How to Search San Joaquin County Court Records
The court provides two public routes. The first is a party-name search on the court website. The second is a case-number search through the FullCourt Enterprise portal at cms.sjcourts.org. The instructions are on the court's case management search page. California Rule of Court 2.507 blocks date of birth and driver's license data from public criminal searches. The court warns that website results are not the official record.
Before you start, gather what you can. The party-name form needs at least two of last, first, middle, or company. It also needs a case type and a filed-year range. The case-number route is faster when you already have the number, such as the court's own sample CR-2020-9091. The view linked to the public portal is below.
The page above explains both routes and links to the party-name form and the FullCourt portal.
- Open the case management search page at sjcourts.org and select "Search for a case by party name."
- Read the disclaimer. The court states the website data is not the official record and is provided "as is."
- Enter at least two party fields. Use last, first, middle, or check the company box for a business.
- Choose a case type. The form gives two options, Criminal or Civil.
- Enter a four-digit From year and a four-digit To year. The range can run from 1900 to 2099.
- Type the math answer and clear the reCAPTCHA box.
- Click Search. Results show name, case number, and case name.
- To look up a known case number, go to cms.sjcourts.org, click Log In, and search by case number on FullCourt Enterprise.
- For older criminal Register of Actions before October 19, 2015, request the file through Records Management or view it onsite.
The San Joaquin County Judicial System
California unified its trial courts in 1998. Every county now has one general trial court. In San Joaquin that court is the Superior Court of California, County of San Joaquin. The court hears felony, misdemeanor, civil, family, probate, juvenile, traffic, small claims, and unlawful detainer cases. There is no county court, no justice court, and no municipal court below it. Above the trial court sits the California Court of Appeal. San Joaquin is in the Third Appellate District in Sacramento. The Supreme Court of California takes selected appeals after that.
Most appeals from San Joaquin Superior Court go to the Third District Court of Appeal. Limited civil, infraction, misdemeanor, and small claims appeals run through the court's appellate division under separate rules. The state's main court site is at courts.ca.gov.
Case flow: San Joaquin Superior Court › Third District Court of Appeal › Supreme Court of California
| Court / Division | Address or URL | Case types |
|---|---|---|
| San Joaquin Superior Court | 180 East Weber Avenue, Stockton, CA 95202 | Countywide trial court for all case types. |
| Civil Division | See court locations page | Limited and unlimited civil, small claims, unlawful detainer, restraining orders. |
| Criminal Division | 180 East Weber Avenue, Stockton | Felony, misdemeanor, bail schedule cases. |
| Family Law Division | See court locations page | Divorce, custody, support, domestic violence. |
| Probate Division | See court locations page | Estates, trusts, guardianship, conservatorship. |
| Juvenile Division | See court locations page | Dependency and delinquency. Records are restricted. |
| Traffic Division | Stockton, Manteca, Lodi | Citations and infraction cases. |
| Third District Court of Appeal | Sacramento | State appeals from San Joaquin Superior Court. |
San Joaquin County Courthouses
The court runs a main courthouse in downtown Stockton and two traffic branches in Manteca and Lodi. The Stockton building handles civil, criminal, family, probate, small claims, jury, clerk windows, and self-help functions. Manteca and Lodi serve traffic cases on the south and north sides of the county. The address grid below lists each site with its phone line. Court hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, on non-holiday days. The court site posts each branch under general info, court locations and contact.
San Joaquin County Courthouse (Main)
180 East Weber Avenue
Stockton, CA 95202
(209) 992-5692
The court site also links pages for ADA accommodation, interpreters, jury service, and self-help.
Types of Court Records Available in San Joaquin County
The court holds case files for every kind of state-court matter. Civil and small claims files are the most public. Criminal files are public but limited on the web by California Rule of Court 2.507. Family law files have public dockets but redacted financial and child information. Probate files are mostly open, with sealed parts for medical or financial detail. Juvenile files start from a closed baseline under Welfare and Institutions Code section 827.
Two outside offices keep records that look like court files but are not. The Sheriff's Office runs the jail roster and custody data. The county Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk holds deeds, marriage licenses, and vital records. The court does not.
- Criminal records - Complaints, pleas, minute orders, warrants, judgments. Public access limits apply.
- Civil records - Complaints, motions, judgments, writs, unlawful detainer files, restraining orders.
- Family and divorce records - Dissolutions, custody, support, parentage, and DV restraining orders. See the marriage and divorce records page.
- Probate records - Wills, estates, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships. See probate records.
- Traffic records - Citations, court dates, fines, traffic-school requests, dismissals.
- Juvenile records - Dependency and delinquency files. Access is limited by statute.
