Minnesota Criminal Court Records Search: Cases & Dockets

Where to Search Minnesota Criminal Court Records Online

Minnesota provides several official record-access tools. The most useful one depends on whether you need a trial court case, a particular criminal filing, a hearing date, an appellate proceeding or a statewide criminal-history report.

How to Search Minnesota Criminal Court Cases by Name or Case Number

MCRO is available online without creating an account. Its interface offers several search methods and filters for cases maintained by Minnesota district courts.

Step-by-step MCRO criminal records lookup

1. Open the official MCRO Case Search.

   Go to Minnesota Court Records Online and review the court’s access terms.

2. Choose the correct search type.

   MCRO offers Name, Case Number, Citation Number and Attorney search options. A case number is preferable when you already have it.

3. Enter the search information.

   For a name search, enter the person’s last and first name, with a middle name when useful. For a case search, enter the court’s case identifier.

4. Select the Criminal case category.

   Under Additional Search Options, choose Criminal to avoid unrelated civil, family, probate or mental-health results.

5. Choose statewide or county court locations.

   Use Statewide Court Locations if you do not know the filing county, or choose Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Anoka, St. Louis or another county to narrow the results.

6. Apply other helpful filters.

   Where appropriate, refine the search using filing date, case status or the date-of-birth filters provided by the court.

7. Review matching criminal cases.

   Compare the case number, court, filing date and other legally available information before assuming a result belongs to a particular person.

8. Open Case Details.

   The Case Details page contains the Register of Actions, which lists available events, filings, hearing information and other court activity.

9. Check the final disposition.

   Review how each count or charge was resolved. Do not assume the original charge classification represents the final conviction or sentence.

10. Download available documents or contact the court.

    Use the public document links for eligible PDFs. If you need an unavailable or certified document, contact local court administration.

How to use Minnesota MCRO wildcards

MCRO ordinarily performs exact-name searches. If the spelling is uncertain, the system permits an asterisk (*) after at least two characters.

For example, a name search using Jo* may broaden results beyond the exact letters entered.

The court also offers a Sounds Like option. Wildcards and Sounds Like cannot be used together in the same search.

Why Pending Criminal Cases Do Not Appear in Minnesota MCRO Name Searches

Minnesota restricts remote access to pending criminal matters when someone searches by the defendant’s name.

Under the court’s interpretation of the Minnesota Rules of Public Access, a criminal, traffic or petty-misdemeanor case without a qualifying conviction is not returned in MCRO defendant-name search results.

This restriction applies to both:

• MCRO Case Search using a defendant name.
• MCRO Hearing Search using a defendant name.

How to find a pending Minnesota criminal case

Minnesota’s official MCRO instructions identify these alternative search methods:

What about a criminal case that was dismissed?

This is an important Minnesota-specific distinction.

The Judicial Branch explains that cases dismissed without a conviction and cases continued for dismissal are treated as pending criminal records for purposes of the MCRO defendant-name restriction.

That does not necessarily mean the case is still awaiting a trial. It reflects the specific classification used for remote public name searching.

A dismissed case may still have a public court record accessible by case number or through an authorized courthouse search.

How to Search and Download Minnesota Criminal Court Documents

MCRO includes a separate Document Search for court filings available to the public online.

To use it, you must know the case number. Document Search is not a general statewide criminal-history background check.

How to find a criminal complaint or court order

1. Find the case number.

   Use MCRO Case Search, existing court documents, citation paperwork or information from the court.

2. Open Document Search.

   Select the Document Search tab in MCRO.

3. Enter the full case number.

   Follow the exact format shown on the original case record.

4. Select Find Documents.

   The system searches for documents eligible for remote public access.

5. Review the document descriptions.

   Look for the complaint, order, sentencing judgment, disposition or other available filing.

6. Download the PDF.

   Use the available download option and open the file with a PDF viewer.

Which Minnesota criminal documents are available online?

The Minnesota Judicial Branch publishes date-based access rules:

Are Minnesota MCRO downloads free?

Yes. The Minnesota Judicial Branch states that documents accessible through MCRO can currently be viewed and downloaded without charge.

The judiciary eliminated the former $8 fee for uncertified court document copies effective July 1, 2023.

Does an MCRO PDF count as a certified copy?

