Missouri Court Docket Search

Pursuant to the provisions of the Missouri Public Records Act, members of the public are entitled access to Missouri court records and case information contained in a court docket. A Missouri court docket is a formal record that includes a concise schedule of forthcoming hearings and case filings in a court of law. When a legal action is filed in any Missouri court, the clerks at the courthouse assign it a docket number and enter it into the courthouse docket. In Missouri, a typical court docket includes the titles of cases, their docket numbers, the dates and times of their scheduled hearings, as well as other specific information.

Missouri court dockets can be searched by interested parties to know whether or not court attendance is required in a case as well as to find out the date, time, and location of a case hearing. Meanwhile, docket entries in a case can be analyzed to discover more about how and when various proceedings and filings in the case occurred, were handled, and their outcomes.

Are Court Dockets Public Record in Missouri?

Pursuant to Missouri Court Operating Rule 2 (COR 2), the general public is allowed the same access to case court records (including docket entries) as the case’s litigant and their attorney. Under COR 2, all court records are presumed public and are open to the public for inspection and copying.

However, COR 2 does not apply to cases that are confidential pursuant to a federal or state statute, court rule, or court order. As a result, information on such cases may be omitted from a court docket and access is restricted to litigants and their attornies alone.

Where to Find a Court Docket in Missouri

In Missouri, court dockets are maintained as court records. Therefore, interested can visit a state court clerk's office to find a court docket. Docket seekers should note that in order to find a court docket with a specific case’s information, they must query the clerk's office of the courthouse where the case was filed.

The court dockets of cases with a high level of public interest may be available on some third-party websites. Although such websites provides a quick and easy way to view court dockets; comparing information from these sources with that from official government channels is crucial. This can ensure that information collected through third-party sources is accurate.

How to Conduct a Missouri Court Docket Search

In Missouri, there are mainly two ways interested persons can conduct a court docket search. As mentioned earlier, inquirers can make an in-person query for physical copies of a case’s docket entries at the clerk's office of the court where the case was filled. Alternatively, inquirers can use the case.net portal to search and access court dockets online.

The majority of state courts make records of cases filed in their courthouses available online through Case.net as part of the Missouri Court Automation Program. All Missouri state appellate courts, the state supreme court, and numerous circuit courts all take part in this program. Case.net is the automated case management system used by Missouri state courts, via which the general public can access public case records. Such as public cases docket entries, party details, judgments, charges, and more.

On Case.net, inquirers can conduct a Missouri court docket search by providing specific details about the court case they want to lookup. For instance, inquirers can search by litigant's name, filing date, or case number. Conducting a search by a litigant name would yield results containing a list of every Missouri court case connected to the provided name. This can range from one to several cases, each with its own case number. The searcher can click on a case’s number which would lead them to a page in which details about the case are displayed including its docket entries. Other search methods (by case number and by filing date) yield similar results.

Some state courts additionally post daily, weekly, or monthly court dockets of cases scheduled for a specific time period on their websites or web pages. An example is the docket and oral arguments webpage on the state judical branch website. Court dockets for the state supreme court and state appellate courts can be found on the page.

What is the Purpose of a Court Docket in Missouri

A court docket is a particularly important judiciary document in Missouri since it essentially acts as an official timetable of court proceedings in a state court. The time and date of impending court proceedings for various matters are listed on the court docket. As cases move through the court system, court docket enables the court to handle and track their progress with ease. Additionally, The docket entries in a specific court case contain the history of the case, including the resolution of various aspects of the case and the case generally.

A court docket is also an informational tool in addition to being used as a judiciary management tool for cases within a court system. Attorneys, litigants, and the general public can look through court dockets to learn more about specific cases that have been filed. These include, among other things, the judge presiding over the case, the venue and time of a court hearing, and scheduled court hearings on a specific date. The docket entries for a case, on the other hand, also give detailed information about a case, such as the filing and proceedings in the case.

What Do Court Dockets Contain Missouri?

Information about court cases contained in court docket in Missouri includes and is not limited to:

Names of litigants in the case i.e the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s)
The names of the attorneys that represented litigants in the case as well as their office addresses.
The case number. may also be indicated as the case ID or docket number
The name of the judge/commissioner assigned to the case
The case title
The hearing type
The location, time, and date of the case’s scheduled court proceedings
Judgments, charges, and sentences issued
The date the case was filed
The case type. For instance civil, criminal, contract, and more. A full case types list and descriptions are provided by the Missouri judiciary branch.
The name of the county where the case was filed.
Detail of documents filled in the case including and not limited to motions, summons, orders, and pleas.
Details of garnishment/execution issued in the case (if any).

It should be noted that the information contained in a court docket in Missouri may vary by court. Due to this, some state courts' dockets may contain more details on docketed cases than others.

What is a Court Docket Number in Missouri?

A court docket number in Missouri is a unique string of numbers, letters, and special characters assigned to a court case. A court docket number is also known as a case’s tracking number or court case number. When a case is filed in a court, the court assigns a docket number to the case before adding it to its court’s docket. Being a unique number, a case docket number enables the court to adequately track the case in its docket. The case’s docket number is also added to every document filled relating to the case. In so doing the court is able to identify which filings belong to a particular court case.

Generally, each type of court in Missouri has a unique format used in assigning court docket numbers to cases filed in their courts. These include:

SC00000: This format is used in assigning docket numbers for supreme court cases
ED000000, SD00000, or WD00000: The letter "ED" at the beginning of a docket number indicates that the case was filed in the Eastern District Court of Appeal. Additionally, the format for Eastern District Court of Appeal cases is longer (six digits). On the other hand, the southern and western district court of appeal cases docket numbers beings with “SD” and “WD” respectively. Both appellate courts also have a shorter string of numbers (five digits).
000X-XX00000, 00XX-XX00000, 00XX-XX00000-00, 000000000, or 00XX-XX00000: These formats are used in assigning docket numbers for circuit court cases.

Additionally, when cases are given court docket numbers, specific information regarding the case is typically included in the court docket number. Some of these particulars are:

An indicator of the court where the case was filed. For example ED, SD, and WD.
The case’s filing date
The type of case
A unique string of numbers assigned to the case.

How to Conduct a Court Docket Number Lookup in Missouri

Individuals who want to conduct a court docket number lookup in Missouri must have specific information about a case in order to properly identify the case. These include the name of the case’s litigants, the case filing date, and the location of the court where the case was filed. With the aforementioned details, an inquirer can visit the Case.net online portal to search for a case by either their litigant’s name or filing date. Such searches would return various details regarding a Missouri court case, including the court docket number. Users should note that the term “court docket number” is not specifically used on the portal, the term “case number” is used instead.

Alternatively, an inquirer can contact the court where the case they want to lookup was filled to inquire about its court docket number. Inquirers can also visit the courthouse in person to look up court documents related to the case, as a case’s court docket number is usually attached to all court documents filed related to the case.