Arizona Court Case Lookup | AZ Courts Records Search

Key Resources for Arizona Court Records

Always double-check case status and deadlines against current information from official Arizona court portals, because online dockets and summaries can change and may not show every update immediately.

Finding court records in Arizona requires combining statewide tools from the Arizona Judicial Branch with local county clerk resources. This page and Arizona Public Records summarize how to search those systems, but they are not government websites and do not provide legal advice or guarantee that records are complete.

Before you start, gather key identifiers such as the full name of a party, an approximate filing year, and, if you have it, a trial court case number or the county where the case began. Statewide tools are a good first stop, but detailed Judicial Records and older Court Dockets often require a follow-up request directly to the county court.

Overview of Arizona Judicial Branch Court Records: Structure and Search Tools

Arizona court records are organized within a tiered state system overseen by the Arizona Judicial Branch. Most statewide online access to Court Dockets and basic Case Files runs through branch-operated tools such as the Public Access Case Lookup for case information and the eAccess portal for many Superior Court documents, while copies of official Judicial Records remain with individual courts.

The state system sits alongside federal courts, which maintain their own online services and are not included in Arizona’s state portals. Statewide searches normally return brief case summaries, party names, and register-of-actions style entries, but they do not replace the official record held by the clerk of the court where the case was filed.

This guide focuses on using those statewide tools to orient yourself, then shows when you should move to county-level courts for full files, certified copies, or local dockets that may not be transmitted into the statewide systems.

State Court Structure and How Cases Move Through the Arizona Judicial Branch

The Arizona Judicial Branch has three main levels. At the top is the Arizona Supreme Court, which is the court of last resort for state-law issues. Below it is the Court of Appeals, an intermediate appellate court with two geographic divisions that review most appeals from the trial courts. At the base are trial courts, primarily the Superior Court in each county along with Justice Courts and municipal courts with more limited jurisdiction.

Most cases begin in a trial court. Limited-jurisdiction Justice or city courts handle lower-dollar civil disputes, small claims, landlord–tenant matters, and many misdemeanor and traffic cases. Superior Court, a single statewide court with a location in every county, handles felony prosecutions, larger civil disputes, divorces and other family law cases, probate and estate matters, and specialized areas such as statewide tax disputes assigned to the Tax Court department.

When a party appeals a Superior Court decision, the case generally moves to the Court of Appeals, where panels of three judges review the written record rather than holding a new trial. In a smaller number of cases, parties may then ask the Arizona Supreme Court to review the Court of Appeals decision, but the Supreme Court usually chooses which cases to take.

Using the Arizona Judicial Branch Public Access Case Lookup Tool

The primary statewide search tool for Arizona trial-level cases is the Public Access Case Lookup operated by the Arizona Judicial Branch. It aggregates case information from most, but not all, courts across the state and lets you review basic docket entries, party names, and upcoming hearing dates from a single screen instead of checking each court separately.

To use it, go to the Arizona Judicial Branch site and access the statewide case search. Choose a search type, then enter a party name or trial court case number, optionally refining by court level or county if those options are offered. After completing the on-screen verification step, you can open individual results to see more detailed register-of-actions style information.

Even though it is convenient, the online Case Lookup is not the official record of any court. The site itself warns that information may be incomplete, may not include every case filed in a participating court, and can change at any time. Updates are generally applied on a periodic schedule rather than in real time, so very recent filings or dispositions might not appear immediately.

For many Superior Court criminal and civil cases, the Judicial Branch also offers the eAccess portal, which focuses on providing access to underlying documents rather than just dockets. That tool is geared toward viewing and purchasing electronic copies of filings from participating Superior Courts and does not replace requests made directly to a clerk for certified copies or older paper files.

When you are looking for higher-court material, remember that appellate information is split into different areas. The Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court publish written opinions, case summaries, oral argument calendars, and appellate dockets through their own sections of the Judicial Branch website. Those opinion repositories show final decisions and legal reasoning, while daily trial-level Court Dockets and minute entries are usually found through the case lookup and local county systems.

