LOCATION: North Tower, 1st Floor, Rm 1100
HOURS: Monday- Friday, 8:30am - 4:30pm
PHONE: 240-777-9430
LOCATION: North Tower, 1st Floor, Rm 1400
HOURS: Monday- Friday, 8:30am - 4:30pm
PHONE: 240-777-9431
All Montgomery County Circuit Court files are open to the public except those that have been sealed by court order. Summary information about cases may be found on Maryland Judiciary's online Case Search.
Central Files houses and protects all civil, criminal, and family files (except the most recent criminal files, which are located in the Criminal Department (North Tower, 1st Floor, Rm 1260)). You must present the Circuit Court case number when requesting a court file. The case number is usually a 4-6 digit number followed by a D (District Court Appeal), C (Criminal), V (Civil), or FL (Family Law). Access Maryland Judiciary's online Case Search to locate a case number. Individual and corporation indexes from 1967-present are also located in the Central Files Office.
You can request copies of papers in files from the Exhibit/Reproduction Room. The fee for copying papers is $.50 per page. All civil and family case exhibits are also housed in this office. Exhibits are open to the public except for cases sealed by court order. You will also need the Circuit Court case number to request an exhibit.
The most requested certified documents for family cases involve divorces, name changes, settlement/separation agreements, and qualified domestic relations orders.
Members of the public may also request certified copies of a civil judgment from the Civil Department (if you are waiting, copies will take 20 minutes).
Parties can make the request to either Department in person or by mail. Fees for certified copies are 50 cents per page copied plus a $5 certification fee. There is also a $2 postage fee for mailing a certified document.
Depending on the age of the case, the Family Department may or may not have the file on site. Please contact staff at 240-777-9426 prior to visiting the court or mailing a request, to confirm that they do have the file and to obtain an estimate of the cost.