San Bernardino County Court Records

San Bernardino County Court records refer to all articles, exhibits, documents, judgments, transcripts, recordings, electronic data, photos, or any other documentary material produced during a court proceeding or legal action (California Rules of Court). Court records created by the courts in San Bernardino are typically maintained by the Superior Court in the County.

Court records are maintained in San Bernardino for several reasons. For one, these records can be used as a reference for future adjudications. They can also be used to enlighten the public on the activities of the judicial system. Furthermore, case parties can review court records to ascertain that their case was handled fairly and in compliance with state laws.

Like other California Court records, San Bernardino court records consist of court dockets, case information, summons, arrest information, evidence, petitions, sentences, decrees, and other documents filed with a court.

Are Court Records Public in San Bernardino County?

Yes. Rule 2.503(a) of the California Rules of Court mandates public access to all court records in either paper or electronic form except those sealed or made confidential by law. Hence, members of the public are at liberty to request access to inspect court records created by the courts in San Bernardino.

However, some court records are not deemed as part of San Bernardino public records and cannot be publicly available per the California Public Records Act. Examples of such records are:

• Personal notes and memos of judges or other judicial staff
• Identifying information like a social security number
• Arrest/search warrant data
• Records of juveniles and mentally unstable offenders
• Arrests that do not result in a conviction
• Sexual abuse records of minors.

San Bernardino County Court Records Search

A San Bernardino County court records search can be conducted at any of the listed places:

• The San Bernardino Superior Court clerk's office
• A clerk's office in any court where the case filing took place
• Public access terminals at the courthouse
• Remote access portals maintained by the Superior court
• An independent third-party aggregate site.

San Bernardino County Court Records Search by Name

To search San Bernardino County court records by name, the requester must provide a first, last, or business name if available. In-person or mail requests containing the record subject's name can be sent to the clerk of the court where the case was filed. A researcher can also enter the subject name into a public access terminal provided at the physical location of a courthouse to inspect the County Court records.

The San Bernardino Superior Court also has an online portal for accessing County court records by name. Requesters are to note that a fee of $0.50 per page, excluding the charges for certified or plain copies, applies to accessing court records online. Additional information on finding court records can be found in the FAQ section of the official website.

San Bernardino County Courts

The courthouses in San Bernardino County each have varying jurisdictions in handling different case types. For instance, Victorville District Court has jurisdiction over criminal and probable cases. Barstow District Court, on the other hand, handles small claims/landlord tenants cases, civil suits/restraining orders, family law, child support, and traffic cases.

The addresses and contact information of the various courthouses are listed below:

Court of Appeal/ Appellate Division
Superior Court of California,
County of San Bernardino
8303 Haven Avenue
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
Phone: (909) 384-1888

Barstow District
235 East Mountain View Street
Barstow, CA 92311

Big Bear District
477 Summit Boulevard
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
Phone: (760) 718-3700

Fontana District
17780 Arrow Boulevard
Fontana, CA 92335
Phone: (909) 350-9322

Joshua Tree District
6527 White Feather Road
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
Phone: (760) 974-3048 (criminal or traffic law).
Phone: (760) 974-3047 (family law).

Mental Health Court
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
Behavioral Health Building,
400 North Pepper Avenue
Colton, CA 92324
Phone: (909) 498-2296

Needles District
1111 Bailey Avenue
Needles, CA 92363
Phone: (760) 718-3700

Rancho Cucamonga District
8303 Haven Avenue
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
Phone: (909) 350-9764

San Bernardino Justice Center
247 West Third Street,
San Bernardino, CA 92415.

Victorville District
14455 Civic Drive
Victorville, CA 92392
Phone: (760) 245-6215

San Bernardino Juvenile Delinquency
900 East Gilbert Street
Building 35
San Bernardino, CA 92415
Phone: (909) 269-8840

San Bernardino Juvenile Dependency
860 East Gilbert Street
San Bernardino, CA 92415
Phone: (909) 269-8900

San Bernardino Child Support Division
655 West Second Street,
Second Floor,
San Bernardino, CA 92415
Phone: (909) 269-8789

San Bernardino Family Law
351 North Arrowhead Avenue
San Bernardino, CA 92415
Phone: (909) 521-3136

San Bernardino County Superior Court Case Search

Per Cal. Gov. Code § 68150 - 68153, the San Bernardino County Superior Court preserves case records in both paper and paperless forms. Interested persons may visit the Clerk of the Superior Court's office or any of the courthouses where such a case was filed to check for court case records. Most courthouses provide a public access booth with computers for free electronic case searches.