What San Joaquin County Court Records Show
A San Joaquin court record holds the basic facts of the case, who is involved, and what the court has done. Each record has a case number and a case name. The party-search results list only three columns: NAME, CASE NUMBER, and CASE NAME. The full case file holds more, including filings, hearings, minute orders, and the final judgment.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | Unique number with a prefix that flags the case type. CR-2020-9091 is the court's own sample for a criminal case. |
| Filing Date | The date the case or document was filed with the clerk. |
| Parties | Plaintiff and defendant, petitioner and respondent, or People and defendant in criminal files. |
| Charges or Cause | Statute cited or claim raised. Penal Code, Vehicle Code, or civil cause of action. |
| Disposition | The current or final outcome: pending, dismissed, judgment entered, sealed, transferred. |
| Sentence or Judgment | The court's order, fine, custody term, probation conditions, or money award. |
| Hearings | Date, time, department, event type, and result for each hearing. |
| Docket Entries | The chronological list of filings, orders, minute orders, and notices in the case. |
Some fields are blocked in the public view. Date of birth, driver's license number, Social Security number, account numbers, minor names, and medical details are redacted or hidden. The party-name form does not accept date of birth because Rule 2.507 forbids it.
Public Access Laws for San Joaquin County Court Records
California uses two access tracks. County agency records run under the California Public Records Act, now in Government Code division 10. Court case records run under the California Rules of Court and the Government Code retention rules. The base presumption in both tracks is the same: records are open unless an exemption applies. The court's case-search page cites Rule 2.507 by name to explain why public criminal data is thinner than at the clerk window.
Key statutes and rules:
Government Code § 7920.000 - Sets the structure of the California Public Records Act for county agency files.
Government Code § 7922.000 - Public records are open unless a stated exemption applies, and agencies must point to the rule used to withhold.
California Rule of Court 2.503 - Governs remote electronic access to trial-court records and splits remote from on-site access.
California Rule of Court 2.507 - Blocks date of birth and driver's license data from remote criminal searches and shapes what the party-name form will accept.
Government Code § 68152 - Sets retention periods for trial-court records and explains why old files may be archived, imaged, or destroyed.
The court has its own records page at Records Management for copies, certified copies, and older registers. Use that route for files the web view does not return.
Records That Are Restricted or Confidential
Some files are closed by default. Juvenile case files under Welfare and Institutions Code section 827 are not open to the public. Sealed juvenile records under WIC section 781 are treated as if they never existed. Adoption records under Family Code section 9200 are confidential. Mental health proceedings and most search warrant affidavits sit outside the public docket.
California has more than one way to clean up an old record. Penal Code section 851.91 lets a person seal an arrest that did not lead to conviction. Penal Code section 851.8 sets the higher bar of factual innocence. Penal Code section 1203.4 is the dismissal relief many people call expungement, though the case can still matter for licensing, immigration, firearm rights, and future sentencing. The state Self-Help Guide has form packets for each route.
Specialty Courts in San Joaquin County
San Joaquin Superior Court runs collaborative court calendars in line with the state's problem-solving model. These are not separate courthouses. They are calendars inside the regular trial court with treatment, judicial review, and case management built in. The model fits California court practice for drug, mental health, veterans, and reentry programs.
An adult drug or treatment calendar serves people whose criminal conduct ties to substance use. Participants attend treatment, test, check in with the judge, and graduate when conditions are met. Mental health diversion lets eligible defendants seek treatment in place of prosecution. Veterans calendars pair judicial review with VA benefits and probation.
San Joaquin Public Case Search Portal
The party-name form is the most common entry point for people without a case number. It is hosted at sjcourts.org/search-case-by-party. The page below is the live form.
The fields below are what the court accepts.
| Field | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last | Text | Conditional | At least two of Last, First, Middle, Company. Max 60 characters. Prefix match. |
| First | Text | Conditional | Prefix match. Max 60 characters. |
| Middle | Text | Conditional | Prefix match. Max 60 characters. |
| Company | Checkbox | Conditional | Use for business or entity parties. |
| Case Type | Dropdown | Yes | Criminal or Civil. |
| Filed Year From / To | Number | Yes | Four-digit years from 1900 to 2099. |
| Verification | Text | Yes | Math anti-bot answer. |
| reCAPTCHA | Widget | Yes | Bot check. |
When you already know the case number, use the FullCourt portal instead. The login screen is below.
The portal flags October 19, 2015 as the cutoff for older criminal Register of Actions data. Older files need a records request or an onsite visit.
