Hennepin Juvenile Court

Most Juvenile Court cases are closed to the public, and you generally must get permission from the presiding judge to view or get copies of documents from a Juvenile Court file.

Juvenile delinquency, child protection, truancy, runaway, and adoption records are available upon written request. There is a fee of $14 for certified copies of each document. (See the list of fees for Hennepin County courts.) To request copies of adoption records, download and complete an Affidavit for Adoption Access form. To request documents other than adoption records, please download and complete an Affidavit for Access to Juvenile Court Files form. Then mail or drop off your request form to:

4th District Juvenile Court
Hennepin Co. Juvenile Justice Center
Records Request - 1st Floor
590 Park Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55415

NOTE: Please allow up to one week to process a request to access a Juvenile Court file and two weeks to process a request to access an adoption file (requests are not granted the same day.)

A party can ask the court to expunge (seal) a juvenile delinquency case by filing a petition based on Minn. Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 6. If a judge grants the expungement, the case cannot be accessed or viewed by anyone other than criminal justice agencies under court order.

To file an expungement petition, you must first get the expungement forms packet. Expungement forms packets are available for free on the Hennepin County District Court webpage or at the Hennepin County Juvenile Court records window for $10. The forms require you to provide information regarding your juvenile case history and adult criminal case history from Minnesota and any other State. The Self Help Center in the Hennepin County Government Center can answer questions on how to fill out the paperwork and what to do after you get a hearing date from Juvenile court, including which agencies must be served with the petition.

NOTE: It usually takes several hours to fill out all of the required paperwork, so please make sure you allow yourself enough time.