No. MCRO documents may contain a watermark or electronic signature feature, but the Judicial Branch explicitly states that this does not make them certified copies.

If an employer, government agency, court or other institution requires a certified judgment, contact local court administration in the county where the case was filed.

How to Find Minnesota Criminal Court Dockets and Hearing Dates

Minnesota’s MCRO Hearing Search provides information about scheduled district court hearings.

The application supports searches by:

• Party name, where remote access is permitted.
• Criminal case number.
• Judicial officer.
• Attorney name.
• Attorney bar number.
• Hearing date or date range.
• County court location.

Step-by-step court date lookup

1. Open Hearing Search.

   Use the official Minnesota Court Records Online hearing tab.

2. Choose the search method.

   A case number is the most reliable starting point for a pending criminal matter.

3. Enter the required identifier.

   Use the case number, attorney information or another permitted option.

4. Set the hearing date.

   Choose an exact date or a date range using the fields shown.

5. Select Criminal as the case category.

   This helps remove unrelated court proceedings.

6. Choose statewide or specific county locations.

   Select the relevant court or county when known.

7. Review the hearing results.

   Check the scheduled date, case number, judicial officer and other available court details.

8. Confirm the appearance if required.

   Follow the latest official court notice and attorney instructions. Hearing settings may change.

Why a pending hearing may not appear when searching a name

The pending-criminal name-search restriction also applies to MCRO Hearing Search.

If the criminal case has not resulted in a qualifying conviction, defendant-name searching will not return the pending hearing.

Use the case number or another permitted search field instead.

Which Minnesota Courts Handle Criminal Cases?

Minnesota’s state trial court system consists of district courts organized across 10 judicial districts serving the state’s 87 counties.

Unlike states where felonies and misdemeanors are generally maintained by separate trial-court systems, Minnesota district courts handle felony, gross misdemeanor, misdemeanor and petty-misdemeanor proceedings within their jurisdiction.

The relevant trial-court criminal record is generally maintained through the district court in the county where the case was filed.

Common Minnesota criminal case categories

Major Minnesota counties and their judicial districts

Other counties are available in the MCRO county selector. Use the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s official court directory to find local court administration contacts.

How to Search Minnesota Criminal Records at a Courthouse

The Minnesota Judicial Branch provides a public courthouse access system called Minnesota Public Access Courthouse (MNPAC).

Public access terminals at district courthouses provide more complete electronic access to public district court records than the remotely available MCRO website.

Every Minnesota district courthouse offers electronic access to statewide public case records through its public terminals, subject to court rules.

When should you visit a courthouse?

• You cannot find an eligible pending criminal case through a remote name search.
• You need older records that are not available electronically.
• A public document is not available for download in MCRO.
• You need to inspect a record that is public at the courthouse but restricted from remote internet display.
• You need an official certified copy or assistance from court administration.

How to use a courthouse public terminal

1. Identify a Minnesota district courthouse.

   Use the official Find Courts directory to find the nearest or originating court location.

2. Confirm public terminal hours.

   Courthouse opening hours, security arrangements and services vary.

3. Use the courthouse public-access computer.

   Search the permitted public electronic records using the court’s available tools.

4. Locate the case and inspect public information.

   Use a name or case number as allowed by the courthouse system.

5. Ask court administration about records not shown.

   The county holding the original paper file may be the correct location for historical documents.

6. Request any needed copies.

   Uncertified document copies generally have no court copy charge, while certification is a paid service.

What happened to Minnesota MPA Remote?

The older Minnesota Public Access Remote system, commonly called MPA Remote, was replaced by MCRO.

The Judicial Branch states that MPA Remote became unavailable on April 17, 2023.

If an outdated website instructs you to use MPA Remote, use the current MCRO site instead.

Are Minnesota Criminal Court Records Free? Copy and Certification Fees

Minnesota offers several free public court-record services. The primary expense usually arises when a certified or specially prepared court record is required.

The $14 certified-copy fee is listed in the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s current District Court Fees schedule under Minnesota Statute section 357.021.

How to request a certified Minnesota criminal judgment

1. Identify the criminal case number.

   Use MCRO or the original court paperwork.

2. Find the district court where the case was filed.

   Certification is requested through local court administration.

