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.
Berkeley County, West Virginia, has about 136,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its court cases are filed in the Berkeley County Circuit Court and the Magistrate Court, and the file of each case, kept by the Circuit Clerk, 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, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Berkeley County public records, Berkeley County arrest records, Berkeley County warrants, Berkeley County inmate search, Berkeley County criminal records, West Virginia arrest records and West Virginia inmate search.
The Courts That Hear Cases from Berkeley County
In Berkeley County, the Berkeley County Circuit Court hears felonies, the larger civil cases and juvenile matters.
Below it, the Magistrate Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and civil cases up to $10,000.
A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets written under its ordinances.
Divorces go to the Family Court, and the file stays with the Family Court clerk.
The Circuit Clerk keeps the files, and a copy of anything in a file comes from that office, under the court's own rules rather than the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Looking Up a Case from Berkeley County
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courtswv.gov/public-resources/court-information-county/berkeley (page title: Berkeley County | West Virginia Judiciary), phone 304-264-1957, 380 West South Street Martinsburg, WV 25401, a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
West Virginia has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The West Virginia court page SearchSystems verified is at courtswv.gov/lower-courts/magistrate-courts/magistrate-record-search.
What Reaches the Court from Berkeley County
The Berkeley County Sheriff's Office reported 782 arrests to the FBI for 2025; the Prosecuting Attorney decides which of those arrests become cases in the Berkeley County Circuit Court or the Magistrate Court.
The Prosecuting Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at berkeleywv.org/164/Prosecuting-Attorney (page title: Prosecuting Attorney | Berkeley County, WV), phone 304-264-1971, 380 W South Street Suite 1100 Martinsburg, WV 25401, 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 West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles, and an eviction or a lien on land.
The other Berkeley County guides take the kinds of file one at a time: Berkeley County criminal records, Berkeley County divorce records, Berkeley County traffic tickets, Berkeley County DUI and Berkeley County property records.
More Official Court Pages for Berkeley County
The SearchSystems directory, online since 1997, lists the official pages for Berkeley County and West Virginia. These court pages from its Berkeley County listing were opened again on October 2, 2026 and each one still answers:
- Berkeley, Family Court (courtswv.gov)
- Courts & Judicial Services (berkeleywv.org)
Cities in Berkeley County
Wherever in the county a case arises, it is filed in the Berkeley County Circuit Court or the Magistrate Court; tickets under a city's own ordinances go to its municipal court where it has one.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Berkeley County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own court records guide opens there:
- Martinsburg (19,047)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which court hears felonies in Berkeley County?
The Berkeley County Circuit Court, which hears felonies, the larger civil cases and juvenile matters. The Magistrate Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and civil cases up to $10,000.
Who keeps the court records in Berkeley County?
The Circuit Clerk. Copies come from that office under the court's own rules.
Is there a statewide court case search in West Virginia?
No. Each court's records are looked up through that court.
Is this the official Berkeley 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.