Virginia Court Case Lookup & Records
Where a Virginia case is recorded, how to look it up on the Commonwealth's own system, and how to get the file
How Virginia's two online case searches work, what the status and disposition entries mean, and how to get a court file or a driving record.
Every page cites the Code of Virginia, links to the official text, and shows the date it was last checked. How these guides are researched.
Finding a Case
Virginia's two online case information systems, what you need to search them, what the status and disposition entries mean, and how to read a docket.
- Virginia Circuit Court Case Information: How to Search It
Virginia circuit court case information sits in its own system, separate from district court cases. How to search it, read it and get the file from the clerk.
- Virginia Cases: Which Court Has Yours, and What Happens Next
Virginia cases begin in one of three trial courts. Which court hears yours, how a case moves from summons to disposition, and what each stage records.
- What Virginia Court Case Status and Information Actually Tells You
VA court case status information uses court shorthand. What each field and disposition means, what it does not prove, and where the rest of the record is.
- Virginia Court Dockets: How to Read One and Find Your Case
A VA docket is the court's list of cases set for a day, not a case record. How a docket, a docket sheet and the case search differ, and where each one lives.
- How to Find a Virginia Case Number and Search With It
A Virginia case number search cannot return the wrong person. Where the number is printed, what its parts mean, and what to do if you do not have it.
Records and Requests
Who holds which Virginia record — courts, DMV, State Police — how to request each one, and what can be expunged or sealed.
- Virginia Public Records: Which Office Holds Yours, and How to Ask
Virginia public records are split across the courts, the DMV and the police, each with its own statute and its own deadline. Who to ask, and what it costs.
- How to Expunge a Record in Virginia, and When You Cannot
How to expunge a record in VA: the charge must have ended in acquittal, nolle prosequi or dismissal. A conviction never qualifies, nor a reduced charge.
- Virginia Driving Records: What They Show and Who Can See Them
Virginia driving records come from the DMV, not the courts. What is on one, how long entries stay, who else can obtain it, and how to request your own.
Traffic Cases
How a Virginia traffic summons appears in the general district court system, what prepaying a ticket legally does, and what the entry means afterwards.
- How to Pay a Virginia Traffic Ticket Online at www.courts.state.va.us
www.courts.state.va.us has moved. How to pay a Virginia traffic ticket online, what prepayment legally is, and which charges cannot be paid.
- Virginia Traffic Court Case Info, From Summons to Disposition
VA court case info for traffic charges: when a ticket appears online, what the entry shows, and which charges cannot be paid without court.