3. Choose the exact document.

   For example, request the final judgment, conviction and sentence, dismissal order or other qualifying public filing.

4. Specify certified or uncertified.

   Ask for certification when an institution requires official proof of the case result.

5. Confirm the fee and delivery method.

   The court can advise whether to request the record in person, by mail or using an available electronic procedure.

6. Keep the official copy securely.

   A certified disposition can help establish the exact court outcome or support a criminal-history correction request.

Minnesota BCA Public Criminal History Search vs. MCRO

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) operates the Minnesota Public Criminal History Search (CHS).

This service is different from MCRO. MCRO shows qualifying court cases and proceedings, while the BCA maintains criminal-history information that has been reported to the state’s repository.

What information does the BCA release publicly?

Minnesota BCA’s public system provides qualifying criminal-conviction information for 15 years following completion of the sentence.

Public information can include:

• Offense and offense date.
• Court of conviction.
• Conviction date.
• Conviction offense level.
• Sentence information.
• Probation agency or confinement information, when applicable.

What does the BCA public search exclude?

According to the agency, ordinary public search results do not include:

• Arrest-only information.
• Juvenile criminal-history information.
• Out-of-state criminal-history data.
• Federal criminal-history data.
• Conviction history no longer within the public 15-year disclosure period.
• Other legally confidential or private criminal-history records.

Can a name search positively identify the defendant?

No. The BCA warns that a person can use an alias, including another individual’s name.

Even when a public criminal-history result appears to match, the name search itself is not fingerprint-based identification of the person conducting the search.

The BCA states that fingerprint verification is necessary to positively establish that a particular criminal-history record belongs to an individual.

Can you obtain another person’s nonpublic BCA criminal history?

Not through the ordinary public name search.

The BCA identifies authorized categories of access to private records, including the record subject, qualifying criminal justice agencies, authorized background-check entities and eligible requesters with the required notarized informed consent.

These procedures are separate from inspecting the public court docket.

MCRO vs. BCA: Which should you use?

How to Search Minnesota Criminal Appeals and Appellate Dockets

A Minnesota criminal conviction or other qualifying trial-court decision can be reviewed by the Minnesota Court of Appeals or Supreme Court.

The judiciary provides public appellate case information through the Minnesota Appellate Courts Case Management System (P-MACS).

What can appellate records show?

• Appellate case number and case title.
• Parties and attorneys.
• Appellate docket entries.
• Filed motions and orders where public.
• Opinions or decisions issued by the appellate court.
• Available judgments and later appellate actions.

The appellate system differs from MCRO because it concerns proceedings in the appellate courts rather than the original trial court file.

How to find a Minnesota criminal appeal

1. Open the official Minnesota Access Case Records page.

   Choose the appellate court case-search section.

2. Follow the public P-MACS link.

   Use the appellate search interface described by the Minnesota Judicial Branch.

3. Enter the appellate case information.

   Use the case number or other available search criteria.

4. Review the appellate docket and available PDFs.

   Look for any opinion, order or judgment that affects the original criminal case.

5. Check the trial court separately.

   For the original criminal complaint or certified sentencing judgment, contact the district court.

How to Read a Minnesota Criminal Court Docket

MCRO’s Register of Actions can contain several stages of a criminal prosecution. Understanding these entries is necessary to distinguish the original allegations from the final judgment.

Why the case type may be misleading

Minnesota Courts expressly warns that the case type shown in search results is not always an indicator of the final offense or sentence level.

For example, a case may be classified under an original felony charge but conclude with a different charge or level of sentence.

Read the complete available Register of Actions and the final judgment rather than relying solely on the case heading.

Expunged Minnesota Criminal Records and the 2025 Clean Slate Act

Minnesota permits expungement of qualifying criminal records, including certain automatic expungements and court-petition procedures.

An expungement generally restricts access to covered records. It does not necessarily mean every original criminal proceeding is erased from all government systems.

What changed on January 1, 2025?

Minnesota’s Clean Slate Act, Minnesota Statutes section 609A.015, took effect on January 1, 2025.

The law provides automatic expungement for certain qualifying criminal-history records, depending on the offense, outcome and other statutory conditions.

The BCA identifies eligible records and coordinates with the Judicial Branch to seal qualifying information.

What is the status in 2026?

