Topic Updated: November 2009
Note: The information available on MPA Courthouse is provided as a service and is not considered an official court record. The Minnesota Judicial Branch does not certify MPA Courthouse records or search results, and is not responsible for any errors or omissions in the data found on MPA Courthouse. Certified civil judgment search results may be obtained from court administration. If you see any errors on MPA Courthouse, please notify the court clerk of the corresponding district court. |
Search Results Tips
Not all of these options may work on your computer.
Important: The information displayed and limitations on availability of public cases in the Search Results page depends on the type of search performed. See the following table for more information. |
Type of Case Records Search |
Search Results and Public Case Limitations |
Criminal/Traffic/Petty Case Records |
For each public case found, the case number, defendant name and date of birth, filing date and location, type and status of the case, and charge(s) are displayed in the search results list. However, NOT ALL public criminal/traffic/petty cases will display in the list. All criminal/traffic/petty case search results exclude all Hennepin County and Ramsey County payable citations except: 1) those that result in a court appearance; and 2) Ramsey DNR payable citations. The excluded payable citations are processed through a separate system called ViBES. |
Civil, Family & Probate Case Records |
For each public case found, the case number, style (case title), filing date and location, type and status of the case is displayed in the search results list. |
Judgments |
Case number and location, judgment entry and docketed dates, debtor(s) and creditor(s) name, and may display other judgment details including the original dollar amount, principal amount, status and type. |
Court Calendar |
For each public case found, the case number and type, date and time, defendant name, plaintiff name, hearing type, judicial officer name, and physical location is displayed in the search results list. |
The Criminal/Traffic/Petty information only appears if you have performed a Criminal/Traffic/Petty Case Records search.
To return to the Search Menu screen, on the black bar, click the Search Menu hyperlink.
To perform another search of the same type, on the black bar, click New Criminal/Traffic/Petty Search hyperlink.
To view the entire page, use the scrollbar on the right-hand side to navigate up and down.
The Civil, Family & Probate information only appears if you have performed a Civil, Family & Probate Case Records search.
To return to the Search Menu screen, on the black bar, click the Search Menu hyperlink.
To perform another search of the same type, on the black bar, click the New Civil Search hyperlink.
To view the entire page, use the scrollbar on the right-hand side to navigate up and down.
The Judgment information only appears if you have performed a Judgments search.
To return to the Search Menu screen, on the black bar, click the Search Menu hyperlink.
To perform another search of the same type, on the black bar, click the New Judgment Search hyperlink.
To view the entire page, use the scrollbar on the right-hand side to navigate up and down.
The Court Calendar information only appears if you have performed Court Calendar search.
Once your search results appear, you have options for sorting. From the Sort By drop-down menu, select an option:
Note: The example above is sorted by Case Number. |
To return to the Search Menu screen, on the black bar, click the Search Menu hyperlink.
To perform another search of the same type, on the black bar, click the New Calendar Search hyperlink.
To view the entire page, use the scrollbar on the right-hand side to navigate up and down.
To display the Register of Actions for the desired case, follow the instructions in Register of Actions – Information Displayed and Limitations, located below.
A Register of Actions is available for each case displayed in search results, with the exception of Judgment search results. If you have performed a Criminal/Traffic/Petty Case Records search; a Civil, Family & Probate Case Records search; or a Court Calendar search, you can click on a specific case to see the Register of Actions. If you have performed a Judgment search, you will only see the judgment and not the register of actions for the cases displayed in the judgment search results.
To display the Register of Actions for the case, click the hyperlink for the case number.
To view the entire Register of Actions, use the scrollbar on the right-hand side to navigate up and down.
To return to Search Results page, navigate back a screen. See the Navigation Tips.
Read the next section on how to view and interpret the Level of Sentence on cases retrieved as a result of a Criminal/Traffic/Petty Case Records search.
In the “Events
& Orders of the Court” section of the Register of Actions, if
applicable the service return date is displayed along with the date
issued, served, and response due date.
If there are multiple
charges on the case and one sentence applies to the multiple charges,
in the “Events & Orders of the Court” section of the Register
of Actions, the sentence is displayed only once.
