Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is a service of the federal Judiciary that enables the public to search online for case information from U.S. district, bankruptcy, and appellate courts. PACER offers convenient electronic access to federal court records, such as:
- dockets, which is the record containing case information (case number, names of parties, etc.), proceedings, and documents filed
- opinions
- searches of case-related information
- information about the status of a case
- audio files of court hearings
PACER was established in 1988 by the Judicial Conference of the United States, the policy-making body of the federal courts, as a way to improve public access to court information. Today, PACER provides instantaneous access to more than 1 billion documents filed at more than 200 federal courts – nearly all the documents filed by a judge or the parties in any case.
As mandated by Congress, the program is funded entirely through user fees set by the Judicial Conference. These fees are used to support the ongoing operations, development, and maintenance costs of electronic public access services.
Contact the PACER Service Center with questions at (800) 676-6856
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