The BCA states that more than 98% of historical records that qualify under Clean Slate had been sealed at the time of its published update. Remaining historical records requiring individual review are expected to be addressed by the end of 2026.

A missing public BCA search result may reflect an automatic expungement, a record outside the public 15-year period or another disclosure restriction.

Can the person whose record was sealed still request it?

The BCA explains that records sealed under qualifying automatic-expungement procedures are not necessarily deleted from its system.

The record subject can use the agency’s authorized personal-data request process to obtain their own criminal-history records, including applicable sealed information.

Federal Criminal Court Records in Minnesota

Federal prosecutions in Minnesota are handled by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

These records are separate from Minnesota district court cases maintained through MCRO.

To search federal criminal court dockets and available filings, use the federal judiciary’s PACER service.

PACER requires an account and may charge for search results, docket pages and documents.

If you know the federal case number, search the District of Minnesota directly. Otherwise, PACER Case Locator may help identify the federal filing court.

Why Minnesota Criminal Court Records May Not Appear Online

An unsuccessful MCRO search can result from court access rules, a search mismatch, an old case or a technical problem.

Why is MCRO asking for reCAPTCHA repeatedly?

MCRO uses security controls to help prevent abusive automated searching.

Its official troubleshooting guidance suggests:

• Slowing down repeated attempts.
• Clearing browser cookies and cache.
• Trying another supported browser.
• Avoiding private browsing when troubleshooting.
• Avoiding VPNs or proxy services that may be associated with many users.

The Judicial Branch also prohibits unauthorized scraping, automated data mining and attempts to circumvent access protections.

What if a court case contains incorrect information?

Contact the district court’s local court administration office.

If the incorrect information is in a BCA criminal-history report, use the BCA’s separate records review or correction procedure. A correction to a court docket and a correction to the state criminal-history repository may require different steps.

Are All Minnesota Criminal Court Records Public?

No. Minnesota generally permits public access to many criminal case records, but the Minnesota Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch impose restrictions.

Some information is public at the courthouse but cannot be displayed remotely. Other records are confidential or may be sealed or expunged.

Examples of records or information limited in MCRO

• Pending criminal defendant-name search results without a qualifying conviction.
• Domestic Abuse Order for Protection and Harassment Restraining Order case types excluded from remote display.
• Child-protection and certain juvenile delinquency case types.
• Public documents in civil commitment cases.
• Party street addresses and certain case-management comments.
• Confidential, expunged or otherwise restricted records.

The public availability of a case summary does not mean every document in the underlying file is available on the internet.

Can MCRO be used for employment background checks?

The Minnesota Judicial Branch expressly warns that MCRO should not be used for background checks because it cannot provide fingerprint-based identity verification.

The court directs users to the BCA criminal-history system for criminal background information.

Employment, housing and other regulated screening may also be governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Minnesota law and additional local requirements.

For covered employer background checks, see the Federal Trade Commission’s guidance.

Minnesota Criminal Court Records: Official Websites and Resources

The following resources are maintained by the Minnesota Judicial Branch, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension or federal government. Use them to search current records and confirm legal access rules, documents, fees and procedures.

• Minnesota Judicial Branch — MCRO Overview and Search Instructions
• Minnesota Court Records Online — Direct Case Search
• Minnesota Court Records Online — Direct Document Search
• Minnesota Court Records Online — Direct Hearing Search
• MCRO FAQs — Pending Criminal Cases, Name Searches and Search Restrictions
• Minnesota Judicial Branch — Remote and Courthouse Public Access
• Minnesota Judicial Branch — District Court Directory and County Contacts
• Minnesota Courts — Requesting Certified and Uncertified Copies
• Minnesota Courts — District Court Copy and Certification Fees
• Minnesota Judicial Branch — Elimination of Uncertified Copy Fees
• Minnesota Courts — Criminal Court Records FAQs
• Hennepin County District Court — Criminal and Other Court Records
• Minnesota Clerk of Appellate Courts — Appellate Records and Case Search
• Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension — Public Criminal History Search
• Minnesota BCA — Public and Private Criminal History Disclosure FAQs
• Minnesota Courts — Criminal Expungement and Clean Slate FAQs
• United States Courts — PACER Federal Criminal Case Search
• Federal Trade Commission — Employer Background Check Requirements