Family Order File and Records

Font Size: + -

General Information

Family Law records are public records subject to public view and copying, unless they are confidential by operation of law or sealed by the court. Parentage cases under the Uniform Parentage Act filed before January 1, 2023, and petitions involving assisted reproduction are confidential by operation of law and are only accessible to the parties named in the cases or their attorneys of record. However, if a party to a parentage case provides written consent and a copy of their valid state or federally issued photo identification to a person not named in their case, the file may be viewed and copied.

Documents within a court record may also be confidential, i.e., mediation reports, drug test results, psychological evaluations, etc. These documents may only be viewed and copied by the parties or their attorneys of record.

Valid State or Federally Issued Photo Identification

Acceptable forms of valid state or federally issued photo identification that are unexpired:

Driver license
Passport
U.S. Resident's Card (green card)
State-issued I.D.
Military I.D.
Voter's I.D.

If You Do Not Have a Case Number

If you do not know the case number, you may look it up using the court's public case access system, or you may go to the courthouse in person to use the public kiosk located in room 102. There is no need for a service ticket to use the kiosk.

Viewing or Requesting Copies of Court Records

Records are stored at the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse or at our off-site facility. The guidelines for viewing and requesting copies of records vary depending on where they are stored, whether you are a party, and whether you are representing a public agency. The various processes are as follows:

Records	Are stored…	And may be obtained…
With case numbers starting with: 16FL through 25FL 23DV through 25DV 19FS through 25FS	At the courthouse	In Person: You may ask the court clerk to make copies or use the public copy machines in Room 102. By Mail or Drop Box: Submit a Request for Copies of Family Law Records by mail or place it in the courthouse drop box. See instructions below.
Filed between 1937 and 1974	Digitally at the courthouse	In Person: You may ask the court clerk to make copies. By Mail or Drop Box: Submit a Request for Copies of Family Law Records by mail or place it in the courthouse drop box. See instructions below.
Filed before 1937	At the Center for Sacramento History	From the Center for Sacramento History
Adoption or Termination of Parental Rights cases	In Probate	Visit the Probate website for instructions.
Those that are not listed above	At our off-site facility	Online: Request via the Family Court File Request site. (May take up to 7 days for delivery to the courthouse.) You will be notified by email when available. You may ask the court clerk to make copies or use the public copy machines in Room 102. By Mail or Drop Box: Submit a Request for Copies of Family Law Records by mail or place it in the courthouse drop box. See instructions below.

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Word Viewer