Understanding Case Types and Where to File in Arizona

Arizona state courts handle a wide range of Criminal, Civil, Family, and Probate matters, but which court hears a case depends on both the subject and the amount at stake. Superior Court in each county is the general jurisdiction trial court, responsible for felony prosecutions, higher-value civil disputes, divorces and other family law cases, probate and estate matters, and specialized areas such as statewide tax disputes assigned to the Tax Court department.

Justice Courts are limited-jurisdiction courts that generally hear civil lawsuits seeking monetary relief of ten thousand dollars or less, landlord–tenant and eviction actions, small claims cases up to five thousand dollars, and a broad mix of traffic and misdemeanor offenses. Many Arizona cities also operate municipal courts that focus on violations of city ordinances and certain misdemeanors within city limits.

Jurisdiction rules matter for records because they determine where a case is filed and which docket appears in statewide searches. Appeals from Justice and municipal courts usually go to the county’s Superior Court, whose decisions can then be reviewed by the Court of Appeals and, sometimes, the Arizona Supreme Court. Small claims cases are more informal and, by rule, their decisions are not subject to appeal, so you should not expect to see a higher-court docket for those disputes.

Requesting Official Court Records and Certified Copies in Arizona

Arizona’s online case lookup tools are designed for convenience and general research, but they are not a substitute for certified Judicial Records. The Public Access Case Lookup and similar portals provide informal summaries, and the courts themselves caution that these screens are not the official record and may not show every filing or correction.

If you need copies that have legal effect, such as a certified judgment or a file-stamped minute entry, you must request them from the clerk of the court that handled the case: the Clerk of the Supreme Court for Supreme Court matters, the Clerk of the Court of Appeals for appellate files, or the appropriate county Superior Court or limited-jurisdiction court for trial-level records.

For many Superior Court criminal and civil cases, you can also view superior court documents online through the Judicial Branch’s eAccess system. That portal focuses on electronic document delivery and may charge separate fees for viewing or downloading documents, while in-person or mail requests through a clerk’s office may involve per-page copy and certification charges set by the court’s fee schedule.

Some appellate courts, such as the Court of Appeals Division Two, describe a process that includes submitting a request form and, for remote electronic access, completing a registration before records are provided. Procedures and costs vary by court and can change, so always rely on the latest instructions from the appropriate clerk rather than any third-party summary.

Restrictions and County-Level Records Access in Arizona

  • Arizona Supreme Court: 1501 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007 (View on Google Maps)
  • Phone: 602-452-3300

Even when a case appears in an Arizona statewide search, not every detail is open to the public. Online tools omit sensitive categories such as sealed matters, cases involving orders of protection, many mental health and probate files, most juvenile delinquency records, and confidential victim or witness information. Charges based solely on local ordinances may also be missing.

The Judicial Branch emphasizes that online case information is provided as a convenience only. Participation by individual courts is extensive but not universal, and not all cases from participating courts are guaranteed to appear. Data is refreshed on a scheduled basis rather than instantly, so the safest practice is to verify important details directly with the court of record.

Statewide portals are best viewed as statewide indexes that point you toward the correct court, not as a complete substitute for local files. For full case folders, older minute entries, exhibits, or certified copies, you will usually need to work with the appropriate county court listed below.

County Court Records
Maricopa County Search

Why can’t I find my Arizona case in the Public Access Case Lookup?
Your case may be filed in a court that does not send data to the statewide portal, may involve a restricted case type, may be too recent to appear in the latest update, or may be indexed under a different spelling. When that happens, contact the clerk of the court where the case was filed.

Do I always have to visit the courthouse to get certified court records?
Not always, because some Arizona courts offer mail, phone, or online options for requesting certified copies, including limited electronic access to certain records. However, many users still need to work directly with the county clerk’s office responsible for the case, especially for older files, large record sets, or time-sensitive requests.