Free links to official Virginia state and county government records, courts, criminal histories, vital records, property, voter, business, and licenses across all 95 counties.
How to Search Virginia Court Records (Start Here)
Virginia court records are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court. The Circuit Court / General District Court / J&DR Court handles trial-level cases. Virginia offers a statewide court search through Virginia OCIS, which covers most case types across all counties courts.
What this page covers: Virginia state court case records, criminal, civil, family, and probate filings. What it does not cover: Federal court cases (those are on PACER) or sealed/juvenile records.
Where to start: Use Virginia OCIS for online case search. If you need documents beyond docket information, contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the specific county where the case was filed.
Common mistake: Virginia OCIS covers state courts only. Federal cases filed in Virginia (bankruptcy, federal criminal, federal civil) require PACER, a separate federal system.
Edited by Sam Rokni, Editor & Owner, SearchSystems.net. Public records professional since 1999. NAPBS founding member. Full bio & credentials.
Last reviewed: June 04, 2026 · Methodology: all Virginia court URLs verified against the official .gov / state-judiciary publisher on the review date. 4 primary .gov / .uscourts.gov sources cited below.
Virginia Court Records, Key Numbers (2025)
Virginia's Circuit Court Caseload Reports are refreshed monthly with data by district, locality, year, and month.
Virginia Court System
Court system
Statewide
2025
Latest fiscal year
Official .gov data
.gov
Primary source
Never data brokers
Free
Public access
Most case records
June 04, 2026
Last reviewed
By SearchSystems editorial
What Virginia court records actually cost
Virginia's online case information is free across circuit and district courts. Certified copies are billed by each clerk per document, and expungement petitions carry circuit court filing costs, Virginia's new sealing framework phases in automatic relief for some records.
Exact amounts are set by each court's current fee schedule, check the official source before you order.
The originals remain with the court materials being processed, but photocopies are made and are indexed in this database. The copies are filed together in an artificial collection - the BURNED RECORDS JURISDICTION COLLECTION - and are readily accessed through the Archives Research Room at the Library of Virginia.
Disclaimer About This System · This information is made available for public use by the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) of the Supreme Court of Virginia. OES is the administrative office for Virginia's Court System
The case information displayed on ACMS is case information entered by the respective court clerks into the case management system. The Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) of the Supreme Court of Virginia is the administrative office for Virginia's Judicial System and provides the technology.
This is the Online Case Information System for general district courts in Virginia. There is a general district court in each city and county in Virginia, and this System will require you to search by individual court. To begin your search for a case, select the general district court from.
Opinions are issued every Tuesday. Displays Schedule and Dockets including dates and locations for oral arguments and en banc hearings. Recordings of Oral Arguments For the last three (3) years and the current year. The Court of Appeals of Virginia permits the filing of electronic pleadings.
Civil & Criminal case record database for the U.S. Eastern District of Virginia. PACER account required. Note: PACER charges $0.10/page; the first $30 per quarter is free.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is one of twelve regional appellate courts within the federal judicial system. The court hears appeals from the nine federal district courts in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and from federal.
Court case information for Virginia, dockets, hearing dates, and case lookups. It is independently run, so verify anything critical against the official court office.
Court case information for Virginia, dockets, hearing dates, and case lookups. It is independently run, so verify anything critical against the official court office.
Local-history and genealogy holdings for Virginia, older records and obituary indexes often surface here first. It is independently run, so verify anything critical against the official court office.
95 Virginia counties are indexed on SearchSystems.net, top 28 counties shown below. Browse the full directory or click any county for local court, sheriff, recorder and assessor links.
Which Virginia counties publish court dockets online
5 of Virginia's 98 counties run their own online source for court dockets, based on what this directory indexes. Every other county is covered by the statewide systems listed above, click a county for its full records page.
Virginia's trial courts publish case lookups through the Virginia Court System. Start at www.vacourts.gov, most case dockets, filings, and hearing calendars are searchable by name, case number, or filing date. County-level clerks publish additional searches; see the cards below for direct county court links.
Is there a free statewide court case search in Virginia?▼
The Virginia Court System operates Virginia's official statewide judicial portal at www.vacourts.gov. Basic case lookups are typically free of charge; certified copies and bulk-data exports may incur a per-document or per-search fee. Federal cases for Virginia residents are searched separately through PACER.
What's the difference between trial and appellate courts in Virginia?▼
Trial courts in Virginia handle the original filing of civil, criminal, family, probate, and traffic matters. Appellate courts review questions of law from trial-court decisions. The Virginia Court System publishes the full court structure, judge rosters, and jurisdiction maps at www.vacourts.gov.
How far back do Virginia court records go online?▼
Online coverage varies by court and case type. Most Virginia county courts have digitized records from approximately the late 1990s or early 2000s forward; older case files may require an in-person clerk visit or a written record request. Check the Virginia Court System portal at www.vacourts.gov for each court's coverage window.
Are sealed or expunged Virginia cases visible in the online search?▼
No. Virginia courts redact or remove sealed, expunged, juvenile, and certain confidential records from public-facing searches as required by state statute and court rule. If a record was previously visible and has since been sealed, it will no longer appear in the Virginia Court System portal. For verification you can contact the county clerk where the case was filed.
