Cuyahoga County
Cuyahoga County was created on May 1, 1810 in the northeastern part of Ohio. Cleveland serves as its largest city and county seat. The 2020 census recorded its population as 1,264,817, making it the second-most populous county in Ohio. Cuyahoga County belongs to the 7th and 11th congressional districts.
A Court of Common Pleas, Municipal Courts, and Mayor's Courts constitute the legal system of Cuyahoga County. The Court of Common Pleas is in charge of presiding over all criminal and civil cases and has general jurisdiction. Besides the General Division, there are three other divisions of the Court of Common Pleas: Probate, Juvenile, and Domestic Relations.
Municipal Courts in the county hear traffic cases (Driving Under Influence, parking violations etc.) and misdemeanor cases. They conduct preliminary hearings of felony cases, hear cases in which the amount of money involved in dispute is less than $15,000. In addition, they have a small claims division presiding over cases in which the amount of money involved in controversy is $3,000 or less.
Mayor's Courts are found in villages, towns, and cities within Cuyahoga County. Ohio Mayor's Courts are state courts attending to cases involving traffic violations, municipal ordinance violations, and misdemeanors.
Case information, documents, and dockets containing court proceedings originating from court sessions are available in all courts within Cuyahoga County. The Clerk of Courts files, preserves, and retrieves these official documents and has the sole responsibility of providing public access to them except where the Ohio law exempts these records from disclosure.
You can access court records on the Case Record Search System of Cuyahoga County. Search for criminal and civil court records by case type, case number, and case year. Court records are also available at the Office of the Clerk of Courts. You may also call the docket line at 216 443 7959 to request and make copies of these records. The public may also search for free on the Cuyahoga County Court portal and on the website of the Municipal Court where a case was filed to obtain court records.
The following are examples of court records available for public inspection in Cuyahoga County:
- Civil Case Records
- Criminal Case Records
- Foreclosure Case Records
