Start with MCRO for district court cases — then move to the courthouse when online access stops
Minnesota criminal court records are primarily maintained by the Minnesota Judicial Branch. For most public district-court cases, the quickest starting point is Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO). MCRO can show case information, a Register of Actions, hearing information and many public documents, but several important records are intentionally unavailable remotely. Pending criminal cases, older documents, search warrants, sealed matters and some other records may require a case number, a courthouse public-access terminal or help from local court administration.
What Minnesota criminal court information is public?
Minnesota’s court system treats many adult criminal case records as public. The Judicial Branch explains that, except for certain restricted documents, public criminal court information can include:
- the defendant’s name
- the offense or type of crime charged
- the court handling the case
- the date of conviction or dismissal
- sentencing information
- hearing and court-process information
- case events shown in the Register of Actions
- qualifying public court documents
Charges and parties
Defendant information, offense details, case number and the court handling the prosecution.
Register of Actions
A chronological list of filings, hearings, orders and other activity recorded in the case.
Public filings
Complaints, orders and other court documents when the document is eligible for remote public access.
How to search Minnesota criminal cases with MCRO
Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) is the official Judicial Branch system for public online access to many Minnesota district-court case records and documents.
Open MCROMCRO has four search tabs
Case Search
Search by person name, business name, attorney name, case number, citation number or attorney bar number.
Document Search
Search by case number for public documents that Minnesota makes remotely accessible.
Hearing Search
Search scheduled hearings by party, case number, judicial officer, attorney or attorney bar number.
Judgment Search
Search docketed money judgments. This is generally less relevant to an ordinary criminal-case search.
Open Case Search
Begin with Case Search unless you already know that you only need a specific document or hearing.
Use the strongest identifier available
A complete court case number or citation number usually produces a cleaner result than a common name.
Open Case Details
Confirm that the county, defendant and case information match the person and event you are researching.
Read the Register of Actions
Follow the case chronologically rather than stopping at the first charge or hearing entry.
Open available documents
Public documents that qualify for remote access can be opened and downloaded from the case.
Move to courthouse access when necessary
If MCRO does not contain the older document or record you need, search through a Minnesota courthouse terminal or contact court administration in the county where the case was filed.
A pending Minnesota criminal case may not appear when you search the defendant’s name
This is one of the most important Minnesota-specific rules to understand.
MCRO states that a pending criminal matter will not be returned when Case Search or Hearing Search is performed using the defendant’s name if no conviction has been entered.
For a pending criminal case, use one of these identifiers instead:
- court case number
- citation number
- attorney name
- attorney bar number
Dismissed cases can also fall under this search limitation
For this MCRO rule, the Judicial Branch explains that criminal cases without a conviction can remain within its definition of a pending criminal record, including cases that were dismissed or continued for dismissal.
Use Minnesota’s exact-name search carefully
MCRO person-name searching is more literal than many commercial search engines. Minnesota warns that name searches are exact-name searches.
If the first search does not produce the expected case, try:
- full first and last name
- with the middle name
- without the middle name
- with only the middle initial
- without the middle initial
- the wildcard feature when appropriate
- MCRO’s “Sounds Like” option
- a case or citation number instead of a name
Understanding a Minnesota criminal case number
Minnesota court case numbers can tell you the county, case category, filing year and sequence. A Judicial Branch example is:
27-CR-24-1844
County code
In the Judicial Branch example, 27 identifies Hennepin County.
Case type
CR identifies a criminal case.
Filing year
This part represents the year in which the case was filed.
Sequence
The final digits represent the case’s filing position within that county and case year.
Once you know the full case number, use it whenever possible. It is much more precise than repeatedly searching a common defendant name.
How to read a Minnesota criminal court docket
MCRO’s Register of Actions is effectively the case timeline. It can help you understand what has happened from filing through disposition.
| Item | What it generally means | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | The unique identifier for the court case. | Make sure the county and case type are correct. |
| Charge | The criminal allegation filed with the court. | A charge is not itself a conviction. |
| Hearing | A scheduled or completed court proceeding. | Check whether it was held, continued or canceled. |
| Plea | The defendant’s response to the charge. | An early plea entry may not represent the final outcome. |
| Disposition | How a charge or case was resolved. | Check each count separately. |
| Sentence | Court-ordered consequences following a qualifying outcome. | Review confinement, probation, fine and other conditions. |
| Filed document | A complaint, order, motion, notice or other case document. | Confirm whether it is available remotely or only at the courthouse. |
Which Minnesota criminal court documents can be downloaded online?
Minnesota significantly expanded remote document access beginning July 1, 2015.
For public documents filed on or after July 1, 2015, MCRO provides remote access to documents in major and minor criminal case types when the document is otherwise eligible for public access.
