Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Chaffee County, Colorado, has about 21,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its court cases are filed in the Chaffee County District Court and the County Court, and the file of each case, kept by the clerk of the combined court, is the public record of it. This guide says which court hears what, where to look a case up and who keeps the files.
This guide covers the courts, the records page, criminal cases, kinds of files, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Chaffee County public records, Chaffee County arrest records, Chaffee County warrants, Chaffee County inmate search, Chaffee County criminal records, Colorado arrest records and Colorado inmate search.
The Courts That Hear Cases from Chaffee County
Court cases from Chaffee County are filed in the Chaffee County District Court, which hears felonies, civil cases over $25,000, divorces, probate and juvenile matters.
Below it, the County Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and civil cases up to $25,000.
A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets written under its ordinances.
Divorces go to the District Court, and the file stays with the clerk of the combined court.
The clerk of the combined court keeps the files, and a copy of anything in a file comes from that office, under the court's own rules rather than the Colorado Open Records Act.
Looking Up a Case from Chaffee County
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at coloradojudicial.gov/courts/trial-courts/chaffee-county (page title: Chaffee County | Colorado Judicial Branch), phone 719-539-2561, 142 Crestone Avenue P.O. Box 279 Salida, CO 81201, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Colorado has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The Colorado court page SearchSystems verified is at research.coloradojudicial.gov.
What Reaches the Court from Chaffee County
Together, the three agencies in Chaffee County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 532 arrests to the FBI that year; the District Attorney decides which of those arrests become cases in the Chaffee County District Court or the County Court.
The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at chaffeecounty.org/departments/attorney/index.php (page title: Welcome to Chaffee County, CO), phone 719-539-2218, 2218 Email 104 Crestone Ave. P.O. Box 699 Salida, CO 81201, MON 7:30 am - 3:30 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
The Kinds of Court Files
The court file is one record with several readers: a criminal case from the arrest to the sentence, a divorce from the petition to the judgment, a traffic ticket from the citation to the conviction the court reports to the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, and an eviction or a lien on land.
The other Chaffee County guides take the kinds of file one at a time: Chaffee County criminal records, Chaffee County divorce records, Chaffee County traffic tickets, Chaffee County DUI and Chaffee County property records.
Cities in Chaffee County
Wherever in the county a case arises, it is filed in the Chaffee County District Court or the County Court; tickets under a city's own ordinances go to its municipal court where it has one.
The cities and towns in the county are Salida, Buena Vista and Poncha Springs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I look up a court case in Chaffee County?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at coloradojudicial.gov, phone 719-539-2561.
Which court hears felonies in Chaffee County?
The Chaffee County District Court, which hears felonies, civil cases over $25,000, divorces, probate and juvenile matters. The County Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and civil cases up to $25,000.
Who keeps the court records in Chaffee County?
The clerk of the combined court. Copies come from that office under the court's own rules.
Is there a statewide court case search in Colorado?
No. Each court's records are looked up through that court.
Is this the official Chaffee County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.