Public Notice Detail
Electronic Court Seal Pilot

Posted: Monday, May 6, 2019

Effective Monday June 10, 2019 the Civil Division and Centralized Records Unit of Hennepin County District Court and the Civil Division and the Central Records Division of Ramsey County District Court will be the first two district court divisions to pilot applying an electronic court seal. These two divisions will no longer apply the traditional impressed court seal on documents that require a court seal. Instead these divisions will electronically affix an image of the court seal, along with any applicable certification language, to the document. After the stamp has been applied electronically, metadata is included within the document that provides an audit trail of authenticity. The audit trail is accessible to customers for as long as the document remains in electronic form. The electronic seal is to be treated the same as would the impression of a court seal on a printed document. Court users are strongly encouraged to maintain the electronic version should verification be required.

Questions or issues should be directed to the division that affixed the seal: Minn. Stat. §§ 358.03 and 645.44, subd. 10 authorizes the use of an electronic court seal. Examples of documents that may now display an electronic court seal include but are not limited to:
  • Subpoenas
  • Judgment searches
  • Writ of executions
  • Writs of habeas corpus
  • Certified copies of a court records
Feedback about your experience with the electronic court seal is an important part of this pilot and can be sent to courtseal@courts.state.mn.us.