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 September 25, 2026.
Bay City, Texas, in Matagorda County, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its court cases are filed in the Matagorda County District Court and the County Courts and Justice Courts, and the file of each case, kept by the District Clerk for district court cases and the County Clerk for county court cases, 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: Bay City public records, Matagorda County court records, Bay City arrest records, Bay City warrants, Bay City inmate search, Bay City criminal records, Texas arrest records and Texas inmate search.
The Courts That Hear Cases from Bay City
Court cases from Bay City are filed in the Matagorda County District Court, which hears felonies, divorces, land title cases and civil cases without a dollar limit.
The County Courts and Justice Courts take misdemeanors in the County Court or County Court at Law; traffic tickets, evictions and small claims in the Justice Courts.
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 District Clerk.
The District Clerk for district court cases and the County Clerk for county court cases keep the files, and a copy of anything in a file comes from that office, under the court's own rules rather than the Texas Public Information Act.
Looking Up a Case from Bay City
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at matagordatx.gov/page/County.Clerk (page title: County Clerk | Matagorda County, Texas), phone (979) 244-7680, Monday-Friday: 8AM-5PM, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Texas has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The appellate courts' case search is at search.txcourts.gov/CaseSearch.aspx?coa=cossup.
What Reaches the Court from Bay City
Together, the three agencies in Matagorda County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 780 arrests to the FBI that year; the District Attorney decides which of those arrests become cases in the Matagorda County District Court or the County Courts and Justice Courts.
The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at matagordatx.gov/page/District.Attorney (page title: District Attorney | Matagorda County, Texas), phone (979) 244-7657, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 Texas Department of Public Safety, and an eviction or a lien on land.
The other Bay City guides take the kinds of file one at a time: Bay City criminal records, Bay City divorce records, Bay City traffic tickets, Bay City DUI and Bay City property records.
More Official Court Pages for Matagorda County
The SearchSystems directory, online since 1997, lists the official pages for Matagorda County and Texas. These court pages from its Matagorda County listing were opened again on October 1, 2026 and each one still answers:
- 25.0003, General statutory county court jurisdiction. (txcourts.gov)
- Official Record Search (matagorda.tx.publicsearch.us)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I look up a court case in Bay City?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at matagordatx.gov/page/County.Clerk, phone (979) 244-7680.
Which court hears felonies in Bay City?
The Matagorda County District Court, which hears felonies, divorces, land title cases and civil cases without a dollar limit. The County Courts and Justice Courts take misdemeanors in the County Court or County Court at Law; traffic tickets, evictions and small claims in the Justice Courts.
Who keeps the court records in Bay City?
The District Clerk for district court cases and the County Clerk for county court cases. Copies come from that office under the court's own rules.
Is there a statewide court case search in Texas?
No. Each court's records are looked up through that court.
Is this the official Bay City 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.