San Joaquin County Sheriff and Jail
The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office is the county jail agency. Its home page is sjsheriff.org. Sheriff Patrick Withrow leads the office. The Sheriff's Office runs the Who's in Custody inmate lookup at sjsheriff.org/whos-in-custody. That tool shows current jail status. It is not a full criminal-history tool, and it does not show every active warrant.
Arrest is the start, not the end. A person can be booked, cited, released on bail, released on own recognizance, sent to state prison, or sent to federal custody. State prison custody is tracked by CDCR. Federal custody is tracked by the Bureau of Prisons. For more, see the San Joaquin County inmate records page and the warrant records page. The custody division page has the jail's operating details.
Marriage, Divorce, and Probate Records
Marriage records and divorce records split between two offices. Marriage licenses and certified marriage copies are kept by the San Joaquin County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk. Divorce, legal separation, and nullity are court cases handled by the Superior Court family law division. Probate cases stay in the Superior Court probate division. See the marriage and divorce records page for the full county and court process and the probate records page for estate and trust matters. Birth and death certified copies also come from the county clerk-recorder, not the court.
- Testator
- The person who made a will. The probate file lists the testator at the top of the petition for probate.
- Executor
- The person named in a will to manage the estate. The court issues Letters Testamentary that prove the executor's role.
- Conservator
- An adult named by the court to manage another adult's care, finances, or both, often after a probate court hearing.
San Joaquin County Court Records Fees
The court keeps its full price list on the court fee schedule page. Civil, probate, family, small claims, appeals, and copy charges are all there. The exact dollar amount for any single line should be read from the live page because the schedule changes by year.
The schedule above is the source of record for every court fee.
| Item | Where to find the amount |
|---|---|
| Plain copy per page | See the court fee schedule for the current per-page copy rate. |
| Certified copy per page | Listed on the court fee schedule for case documents. |
| Certification fee | Charged in addition to the per-page copy rate. |
| Records search fee | Applied when the clerk runs a search beyond a few minutes. |
| Civil filing fee | Limited civil, unlimited civil, and small claims rates differ. |
| Probate petition filing | Decedent estate and trust petition rates on the same schedule. |
| Traffic civil assessment | Up to $100 under Penal Code section 1214.1 for missed appearance or payment. |
Fee waivers are available for low-income filers. The Judicial Council waiver forms are at courts.ca.gov/forms.htm.
How to Interpret San Joaquin County Court Records
The case number is the first clue. A prefix like CR points to a criminal case. CV is civil. PR is probate. FL is family. TR is traffic. Once you have the case number, the docket lists each event in order. The minute order is the clerk's note of what happened in court that day. The register of actions is the chronological list of every filing and order.
Charges and convictions are not the same thing. A charge is what the prosecution filed. A conviction is what the court entered after a plea or trial. A case may show several charges and only one or two convictions, with the rest dismissed. "Dismissed" can mean the case ended with no finding, or it can mean Penal Code section 1203.4 relief after probation. "Sealed" under Penal Code section 851.91 hides the arrest from most public views. When in doubt, request the full file from Records Management.
Accuracy and Record Limitations
The website is a public service. It is not the official court record. Filings can take days to post. Older criminal Register of Actions before October 19, 2015 may not appear in the public portal. Common names return false matches because the party form does not accept date of birth. New filings, sealing orders, and dismissals can lag the live docket.
Note: Confirm any name, date, charge, or disposition with the Superior Court clerk before you rely on it for housing, employment, court, or legal use.
History of San Joaquin County Courts
San Joaquin is one of California's original counties. It was created in 1850 when California became a state. Stockton has been the county seat from the start. The court grew through the standard pattern of county, justice, and municipal courts. Statewide trial-court unification in 1998 folded those older courts into the single Superior Court that now hears every state-court case for the county. The privacy block on the case-search page shows how Rule 2.507 reshaped what the public can see from a web browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I search San Joaquin County court records online?
Use the court's case management search page. The party-name form needs at least two of last, first, middle, or company, plus a case type and a four-digit year range. The FullCourt Enterprise portal at cms.sjcourts.org handles case-number searches. Each tool returns a short list of fields. Older files often need a records request through the court.
Why can't I search criminal cases by date of birth?
The court cites California Rule of Court 2.507. The rule blocks date of birth and driver's license data from remote criminal searches. It protects personal identifiers, but it also means common-name searches return more matches and less certainty. Use the case-number portal when you have the number, or order the file from Records Management for a clean copy.
How do I get a certified copy of a court record?
Go to the court's Records Management page. Provide the case number, the document name, and the date if you have it. The court charges a per-page copy fee plus a certification fee under the current fee schedule. Certified copies are needed for many legal, immigration, and licensing uses. Web printouts are not certified.
More on the San Joaquin County Court Records FAQ page.