Collin County
With an estimated population of 1.2 million residents, Collin County is the sixth most populous county in Texas. The county covers a total area of 886 square miles and is entirely located in the Blackland prairies, a region known for its rich, fertile black soil. McKinney serves as the seat of government, while Plano is the largest city in the county.
The 14 district courts in Collin County are courts of general jurisdiction. They handle a wide range of civil, probate, and criminal matters. Some of the civil cases heard by district courts include disputes over title to land, worker's compensation, personal injury, tax disputes, contracts, and divorce. District courts handle criminal cases involving felonies, official misconducts, certain misdemeanors, and other lesser-known offenses.
Also referred to as Statutory County Courts, the seven Collin County Courts at Law handle some civil, criminal, and probate cases. They have exclusive jurisdiction over felonies and criminal misdemeanor cases with no potential penalty of incarceration as well as violations of safety and health ordinances. County Courts at Law may handle civil cases involving the recovery of more than $500, property disputes, personal injury, and contract disputes.
It is the role of the Collin County Probate Court to handle probate matters, involuntary mental commitment actions, guardianship proceedings, and inheritance matters. Collin County Justice Courts hear criminal and civil cases involving forcible entry, preliminary hearings of traffic misdemeanors with no potential penalty of imprisonment, small claims, and foreclosure of mortgages. Municipal Courts in Collin County have exclusive jurisdiction over the violations of city ordinances.
There are several ways for the public to access the public court records of active and closed cases in Collin County. These public records include:
- Criminal court records
- Civil court records
- Family court records
- Probate court records
To promote transparency, these are provided by the county government. More than 1,300,000 case records are available on the Online Judicial Search engine. You can complete your search by providing a citation number, party or attorney name, case number, or paper number.
Active and historical case records filed in the Collin County courts are updated daily at 6 p.m. on the Case Search engine. With the Case Record Inquiry, users can look up active and historical records updated in real-time. For cases that are not available online, you can request a manual record search from the court record custodians of the District Courts and County Courts at Law.