San Bernardino County Superior Court case search can also be conducted online via the Superior Court Access Case Information page. This online search requires either a case party name, business name, citation number, or case number to be provided by the requestor and has a fee of $0.50 per page. It is important to note that the Superior Court remote access only features case information and records filed in 1998 till date. For older records, the inquirer may query a court clerk's office in person.

Mail requests to search San Bernardino County Superior Court case records can also be sent. Here, the requester must fill out a Copy Request Form specifying the record type and other identifying case information. The filled form can then be dispatched to the appropriate Superior court location with proof of payment ( check or money order) made payable to the Clerk of Court. The fees for obtaining case records are:

• $15 for record searches longer than ten minutes
• 50 cents per side of the printed document
• $40 for Certification
• $50 for Exemplification.

In a case where the requester cannot determine the exact cost of copy fees, it is expedient to include a "Not to exceed" specified dollar amount on the check or money order. To avoid paying less or more than the required amount, it is advisable to contact the clerk of the court's office to verify the estimated amount based on the volume of the requested record.

San Bernardino County District Court Records

The judicial authority for San Bernardino County is the Superior Court. There are no district courts in the state or County of San Bernardino. The only courts available in California are the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, and Superior (trial) courts. The Superior Court of California, County of Bernardino oversees all legal matters filed in the county.

San Bernardino County Criminal Records

Per Section 7923.610 of the California Public Records Act, some criminal records maintained by law enforcement agencies, such as basic arrest information are publicly available. More detailed criminal records, such as a person's local criminal history can only be accessed by record subjects or authorized persons as stated in Cal. Penal Code §§ 13300 through 13326.

A San Bernardino local criminal history check is processed by the County Sheriff's Department and comes in three forms:

• Clearance Letter: indicates the subject is void of any active warrant or does not have any San Bernardino arrest record with the Sheriff's Department.
• Complete In-Custody Letter: contains a list of all arrests or bookings with the subject's name made in the county.
• Partial In-Custody Letter: lists only a specific arrest with the subject's name.

To request any of the above-mentioned clearance letters, one may call (909) 888-5916 (press #7) or visit the Sheriff's Department in person and pay a fee of $37 (check or money order) at:

San Bernardino Sheriff's Department
Records Division
655 East 3rd Street
San Bernardino.

Individuals arrested by different enforcement agencies with varying jurisdictions may need to request a statewide Criminal History Record/Records Review from the California Department of Justice.

San Bernardino County Criminal Court Case Lookup

Individuals who want to look up San Bernardino County Criminal court cases can utilize any of the options outlined below:

• In-person visits to the Clerk of the Superior Court or the courthouse where the case was filed. The inquirer may also be able to access case information using the public computer booths located in the courthouse.
• Electronic case data is available on the Superior Court Access Portal. One may be able to search for criminal cases using a name, citation, or case number.

Get San Bernardino County Civil Court Records

Civil court records in San Bernardino are created from lawsuits between two parties, where one party sues the other to retrieve real or personal property, money, damages for injury, obligations, or enforcement of civil rights.

The types of records that constitute civil court records are records of landlord/tenant (unlawful detainer) cases, juvenile cases, probate cases, and small claims cases. The Clerk of the Superior Court is the custodian of San Bernardino Civil Court Records.

To obtain civil court records, an individual may visit the clerk of the superior court to conduct a physical search or use the public access kiosks. There is a fee of $0.50 per page attached to inspecting copies of civil records, while additional costs are attached to reproducing civil court records.

Alternatively, one may remotely access civil court records via the Civil Division of the San Bernardino Superior Court online portal. A name, case number, or citation number is usually required to begin the search.

