Court Case Search

San Bernardino County court case search services allow members of the public to look for court case information through the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino. This article explains the official Court Access Portal, the differences between case number, citation, party, and business searches, registration requirements, document access, older-case limitations, and the court offices that can help when online information is insufficient.

Official Court Case Search

The Superior Court provides its online case search through the Court Access Portal. The official Court Case Search is the primary starting point for locating publicly available case information. Searches can be performed using a case number or citation number without using the party-name fields, while party and business searches require a portal login.

The portal provides real-time information as a public service, but the information displayed online is not the official record of the Court. The Court states that information may contain errors or omissions and is provided “as is.” Users who need to confirm information about a specific case should rely on the appropriate clerk’s office rather than treating the online display as a substitute for the official court record.

Public online access is also limited by court rules. At this time, the portal makes available only case information that is specified for public access under California Rules of Court, Rule 2.503. Some information or documents therefore may not appear even when a case exists in the court system.

Search Methods in the Portal

The Court Access Portal offers several search methods. Choosing the correct one matters because each search field has different requirements. A failed search does not necessarily mean that no case exists; it may mean that the search value was entered in a format that does not meet the portal's requirements.

Case Number Search

A case number search is useful when the court case number is already known. The portal requires a minimum of five and a maximum of sixteen alphanumeric characters for this search. Users should enter the case number into the designated case number field rather than placing it in a citation or party search field.

Because the portal imposes both minimum and maximum character limits, partial numbers that are too short will not satisfy the search requirement. Before assuming that a case cannot be found, compare the number being entered with the number shown on the court paperwork and make sure the correct identifier is being used.

Citation Number Search

The citation search works differently. The Court requires the complete citation number. Unlike the case number search, the portal does not describe the citation field as accepting a shortened portion of the number.

This distinction is especially useful for people handling traffic-related matters. A citation number should not automatically be treated as a court case number. When a citation is the identifier available on the paperwork, the dedicated citation search field is the appropriate place to enter it.

Party Name Search

Searching by a person's name requires a portal login. The search form provides fields for first name, middle name, last name, and an option involving an AKA name. The portal also supports a wildcard name search.

For a wildcard search, the Court requires at least two characters followed by an asterisk. This can be useful when the user does not have the complete spelling of a name, but it is still necessary to follow the portal's minimum-character format.

Name searches should be approached with care when people have similar names. The presence of a matching name by itself should not be treated as proof that the case belongs to a particular individual. Additional case information displayed by the court should be reviewed before relying on a result.

Business Name Search

Business searches also require a portal login. For wildcard business searches, the portal requires at least three characters followed by an asterisk. The business name belongs in the separate business search field rather than the individual party-name fields.

Keeping individual and business searches separate reduces the chance of searching the wrong database field or concluding that no record exists because the information was submitted under the wrong search type.

Portal Registration Requirements

Registration is not required for every function, but it is required for several important features. The Court states that all Court Access Portal users, including attorneys and litigants, must complete registration in order to view minute orders and purchase documents. Party-name and business-name searches also require login access.

The Superior Court provides Court Access Portal instructional videos and written instructions covering name searches, case searches, calendar hearing searches, registration, document purchasing, quick searches, favorites, landlord-tenant matters, and other portal functions.

There are separate registration instructions for members of the public and attorneys. Justice partners also have written instructions covering registration and elevated-user functions. Users should select the set of instructions that corresponds to the type of account they are using rather than assuming that every portal account has the same access level.

Case Information and Documents

The Superior Court's Case Information & Documents page directs users to the Court Access Portal for case information and documents. The portal separates the task of locating a case from the task of opening or purchasing documents associated with that case.

Registered users who reach the document portion of the system may use the Court Access Portal document service to work with available case documents. Access does not mean that every document filed with the Court can be viewed online. Public access depends on legal restrictions and the Court's remote-access rules.

Civil Document Access

For civil matters, the Superior Court provides remote access to documents that are legally permitted for public viewing. According to the Court's civil case information and document sales page, remote civil court documents cost $0.50 per page.

Documents that are not legally permitted for public viewing cannot be accessed remotely through the service. This limitation is separate from whether a case itself can be located in the portal. A user may be able to find a case record while still being unable to obtain a particular document online.

