San Bernardino County Court Records
A San Bernardino County Court Record is a log of all case files of cases filed in a San Bernardino County court. Court records of the county are maintained by the Superior Court of California, San Bernardino County, and access to these records is bounded by laws stated in the California Public Records Act. Types of court records in San Bernardino County include:
- Criminal or traffic records
- Civil records
All San Bernadino County Public Records, including court records, are subject to public disclosure unless otherwise specified by state law.
Are Court Records Public in San Bernardino County?
Yes, court records are public records in San Bernardino County. Per Government Code § 7921.000, information concerning people’s conduct is open to the public. The act ensures that there are no limitations on the request of public records based on the purposes they are being requested. However, some records are exempt from the California Public Records Act. They include:
- Arrests not resulting in conviction
- Child physical and sexual abuse records
- Court files not up to 60 days
- Criminal offender records
- Juvenile criminal records
- Mentally abnormal sex offender
- Criminal proceeding testimony by minors
- Misdemeanor and felony reports by police chiefs and sheriffs
- Probation officer reports
- Search warrants
- Student crimes records
What Do San Bernardino County Court Records Contain?
The content of the San Bernardino County court records includes:
- The assigned case number
- The names of the plaintiff and defendant, and their status
- The names of the attorneys
- The case type, for example felony, or misdemeanor
- The filing date
- The judicial officer
- The location of the court
- The date, time, and location of the next hearing
- The demographic information
- Alias(s) or nickname(s) of the defendant
- Case events
- File date
- File type
- Name of the person that made the filing
- Other comments
- Court hearing activities
- Court reporter
- Time of hearing
- Hearing date
- Result
- Charges
- Pleas
Where to Conduct a San Bernardino County Case Lookup
Court records are obtained by recording the activities and progress of every case proceeding. To lookup a court case in San Bernardino County, a requester will need to check one of the court record custodians, which are:
How to Conduct a San Bernardino County Case Records Search
The San Bernardino Superior Court offers individuals with four modes of conducting a case records search:
- Conducting a paper record search at the courthouse
- Conducting an electronic search at the courthouse
- Conducting a remote access electronic search
- Requesting case copies via mail
Conducting a paper record search will require the individual to go to the court where the case was filed and heard, and make a case search request to the court clerk. Larger court districts keep their files in the clerk’s office area called Document Control, while smaller court districts will require the individual to go to the clerk’s window for assistance.
To aid the search by the court clerk, it is advised that one submits a request to view court case file form. The clerk offices are open between 8:00am and 4:00pm.
The courts also keep the case records in electronic format, and an individual can get access to them on electronic devices that are stationed at the courthouse where the case was filed.
The remote access electronic search is another means through which an individual can access the electronic format of a case record. This kind of search allows the requester to view the electronic case record anywhere. Remote access search of a case can be conducted by any of these means:
- Case number search, which will require the individual to provide the case number
- Citation number search, which will require the individual to provide the citation number
- Party search, which will require the provision of the party’s full name, i.e. first, middle, and last name.
- Business search, which will require the provision of the business name.
To conduct a party or business search, the person will need to register and login on the court portal. There is also a limit to the information open to the public via remote access, only parties of the case have full remote access.
Copies of the case file can also be requested via mail. If the needed court case information is not available at the court portal, the person can send a request by mail to the district where the file is located. In order to ensure the file is found, the individual needs to include as many details about the case as possible in the mail, for example, names, case number, and filing date.
The individual also needs to enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for the return of the copies to avoid charges by the clerk for the envelope and postage.
Accessing the case files online comes at no charge, but requesting them via mail will require the individual to contact the court district to get an estimate of the required fee, and how to pay them.
San Bernardino County Civil Court Case Records
San Bernardino county civil court case records are records of legal disputes between two or more parties within the county. The civil cases are handled by the Superior Court of the county. Such cases include:
- Family Cases: These are cases involving divorce, guardianship, child custody and visitation, spousal and child support, domestic violence, and adoption.
- Juvenile Cases: These are cases involving anyone under the age of 18. This may be in the form of delinquency, or dependency.
- Unlawful Detainer Cases: These are cases brought by landlords to obtain possession of rented property, and receive payment of back rent from the tenant.
