, try the first two words.
Clear that field and enter the same keyword in the Last Name field.
Clear that field and enter the keyword in the First Name field.

Each pass catches records the others miss because of how the clerk entered the name. Skip one and you may skip a case.

Reading Your Results

Every case has a number ending in a two-letter suffix that tells you the case type. The ones you’ll see most often are CR (criminal, felony or misdemeanor), CI (civil), SC (small claims), MO (minor offense), and PR (probate).³ Knowing the codes lets you scan a long list without opening each case.

Click a case number to see the detail screen. Case Status shows whether the case is open or closed. In criminal cases, the Disposition field shows how each charge ended, with entries like “Convicted,” “Acquitted,” or “Dismissed.”² The docket screen logs every official action in order: motions, hearings, orders, and sometimes the judge’s name. Party addresses and Social Security numbers are stripped from what you see.

Getting the Actual Documents

CourtView shows docket summaries, not the underlying filings. To read a complaint, motion, or brief, you have to request a copy from the clerk’s office at the court where the case was filed. Requests can be made in person, by email, fax, or mail.⁴ Fees are charged per document:

Copies: $5 for the first document, $3 for each additional document in the same request
Certified copies: $10 for the first, $3 for each additional
Records research (asking the court to look something up rather than requesting a specific document): $30

These are set by Administrative Rule 9.⁵

What Won’t Show Up

A CourtView search is not a criminal history records check. The court system says so on its own search page.¹ A clean CourtView result does not mean the person has no record. Full criminal history reports come from the Alaska Department of Public Safety through a separate process.

Several things are missing or hidden:

Pre-1990 cases. CourtView has no comprehensive records from before 1990 at any court location. Older cases were tracked on paper index cards showing only case numbers and party names. If an old case becomes active again the court may add it to the system, so you’ll occasionally see a case from the 1970s or 1980s, but those are exceptions.²
Automatically confidential case types. These never appear: children’s proceedings (delinquency and child-in-need-of-aid), adoptions, alcohol and mental health commitments, emancipations, and most probate types other than estates and protective proceedings.²
Acquittals and dismissals. Under AS 22.35.030, the court system must remove a criminal case from CourtView 60 days after the defendant was acquitted of all charges, all charges were dismissed (unless the dismissal was part of a plea agreement in another case), or the defendant was acquitted on some charges and the rest were dismissed. Someone with a recent arrest and acquittal may not appear at all.⁶
Some protective order cases. Domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault protective order cases dismissed at or before the initial hearing for insufficient evidence are removed from the public index. Foreign domestic violence protective orders filed under AS 18.66.140 are also excluded. Cases that proceed to an order remain listed, with party addresses hidden.²
Non-state courts. CourtView is the state trial court index. Federal, tribal, and municipal court cases generally won’t appear, though a municipal ordinance violation charged as a minor offense or criminal case within the state system will.

Alaska Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions live on a separate search page, reached through its own link on the main Search Cases page.¹

If Something on CourtView Looks Wrong

For a factual error in a case record, contact the clerk at the court where the case was filed. If a case is still showing that you believe should have been removed under Administrative Rule 40 or AS 22.35.030, submit form TF-810 to that court.² Automated removal doesn’t always catch every qualifying case, so the flagging is on you.

1
Alaska Court System. Search Cases – Alaska Court System
2
Alaska Court System. CourtView Online Information
3
Alaska Court System. Administrative Bulletin No. 7 – Case Numbering
4
Alaska Court System. Trial Courts – Requesting Copies of Case Files or Documents
5
Alaska Court System. Filing Fees and Fee Waiver
6
Justia Law. Alaska Statutes Title 22 Chapter 35 – 22.35.030 Records Concerning Criminal Cases