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 24, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in Rockingham County, has about 23,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its court cases are filed in the Rockingham County Superior Court and the Circuit Court, and the file of each case, kept by the clerk of each 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, directory links and common questions.
Related guides: Portsmouth public records, Rockingham County court records, Portsmouth arrest records, Portsmouth warrants, Portsmouth inmate search, Portsmouth criminal records, New Hampshire arrest records and New Hampshire inmate search.
The Courts That Hear Cases from Portsmouth
In Portsmouth, the Rockingham County Superior Court hears felonies, civil cases tried to a jury, and appeals.
Below it, the Circuit Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and small claims in the District Division; divorces and family matters in the Family Division; estates in the Probate Division.
Divorces go to the Circuit Court's Family Division, and the file stays with the Family Division clerk.
The clerk of each 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 New Hampshire Right-to-Know Law.
Looking Up a Case from Portsmouth
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courts.nh.gov/news-and-media/case-access-portal-here (page title: Case Access Portal is Here! | New Hampshire Judicial Branch), a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
New Hampshire has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The New Hampshire court page SearchSystems verified is at courts.nh.gov/self-help/record-checks.
What Reaches the Court from Portsmouth
Together, the 35 agencies in Rockingham County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,812 arrests to the FBI that year; the County Attorney decides which of those arrests become cases in the Rockingham County Superior Court or the Circuit Court.
The County Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at rockinghamcountyattorney.org (page title: Rockingham County Attorney's Office), phone 603-642-4249, 100 North Road - Second Floor, Brentwood NH 03833, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles, and an eviction or a lien on land.
The other Portsmouth guides take the kinds of file one at a time: Portsmouth criminal records, Portsmouth divorce records, Portsmouth traffic tickets, Portsmouth DUI and Portsmouth property records.
More Official Court Pages for Rockingham County
The SearchSystems directory, online since 1997, lists the official pages for Rockingham County and New Hampshire. These court pages from its Rockingham County listing were opened again on October 2, 2026 and each one still answers:
- Daily Docket (courts.nh.gov)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which court hears felonies in Portsmouth?
The Rockingham County Superior Court, which hears felonies, civil cases tried to a jury, and appeals. The Circuit Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and small claims in the District Division; divorces and family matters in the Family Division; estates in the Probate Division.
Who keeps the court records in Portsmouth?
The clerk of each court. Copies come from that office under the court's own rules.
Is there a statewide court case search in New Hampshire?
No. Each court's records are looked up through that court.
Is this the official Portsmouth website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.