The Court is converting paper court records into electronic files. During that process, records are treated as private while they are being converted. The Court states that it believes the electronic records made available online are accurate and reliable, but it does not guarantee their accuracy or suitability for a particular purpose.

Older Cases and Limited Data

Users researching older court matters should be aware of an important limitation: case data for cases filed before 1998 may be limited. A sparse online result therefore does not establish that an older case lacks additional records.

For older cases, the Court directs users to contact the specific court district. This makes the courthouse associated with the case especially important. Court districts maintain different case operations, and the appropriate district depends on where the matter was handled.

When preparing to contact a district about an older case, having the available case number, party name, approximate filing period, and known court location can help distinguish the matter from similarly named or similarly numbered cases. The Court's reference material does not establish additional requirements for these inquiries, so users should rely on instructions provided by the responsible clerk's office.

What Online Results Represent

The Court Access Portal is a public information service, not a replacement for the official court record. This distinction matters when information is being used for a filing, hearing, record request, or another matter where accuracy is critical.

The Court specifically warns that online information may be subject to errors or omissions. A case entry may also contain only the information permitted for public remote access. If the portal result conflicts with court paperwork or does not answer a case-specific question, the clerk's office is the appropriate source for clarification.

The portal also includes restrictions on use of information from court case management systems and databases containing non-criminal history information. Access is conditioned on compliance with the Court's stated rules regarding use of the information.

Preparing Before a Search

Using the right identifier at the beginning can prevent many unsuccessful searches. Before opening the portal, identify exactly what information is available on the paperwork or notice connected with the matter.

For a court case number, prepare the alphanumeric identifier and make sure it meets the portal's five-to-sixteen-character requirement.

For a citation search, use the complete citation number.

For a party-name search, be prepared to log in and enter the person's name in the appropriate name fields.

For a business search, log in and enter the business name in the separate business search field.

For minute orders or document purchases, complete portal registration before attempting to use those features.

Users should also distinguish a case identifier from other numbers that may appear on paperwork. The Court's search page specifically provides separate case-number and citation-number searches. Entering one type of identifier into the other field can produce an unsuccessful search even when the underlying court matter exists.

Common Search Problems

Too Few Case Characters

The case number field requires at least five alphanumeric characters. Entering fewer characters will not satisfy the search requirement. The portal also limits the entry to sixteen characters.

Incomplete Citation Numbers

The citation search requires a complete citation number. A shortened citation should not be expected to function in the same way as the portal's wildcard name search.

Name Search Without Login

Party searches are marked as login-required. Users who try to search a person's name without signing in may be unable to use that search method even though case-number and citation-number functions are available separately.

Incorrect Wildcard Format

The wildcard requirements differ between personal and business searches. A personal-name wildcard requires at least two characters followed by an asterisk. A business wildcard requires at least three characters followed by an asterisk.

Expecting Every Document Online

Remote document access is limited to documents legally available for public viewing. The absence of a document from remote access does not by itself establish that no document exists in the court file.

Relying on Older Online Data

Cases filed before 1998 may have limited case data online. The specific court district should be contacted when older-case information cannot be obtained through the portal.

Payments and Maintenance Periods

The Court Access Portal supports functions beyond basic case searching, including case-payment and document-purchasing features. These functions may not be available at all times.

Traffic payments and document purchasing are unavailable between 12:00 AM and 3:00 AM during regular system maintenance. The portal may also display announcements about additional temporary outages or scheduled maintenance. If a search works but a payment or purchasing function does not, the problem may be limited to that particular service rather than the entire case portal.

Because payment, document purchasing, searching, and document viewing are separate functions, users should avoid assuming that an interruption affecting one function means that all online court services are unavailable.

Case Questions Versus Technical Problems

The Superior Court distinguishes case-related questions from technical portal problems. Questions about the facts, status, or handling of a court case should be directed to the clerk's office by phone or in person.

Technical problems with the Court Access Portal may be reported to courts-capfeedback@sb-court.org. The Court specifically states that case-related questions sent to that technical address will not receive a reply. This distinction can prevent delays caused by sending a case inquiry to a system-support contact that does not answer case questions.

Choosing the Correct Court District

San Bernardino County Superior Court matters are handled through multiple court locations. The correct location depends on the case and court division. This becomes especially relevant when an online search does not provide enough information or when the case was filed before 1998.

