Contra Costa County
Contra Costa County was incorporated on February 18, 1850 and occupies the northern part of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 1,165,927. Its county seat is Martinez.
Contra Costa County has a unified court system with Superior Courts making up the trial courts there. The Contra Costa County Superior Courts are organized into various divisions handling civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, traffic, and small claims cases. The Probate Division, for example, presides over estate administration, trusts and wills, limited conservatorship, and guardianship cases.
The Family Division generally handles cases involving divorce, adoption, child support, probate guardianship, legal separation, paternity, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, dissolution of marriage, and division of marital property. Traffic related cases such as speeding and DUIs are heard in the traffic division.
The Juvenile Division presides over cases involving juvenile delinquency, minor infractions, serious felonies, and child abuse and neglect. Small Claims Division handles civil claims in which the amount of money involved in dispute is under $6,500 for business entities and $12,500 for individuals. The Contra Costa County Superior Court's Criminal Division attends to felony and misdemeanor cases.
The Civil Division handles both limited and unlimited cases. Limited cases are the ones in which the amount of money in dispute is below $35,000 while in unlimited cases, disputed amounts must be $35,000 or more.
Court records such as court transcripts, case files, dockets, court orders, hearings, and trials are available at the Superior Court's Civil Division within Contra Costa County. You can obtain the following types of case records in Contra Costa County:
- Civil
- Criminal
- Small Claims
- Probate
- Family
- Traffic (Adult and Juvenile)
- Probate (Conservatorship and Guardianship)
- Adoption
- Limited and Unlimited Civil
- Juvenile
- Landlord-tenant
- Domestic Violence
- Restraining Order
You can search Contra Costa Court records either remotely or on the computer terminals at 925-608-1000 or send a written request to the Civil Correspondence Clerk, with the appropriate fees, to obtain certified copies of court records. In addition, you can search the California County System or Superior Court's Online Public Portal for court records.