- Probate Cases: These are cases involving a decedents’ estates, and trusts.
- Small Claims Cases: These are cases where the disputes are solved quickly and at low cost. They involve cases of an individual requesting a claim of not more than $10,000.
These types of cases are handled by the Civil Division of the Superior Court, and obtaining their records can be done electronically. To search for a civil case record, an individual needs to accept the terms set by the court, after which they can search for the record by providing one of the case number, citation number, party name, or business name.
Landlord and tenant cases can be found by clicking the search tab, and selecting the landlord tenant case option from the dropdown. The requirements for this search are the plaintiff first and last names, the defendant first and last name, and the property address
San Bernardino County Criminal Court Case Records
San Bernardino County criminal court case records are the records of the proceedings of lawsuits against an individual that has committed a crime within the county. Records of such cases are also available at the Superior Court. Cases that fall under this category include:
- Felonies: Felonies are crimes that are punishable by imprisonment of more than one year, or even death. Felonies are crimes like murder, or kidnapping.
- Misdemeanor: Misdemeanor are crimes that are less serious than felonies, and are punishable by imprisonment of not up to one year. Some misdemeanor may simply attract fines.
- Infractions: These are crimes that only attract the payment of fines.
Records on criminal or traffic cases can be accessed electronically on the Superior Court portal. The requester will also be required to accept the terms set by the institution, after which they will be directed to the case information portal.
The individual will also need information on the case to aid the search. This may include the case number, the citation number, the party name, or the business name.
How to Get Court Records Online for Free
All online court records for San Bernardino County can be obtained at no charge at the county’s Superior Court.
Requesters will need to log onto the court’s online portal, and click on the divisions option. A drop down then appears, displaying all the case divisions in the Superior Court. This includes Civil, Criminal, appeals, family law, juvenile, mental health, traffic, probate, and small claims.
After the individual selects the division that handles the case they are searching for, they will be directed to a portal where they can input the required case details. These required details may vary from division to division.
There are also third party websites that provide court records online at no charge.
Considered open to citizens of the United States, court records are available through both traditional, government sources, and through third-party websites and organizations. In many cases, third-party websites make the search easier as they are not limited geographically or by technological limitations. They are considered a good place to start when looking for a specific record or multiple records. In order to gain access to these records, interested parties must typically provide:
- The name of the person listed in the record. Juveniles are typically exempt from this search method.
- The last known or assumed location of the person listed in the record. This includes cities, counties, and states.
While third-party sites offer such services, they are not government sponsored entities, and record availability may vary on these sites when compared to government sources.
Courts in San Bernardino County
There are 14 courts located in the county. Their addresses are as follows
Court of Appeal
8303 Haven Avenue,
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
Phone: (909) 384-1888
Barstow District
235 East Mountain View Street,
Barstow, CA 92311
Big Bear District
477 Summit Blvd,
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
Phone: (760) 718-3700
Fontana District
17780 Arrow Boulevard,
Fontana, CA 92335
Phone: (909) 350-9322
Joshua Tree District
6527 White Feather Road,
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
Criminal or traffic law: (760) 974-3048
Family law: (760) 974-3047
Mental Health Court
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center,
Behavioral Health Building,
400 North Pepper Avenue
Colton, CA 92324
Phone: (909) 498-2296
Needles District
1111 Bailey Avenue,
Needles, CA 92363
Phone: (760) 718-3700
Rancho Cucamonga District
8303 Haven Avenue,
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
Phone: (909) 350-9764
San Bernardino Justice Center
247 West Third Street,
San Bernardino, CA 92415
Victorville District
14455 Civic Drive,
Victorville, CA 92392
Phone: (760) 245-6215
San Bernardino Juvenile Delinquency
900 East Gilbert Street,
Building 35,
San Bernardino, CA 92415
Phone: (909) 269-8840
San Bernardino Juvenile Dependency
860 East Gilbert Street,
San Bernardino, CA 92415
Phone: (909) 269-8900
San Bernardino Child Support Division
655 West Second Street,
Second Floor,
San Bernardino, CA 92415
Phone: (909) 269-8789
San Bernardino Family Law
351 North Arrowhead Avenue,
San Bernardino, CA 92415
Phone: (909) 521-3136
