Champaign County
Champaign County derived its name from the French term that translates to “open-level country." Spanning 432 square miles, it became the 18th county in Ohio on March 1, 1805. The county has an estimated population of 38,845, the majority of whom belong to the white ethnic group.
Created by the Ohio Constitution, the Champaign Court of Common Pleas is the trial court of general jurisdiction for Champaign County. Its General Division handles serious criminal offenses punishable by imprisonment and civil cases, including tax liens, garnishments, foreclosures, labor disputes, and negligence actions.
The Champaign Family Court determines various family-related legal matters. Its Domestic Relations Division oversees divorce, dissolutions, child support, and child custody matters. On the other hand, the Juvenile Division addresses child custody and support cases involving unmarried parties, as well as delinquency and traffic offenses by minors.
Moreover, the Probate Division of the Family Court handles cases involving wills, estates, adult mental health, adoptions, and adult guardianship. The Champaign Municipal Court has countywide jurisdiction over city ordinance violations, preliminary felony hearings, traffic violations, civil cases with disputes of $15,000 or less, and small claims cases involving $6,000 or less.
Champaign County court records include journals, orders, motions, dockets, and indices filed in judicial proceedings. The Clerk of Courts serves as the official custodian of these records, providing access both in person and remotely. In other words, the public can review documents directly at the Clerk's Office or search and copy them electronically from a location outside the courthouse.
In Champaign County, the public can access court records in both physical and electronic formats for the following case types:
- Civil case
- Criminal case
- Traffic case
- Estate case
- Domestic relations case
- Divorce case
Individually, the Champaign County courts provide access to electronic records on their websites. General Division records can be viewed on the CourtView page, while Family Court records that are available to the public can be accessed through the Court Records page. Municipal Court electronic records are accessible through the Public Access page.
