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.

Trial court of general jurisdiction
Circuit Courts
Highest court
Supreme Court of Virginia
Statewide civil case search
Case Status and Information | Virginia Court System
Statewide criminal docket search
SCC Docket Search
Federal courts
Virginia Eastern District Court | PACER: Federal Court Records
Number of counties
95 counties
Population
8,811,195
Households
3,324,700
Median Income
$87,249
Median Home Value
$339,800
SearchSystems Editorial
Edited by — 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.

What Changed in 2026 — Virginia Court Records

2026
Virginia 2025 caseload report active
The Virginia Court System publishes its current 2025 case filings, dispositions, and trends on the official statistics portal.
2026
Virginia statewide case-access portal live
Virginia Court System's public case-access portal continues to operate at eapps.courts.state.va.us with statewide coverage.
2026
Latest Virginia judiciary annual report
The most recent annual report from the Virginia Court System is publicly available with full statistical addenda.
2026
Virginia courts main directory
Virginia's primary judicial-branch directory at www.vacourts.gov continues to be the canonical entry point for all state court matters.

The 4-Step Virginia Court Records Pathway

1
Step 1 — Identify the court level
In Virginia, civil and criminal trial cases sit in Virginia Court System trial courts. Appellate matters go to the state's appellate courts.
2
Step 2 — Use the state case-access portal
Start at https://eapps.courts.state.va.us/ocis/landing — the official public case-access for Virginia.
3
Step 3 — Federal cases are separate
Federal cases involving Virginia parties live on PACER (pacer.uscourts.gov), not the state system.
4
Step 4 — Sealed / expunged records
Records sealed or expunged under Virginia law are NOT searchable on public portals. To verify, contact the originating court clerk directly.

Five Things People Get Wrong About Virginia Court Records

MYTH"Virginia court records are on PACER."
FACTPACER only has federal cases. Virginia state court records live on www.vacourts.gov.
MYTH"All Virginia case files are free."
FACTPartly true. Searching and viewing dockets is usually free. Downloading full documents or certified copies often costs $1-$5 per item.
MYTH"Sealed = deleted in Virginia."
FACTSealed records still exist — they're just hidden from public search. The court clerk and law enforcement can still access them.
MYTH"Third-party search sites are official."
FACTOnly www.vacourts.gov and the linked official portals are authoritative for Virginia.
MYTH"Same-day filings show online immediately."
FACTMost Virginia courts have a 24-48 hour processing lag before new filings appear in public search.

Primary Sources and Official Record Portals

Related Court Records Resources

Related Public Records
National view of this topic: All states: Court records
Sample Virginia counties: Accomack · Albemarle · Alleghany · Amelia · Amherst

Court Records Databases

12 official Virginia court records sources.

Court Records Criminal Records Wants & Warrants Vital Records Voter Records Licenses Recorded Documents Property Records

Court Records

Burned Jurisdiction Database
Official Free
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.
🌐 www.lva.virginia.gov
GENERAL DISTRICT COURT ONLINE CASE INFORMATION SYSTEM
Official Free
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
🌐 eapps.courts.state.va.us
ACMS - Terms and Conditions
Official Free
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.
🌐 eapps.courts.state.va.us
GENERAL DISTRICT COURT ONLINE CASE INFORMATION SYSTEM
Official Free
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.
🌐 eapps.courts.state.va.us
Court of Appeals of Virginia | Virginia Court System
Official Free
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.
🌐 vacourts.gov
Eastern District of Virginia
Official Paid
Court case information for Virginia — dockets, hearing dates, and case lookups. Confirm details with the official court office before relying on them.
🌐 ecf.vaeb.uscourts.gov
Court Information
Official Paid
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.
🌐 ecf.vaed.uscourts.gov
About the Court
Official Paid
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.
🌐 ca4.uscourts.gov
Uscourts
Official Paid
Court case information for Virginia — dockets, hearing dates, and case lookups. It is independently run, so verify anything critical against the official court office.
🌐 ecf.vawd.uscourts.gov
Uscourts
Official Paid
Court case information for Virginia — dockets, hearing dates, and case lookups. It is independently run, so verify anything critical against the official court office.
🌐 ecf.vawd.uscourts.gov
Chancery Records Index | Library of Virginia
Official Free
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.
🌐 lva.virginia.gov

Virginia Counties

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.

Fairfax Prince William Loudoun Chesterfield Henrico Arlington Stafford Spotsylvania Accomack Albemarle Alleghany Amelia Amherst Appomattox

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.