The court roster includes districts in Barstow, Big Bear Lake, Fontana, Joshua Tree, Needles, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, and Victorville, as well as separate San Bernardino locations for juvenile, dependency, family law, and child support matters.

The services handled at each location differ. For example, some district contact listings separate civil, criminal, traffic, family law, probate, document control, or juvenile information. When the courthouse is already known, the case type can help identify which court information line is relevant.

Civil and Criminal Matters

The San Bernardino Justice Center provides separate civil and criminal information lines. The Rancho Cucamonga District also lists separate civil and criminal/drug court information, along with document control and appellate information. Victorville similarly provides multiple case-type information contacts.

Because these categories are handled separately, users seeking information about a civil lawsuit should not automatically rely on a criminal information line, and a criminal case inquiry should not be directed to a family law contact merely because the courthouse is in the same county.

Family and Child Support Cases

Family law matters in San Bernardino are associated with the San Bernardino Historic Courthouse Family Law location. Child support matters are separately identified at the same street address. The Court's roster assigns different information numbers to family law and child support, reinforcing the need to identify the case category before contacting the courthouse.

Juvenile and Dependency Cases

The court roster identifies separate locations for Juvenile Court Delinquency Court and Dependency Court. Users dealing with those matters should not assume that the general San Bernardino Justice Center is the correct office merely because all of these locations are in San Bernardino.

Court Offices and Locations

Barstow District
235 East Mountain View Street, Barstow, CA 92311
(760) 718-3700; (760) 718-3734; (760) 245-6215

Big Bear District
477 Summit Boulevard, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
(760) 718-3734; (760) 718-3700

Fontana District
17780 Arrow Boulevard, Fontana, CA 92335
(909) 350-9322; (909) 481-4228; (909) 521-3388

Joshua Tree District
6527 White Feather Road, Joshua Tree, CA 92252
(760) 974-3048; (760) 974-3047

Juvenile Court Delinquency Court
900 East Gilbert Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415-0942
(909) 269-8840

Dependency Court
860 East Gilbert Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415-0955
(909) 269-8900

Needles District
1111 Bailey Avenue, Needles, CA 92363
(760) 269-4962

Rancho Cucamonga District
8303 Haven Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
(909) 384-1888; (909) 708-8678; (909) 350-9764; (909) 285-3539

San Bernardino Justice Center
247 West Third Street, San Bernardino, CA 92415
(909) 708-8678; (909) 384-1888

San Bernardino Historic Courthouse Family Law
351 North Arrowhead Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92415-0245
(909) 521-3136

Child Support
351 North Arrowhead Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92415-0245
(909) 269-8789

Victorville District
14455 Civic Drive, Victorville, CA 92392
(760) 245-6215; (909) 708-8678; (909) 521-3388

Court Case Search FAQs

Can I look up a court hearing by date?

The Superior Court provides a Calendar Hearing Search along with a video and step-by-step written instructions. This can be useful when you are trying to locate information about a scheduled proceeding rather than starting with a party or case identifier. The court also publishes separate Advanced Calendar Hearing Search instructions for justice partners. The available guides are listed on the court's Court Access Portal instructional page.

Does the portal have Quick Search or Favorites?

Yes. San Bernardino Superior Court maintains separate instructions for both Quick Search and Favorites within its Court Access Portal training materials. These features may be helpful for users who regularly work with the portal and want to understand the court's intended workflow. Because the court provides dedicated instructions for each feature, users should follow those directions rather than assuming that Quick Search works the same way as the standard case-search form.

Which web browsers work with the court portal?

The Court Access Portal's compatibility notice recommends using the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome on a PC. The court's notice also references Internet Explorer and Windows 7 or Windows 10. If pages, document controls, or other portal features are not displaying correctly, trying a currently supported version of one of the listed browsers may help rule out a browser-related problem.

Are there more advanced search options for justice partners?

The Superior Court publishes a separate set of written materials for justice partners, including instructions for elevated-user registration, Advanced Search, and Advanced Calendar Hearing Search. These materials are identified separately from the instructions provided for public and attorney registration. Users working through a justice-partner account should therefore follow the court's justice-partner documentation rather than relying only on the standard public portal instructions.