MN Courthouse Records

The MN courthouse system is formally referred to as the 'Minnesota Judicial Branch of Law.' Apart from the apex court of the state, there are district level courts, and those which host appeal hearings (Appellate Courts). Depending on the type of information you require, any of these courts might need to be contacted.

All public court proceedings are recorded in detail by the courts in MN so that they can be consulted in the future if required. Other court calendars can also be viewed if you so wish. There is a specific guideline that has to be followed while making these valuable records public – the Minnesota Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch.

Types of Records Maintained

A wide range of different types of records are maintained by the courthouses in the State of Minnesota. All records of births and deaths, divorces and marriages, police and criminal records, driving offenses and financial records can be accessed when so needed.

Though the records are maintained in the public domain and thus shared, you must know that there are some exceptions. In some cases, though rare, you may not be able to access what you want.

Courtrooms where offenders are first charged then tried and convicted are open to the media and public constitutionally. Legislation such as the Criminal Offender Record Information, or CORI, aims to bring about a balance in personal privacy with how much information can be divulged. Things become very difficult in this matter because of the Internet. There are certain laws that define how the gathered criminal record information can be used.

Reasons for Accessing Courthouse Records

Today, there are a lot of searches of criminal records and background checks that are being carried out for many reasons. Perhaps you are moving into a new neighborhood with your family and want to be sure that no one in the immediate vicinity has a criminal record. Perhaps you are hiring a babysitter and want to check the background of that person. There are companies who regularly conduct these checks to ensure that the person they are thinking of hiring has a clean past.

When carrying out a complete background check, you can get to know much more than what you could have learned just by checking the criminal history. Naturally this will be of great help when you have to decide whether a person can be trusted or not.

Here are the types of records you can find in Minnesota Courthouses:

•    The sex and age 

•    The address and telephone numbers - current and past 

•    Marriage Records 

•    Divorce Records

•    Default Records

•    Police, Court, Arrest and also Criminal records 

•    Records from the Army, Military and Navy 

•    Records of Property and Business

Who Can Access Minnesota Court House Records?

If you are a citizen of the United States of America, you can legally ask for these records. There is no need to seek permission from anyone. It could happen that the court may want to know the purpose for which you want the information and also your relation to the person whose record you want to access.

How to Access Court House Records in Minnesota

There are various ways of doing this:

You can physically visit the courthouse: You can approach the clerk at the courthouse for the record that you need about anyone. With new computer systems being used within modern courthouses, it is now possible to find virtually any record very quickly.

You can call the courthouse: You can also request records over the phone. Just identify the court in the state that you need to approach, find the phone number and place your request over the phone. There can be some delays in this method because once the record you need is found, it will be mailed to you.

Accessing your court records online: Did you know that you can also find many court records on the Internet? First, there is the state record website that you can visit to find the record. There are also some private websites where you can find the information too.