If you have performed a Criminal/Traffic/Petty Case Records search, it is important to read and understand the Register of Actions on each case, especially the Level of Sentence. This section contains detailed information on how to view and interpret the Level of Sentence.
Level of Sentence is a new automated feature (on cases sentenced on or after June 1, 2009) that calculates and displays the Level of Sentence imposed by the judge and entered into the case management system. The automated Level of Sentence is calculated based on the sentence elements and the provisions set forth in M.S. 609.13 and Minn. R. Crim. P. 23.02, and as described in our Level of Sentence Fact Sheet. For even more explanation see MNCIS Uniform Court Practices 144.
IMPORTANT: Effective on all cases sentenced on or after June 1, 2009, the Level of Sentence is automatically calculated and displayed on the Register of Actions. For cases sentenced prior to June 1, 2009, the Level of Sentence must be manually interpreted based on information provided in the Register of Actions and M.S. 609.13 and Minn. R. Crim. P. 23.02, with the guidance provided by the additional documents referenced in the paragraph above.
The following examples show how the same case looks with and without the automated calculation and display of Level of Sentence on the Register of Actions. Both examples are provided on each of the following cases to illustrate the difference of how the Register of Actions looks for cases sentenced prior to June 1, 2009, and those sentenced on or after June 1, 2009. Also, please note that the red boxes and arrows that appear in these examples to highlight certain sections of the Register of Actions do not appear on the Registers of Action you will view on MPA. Instead, only the yellow highlighting will appear on the Register of Actions to call attention to the Level of Sentence whenever it is displayed.
View of Case if Sentenced Prior to June 1, 2009:
View of Case if Sentenced On or After June 1, 2009 – With New Level of Sentence Label:
View of Case if Sentenced Prior to June 1, 2009:
View of Case if Sentenced On or After June 1, 2009 – With New Level of Sentence Label:
The Judgment information only appears if you have performed a Judgment search.
To display the Judgment for the case, click the hyperlink for the case number.
To view the entire Judgment, use the scrollbar on the right-hand side to navigate up and down.
To return to Search Results page, navigate back a screen. See the Navigation Tips.
If no publicly-accessible records are found, the Search Results screen
will appear indicating that no cases, judgments, or calendars matched
your search criteria.
Important Note on Search Result Limitations: Please read Information Displayed and Limitations in Search Results, which explains that some public cases will not display in your search results. |
To return to the Search Menu screen, on the black bar, click the Search Menu hyperlink.
To perform another search of the same type, on the black bar, click New [type of] Search hyperlink. For example, click New Criminal/Traffic/Petty Search.
If records are found matching your search criteria, the Search Results screen will appear displaying a list of case numbers and general case information. Use the information to verify that the case listed satisfies your search. See Policies & Notices.
Important Note on Search Result Limitations: Please read Information Displayed and Limitations in Search Results, which explains that some public cases will not display in your search results. |
To return to the Search Menu screen, on the black bar, click the Search Menu hyperlink.
To perform another search of the same type, on the black bar, click New [type of] Search hyperlink. For example, click New Criminal/Traffic/Petty Search.
If a party on the case has a warrant, a warrant indicator icon will appear in front of the case number.
Note: Be attentive to the Location of your search results, especially for searches performed against a multi-physical location county, multi-department county, or when using the “All MNCIS Sites - Case Search” option. The Location identifier appears in two specific places on the Search Results page: on the black menu bar at the top of the page and on each case in the "Filed/Location” or the “Case No./Location Entered/Docketed” column. In the example above, the user has performed a Criminal Case Search using "All MNCIS Sites - Case Search" as the location. |
If too many records are found matching your search criteria, the screen shown below will appear displaying a list of the first 200 matches, general case information, and a message stating “Too many results to display. First 200 matches listed below.” It is important to note that you are not viewing the entire list.
Important Note on Search Result Limitations: Please read Information Displayed and Limitations in Search Results, which explains that some public cases will not display in your search results. |
To perform another search of the same type and to narrow your search criteria, on the black bar, click New [type of] Search hyperlink. For example, click New Criminal/Traffic/Petty Search.
See Also:
Selecting Location and Type of Search
Criminal/Traffic/Petty Case Records Searches
Civil, Family & Probate Case Records Searches