Copy Requests

MN Court Records Online (MCRO) is an application that provides online access to many public MN state district (trial) court records and documents. Documents that are available in MCRO are free of charge. Access to documents filed prior to July 1, 2015 is very limited in MCRO. Review the MCRO page for more information.

Visit the court administration counter at the courthouse in the county where the case is located. Most requests can be completed on the same day. However, due to space limitations and other storage consideration, many counties keep some court records off-site. If the record you need is not on-site, court administration staff may not have immediate access to the court file and may not be able to provide a copy the same day. Payment for certified and exemplified copies can be made by credit card, or a check or money order made payable to “District Court Administrator.” There is no fee for an uncertified copy. 

Complete the copy request form (see the Copy Request Forms tab) for the county where the case is located. If no county form is available, you can use the statewide copy request form or you can write a letter to the court. Mail the completed document to court administration in the county where your case is located. You can find address information for court administration in all MN counties by going to the Find Courts page. Payment must be sent with your copy request document, unless the judge has waived the fees in your case. See the Overview tab for more information. Payment for certified and exemplified copies can be made by a check or money order made payable to “District Court Administrator.” There is no fee for an uncertified copy.

Complete the copy request form (see the Copy Request Forms tab) for the county where the case is located. If no county form is available, you can use the statewide copy request form or you can write a letter to the court. File the completed document electronically through the eFile and eServe System. If you are a party in the case you are requesting records from, you can file your copy request document directly into the case using the court file number. If you are not a party in the case, contact court administration to ask for an administrative court file number you can use. You can find contact information for court administration in all MN counties by going to the Find Courts page.

Named parties in a confidential (not sealed) case may get records from the case by verifying their identity with court administration.

If you are trying to get records from:

• A confidential case where you were not a party;
• A sealed case where you were a party; or
• A sealed case where you were not a party,
  
  

You will need to complete and file the forms for either the:

• Request for Access to Confidential or Sealed Record (not adoption records), or
• Requesting Access to Adoption Case Records, Birth Parent Identifying Information, and/or Birth Record Information. 

If the judge grants you access to the records, you can then request copies in person, by mail, or by eFiling.