San Bernardino County Family Court Records

The San Bernardino County Family Court handles cases related to marriage annulments/ divorce, child custody, spousal/child support, guardianship, domestic violence, adoptions, and minor/elder abuse. The Barstow District and Joshua Tree District of the Superior Court preside over family law matters.

San Bernardino Family Court records can be obtained from:

• A Courthouse with jurisdiction to hear family law matters
• The Superior Court access portal.

The requester can obtain Family court records in person, online, or by mail. A case number is usually needed to search for family court records. If the case number is unknown, the inquirer may conduct a name search on the court access portal. The processes and fees for obtaining family court records are the same as those required to retrieve civil court records.

San Bernardino County Dissolution of Marriage Records

San Bernardino County Dissolution of Marriage records are records of marriage annulments, divorce, and legal separation cases presided over by the family court. Hence, they are part of family court records and can be obtained at the courthouse where the case was decided or online via the Superior Court's portal.

San Bernardino County Marriage and Divorce Records

Marriage and divorce records are maintained by different custodians in San Bernardino. Divorce records are maintained by the Superior court while marriage records are preserved by the Office of the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk.

To obtain Divorce Records:

• Visit the Superior Courthouse where the divorce was conducted to obtain a copy of the Divorce decree.
• Search for Divorce records online via the superior court remote access portal.
• Submit mail requests to the Vital Records Division of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH-VR) to obtain a Certificate of Record at $16 per copy. Mail requests must contain a filled Application for a Divorce Record Form and a money order or check made payable to the "CDPH Vital Records".

For Marriage Records, one may submit in-person or mail requests to the office of the Recorder-Clerky Clerk during official hours with a completed Application Form and a fee of $17 to obtain a Marriage Certificate using the following information:

Hall of Records Building
222 West Hospitality Lane, 1st Floor
San Bernardino, CA 92415-0022
Phone: (909) 387-8306

It is important to note that

• The application for marriage records can only be sent by any of the Married persons (above 18 years) or a person authorized by the court.
• In-person visits to the Recorder-Clerk Office must be by appointment.

San Bernardino County Birth and Death Records

San Bernardino County Birth and Death records are maintained by the San Bernardino Assessor-Recorder-County-County Clerk's office. Birth, death, and marriage records are referred to as San Bernardino County Vital Records.

San Bernardino Birth and Death records can only be accessed by:

• The record subject
• Parents/siblings
• A legal representative
• Anyone authorized by law.

Birth and Death records can be obtained from the Recorder-County Clerk's Office by in-person or mail requests. Birth certificates cost $32, while Death certificates are issued at $24 per copy. Mail requests with payments (check or money order) can be sent to

County Clerk
222 West Hospitality Lane, 1st Floor
San Bernardino, CA 92415-0022.

San Bernardino County Probate Court Records

San Bernardino County Probate Court records are records generated from cases related to inheritances, conservatorship, trusts or establishment of birth, death, marriage, and elder abuse. Fontana and Victorville Districts handle estate and trusts, while Joshua Tree District presides over elder abuse and birth/death/marriage verification.

Publicly available probate records can be retrieved from the courthouse that handled the case or accessed online on the Superior Court's website. Mail requests containing the necessary fees may also be sent to the relevant court to obtain probate court records.

San Bernardino County Property Records

Property records in San Bernardino include property information about ownership, taxation, and assessments. The Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk is the official custodian of Property records in San Bernardino.

Members of the public can obtain publicly available property records using any of the following options:

• In-person visits by appointment at the Clerk's office for a fee of $3 for the first inspected page and $1 for subsequent pages.
• Requests mailed to the Clerk's office in a self-addressed envelope containing a copy request form and appropriate fees.
• Online via the Public Access System or the Property Information Management System (PIMS)

San Bernardino County Court Records Online

San Bernardino County Court records can generally be accessed online through government-owned or third-party websites. Third-party websites like courtrecords.us source public records from different databases and make them available to clients for a fee. As such, third-party websites are more convenient and time-effective, and records can be accessed remotely. They also allow users to search court records across different jurisdictions at the same time by entering either a first or last name.

Besides the advantages of third-party websites mentioned above, their use may have limitations, such as the need to verify records obtained on these sites as they may be incomplete or not current.