THE INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH CASESEARCH SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF PERFORMING BACKGROUND CHECKS ON AN INDIVIDUAL.   See Question 6, below.   THE JUDICIARY ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR USE OF THE INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM CASESEARCH.

About CaseSearch

1. What is CaseSearch?
2. What records are available on CaseSearch?
3. How current is the data on CaseSearch?
4. How far back can you inquire about cases in CaseSearch?
5. How long do records remain on CaseSearch?
6. Can I use CaseSearch to run a criminal background check?
7. Why do I lose the connection and get returned to the CaseSearch home page?
8. Are Federal and state tax liens available on CaseSearch?

1. What is CaseSearch?
CaseSearch provides public Internet access to information from case records maintained by the Maryland Judiciary. In January 2006, CaseSearch was introduced to satisfy information requests commonly received in the court clerks’ offices. This information includes names of parties, city and state, case number, date of birth, trial date, charge, and case disposition. CaseSearch includes detailed case information for all Maryland Circuit and District Court Case Management Systems.

2. What records are available on CaseSearch?
Maryland District Court traffic, criminal, and civil case records and Maryland Circuit Court criminal and civil case records are available. The amount of historical data may vary by jurisdiction based on when an automated case management system was deployed and how the system in that jurisdiction has evolved. See FAQ 4 for dates.

What records are not on CaseSearch?
Landlord tenant case records are not on CaseSearch nor are marriage license records.

3. How current is the information in CaseSearch?
Case information is entered into the system by the clerk's office and is reflected on CaseSearch almost immediately upon entry with the exception of Montgomery County Circuit Court which is delayed by approximately 10 minutes. The time when a clerk enters case information into the system varies by jurisdiction.

4. How far back can you inquire about cases in CaseSearch?

*Does not include domestic, child support or paternity. Conversion of these types of domestic cases is planned for 2009 at which time they will be available through Case Search.

5. How long do records remain on CaseSearch?
Records can remain in CaseSearch indefinitely and are not removed except for a court-ordered reason such as expungement. Note: closed traffic case records are sent to the history database after 36 months but can be pulled back into CaseSearch at any time by the clerk's office.

6. Can I use CaseSearch to run a criminal background check?
CaseSearch should not be used for criminal background checks. Background checks should be conducted through the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) of the Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services which maintains Maryland’s fingerprint-supported criminal identification records and criminal history record information. To learn more, see Background Checks on the Department's Web site.

7. Why do I lose the connection and get returned to the CaseSearch home page?
CaseSearch is programmed to time out after 2 minutes of inactivity.

8. Are Federal and state tax liens available on CaseSearch?
Federal and state tax liens are recorded in the circuit courts, however, the data may not be available in CaseSearch, depending on the process used by the court to record the liens. To determine whether a court is recording Federal and state tax lien data for CaseSearch, you must contact the court directly.

About Judgments/Liens

1. What is a Judgment? What is a Lien?
2. What records are available on Judgments/Liens?
3. Which jurisdictions are currently included in Judgments/Liens?
4. Are there plans to add additional jurisdictions?
5. Why are there two searches options - by Company and Person?
6. How far back does the data for each jurisdiction go?
7. How long do records remain on Judgments/Liens?
8. Will you be enabling a search by case number in Judgments/Liens?

4. Are there plans to add additional jurisdictions?
Yes, we are currently working to include data from the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County as well as Maryland District Court judgments.

5. Why are there two searches options - by Company and Person?
Search by Person searches judgments/liens against Persons and Companies. Search By Company searches judgments/liens against Companies only.

6. How far back does the data for each jurisdiction go?
See the CaseSearch FAQ #4.

7. How long do records remain on Judgments/Liens?
Records remain in Judgments/Liens indefinitely.

8. Will you be enabling a search by case number in Judgments/Liens?
We plan to include this feature sometime in the future.

General Information

1. How do I obtain additional case information?
2. I believe some information is inaccurate. Whom do I notify?
3. Can I get records removed from public inspection?
4. Why can't I find the company name when searching?
5. I don’t understand some of the legal words written in the case results. Where can I get help?
6. I keep getting the message: "The result set exceeds the limit of 500 records. Please narrow your search.”
7. How can I verify a trial date when I am not the defendant and do not remember the defendant’s name?
8. How can I find out what the abbreviations mean under the Event History of a District Court case record?

1. How do I obtain additional case information?
You can obtain additional case information at the courthouse where the case record is on file. Requests must be made in person or in writing. The clerk's office cannot accept telephone requests.

For court locations, see
Circuit courts - http://mdcourts.gov/circuit/directory.html
District Court -  http://mdcourts.gov/district/directories/courtmap.html

2. I believe some information is inaccurate. Whom do I notify?
If you believe information provided is inaccurate, please send written notice to the court where the original record was created or filed. For court locations and contact information, see
Circuit courts - http://mdcourts.gov/circuit/directory.html
District Court -  http://mdcourts.gov/district/directories/courtmap.html

3. Can I get records removed from public inspection?
There are three ways that information contained in a court record can be removed from public inspection: certain information in a record can be shielded, the record can be sealed, or the record can be expunged.

For more information on shielding case information and sealing case records, see Public Access to Maryland Court Records.

4. Why can't I find the company name when searching?
In a limited number of cases they may not be recognized as a company. Try the Person Search and enter the Company name in the last name field.

5. I don’t understand some of the legal words written in the case results. Where can I get help?
The Journalist's Guide to Maryland's Legal System includes a comprehensive glossary of legal terms. You may also find helpful information on the Judiciary's FAQ page or you may wish to consult someone with a legal background.

6. I keep getting the message: "The result set exceeds the limit of 500 records. Please narrow your search.”
When a search exceeds 500 records, CaseSearch returns the first 500 cases pulled from the database which may not include the record you are seeking. You should narrow your search by including other information such as the filing date range, first name, court, case type, etc.

7. How can I verify a trial date when I am not the defendant and do not remember the defendant's name?
CaseSearch allows you to search for a case by related party names such as the attorney, the plaintiff, etc. The case detail will provide the trial date if one has been set.

8. How can I find out what the abbreviations mean in the Event History of a District Court case record?
There are numerous codes (abbreviations) used by the clerks to identify events in a District Court case record. The codes entered in a case record may vary according to jurisdiction. A sample of an event history is illustrated below:

The abbreviations and comment codes are explained below. Semi-colons are used to separate comments.