For the earlier period from July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2015, remote availability is more limited and generally includes qualifying court-generated judgments, orders, appellate opinions and notices.
If a docket entry exists but its document does not open remotely, the document may still be available through courthouse access or from court administration.
Older Minnesota criminal records may exist even when the document is not online
MCRO is not a complete online archive of every historical Minnesota court document. Documents filed before July 1, 2015 have more limited remote availability.
An older case can also be absent because it was expunged or because the file was destroyed under the Judicial Branch record-retention schedule.
Courthouse terminals provide the most complete electronic district-court access
Every Minnesota district courthouse offers public terminal access to statewide public electronic case records.
The Judicial Branch specifically describes courthouse public-access terminals as providing the most complete access to electronic district-court case records.
At the courthouse, you can often:
- search statewide public electronic case records
- review records with more complete courthouse-level access
- look for older electronic case information
- access locally stored public paper records
- request copies from court administration
- search public search warrants that are unavailable through MCRO
Find the district court that maintains the criminal case
Minnesota district courts are organized by county. For copies, locally stored records and case-specific questions, contact court administration in the county where the criminal case was filed.
Find a Minnesota District CourtWhen the county is unknown
Start with MCRO if the case can be searched online. Once you find a matching case, the case details identify the court and county. Then use the official Judicial Branch district-court directory for contact information.
Plain, certified and exemplified criminal court copies
Minnesota distinguishes ordinary copies from authenticated court copies. The copy type matters when a document is needed for an official purpose.
| Copy type | Current statewide fee | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Uncertified copy | $0 | A plain copy without court certification. |
| Certified copy | $14 per document | Includes court certification/seal for official use. |
| Exemplified copy | $14 per document | Includes additional authentication by the judicial officer and court administrator. |
| Exemplified + certified | $28 per document | Combines exemplification and certification. |
| Case-management report, 1–50 pages | $5 per report | Report generated from the court case-management system. |
| Case-management report, 50+ pages | $25 per 50 pages or portion | Applies to larger system-generated reports. |
How to request a criminal court copy
Identify the correct county and case number
Use MCRO first if possible so you can give the clerk an exact case reference.
Check whether the document is already free in MCRO
If an uncertified electronic copy is sufficient and the document is remotely available, downloading it through MCRO may avoid a separate copy request.
Use the county’s copy-request instructions
Visit the court administration counter, submit the county-specific form where one exists, or follow the Judicial Branch mail-request procedure.
Specify whether certification is required
Do not pay for certification if a plain copy is all you need.
Official instructions: Minnesota Judicial Branch — Ways to Request Copies.
Search warrants are a special Minnesota court-record category
Search warrants should not be confused with arrest warrants, and they do not follow the ordinary MCRO workflow.
Minnesota also explains that law-enforcement agencies generally have 10 days after conducting a search to file the search warrant with the court.
At a courthouse terminal, search-warrant research may involve a county-specific public file number rather than an ordinary defendant criminal-case search.
A dismissed Minnesota criminal case can still leave a public court record
Minnesota’s Judicial Branch states that a case does not automatically disappear merely because the criminal charge was dismissed.
Unless the record is later expunged, destroyed according to an applicable retention schedule or otherwise restricted by law, a public court history can continue to show that:
- a criminal case was filed
- the defendant was charged
- court proceedings occurred
- the charge was eventually dismissed
Expunged Minnesota court records may disappear from public searches
Minnesota defines criminal expungement as sealing a court record so that it is no longer available to the general public. Expungement does not necessarily mean every underlying government record has been physically destroyed.
Minnesota also now has automatic-expungement provisions for qualifying cases. If an older case that once appeared publicly can no longer be located, expungement may be one explanation.
Minnesota Criminal Expungement InformationJuvenile delinquency records do not follow ordinary adult criminal-access rules
Most Minnesota juvenile delinquency cases are not publicly viewable in the same way as ordinary adult criminal cases.
The Judicial Branch explains that certain juvenile matters may be publicly viewable when the alleged offense would have been a felony if committed by an adult and the juvenile was at least 16 years old when the offense occurred.
MCRO is a court-record system, not a Minnesota criminal background-check service
Minnesota expressly warns users that MCRO should not be treated as the state’s criminal-history background-check system.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension maintains the state’s criminal-history repository. Its Public Criminal History Search serves a different purpose and uses criminal-history information reported to the BCA.
Court case research
Use for Minnesota district-court case information, docket activity, hearings and qualifying public documents.
Criminal-history search
Use when you specifically need Minnesota’s statewide public criminal-history service rather than a court docket.
Search criminal appeals with P-MACS, not MCRO
Minnesota Court of Appeals and Supreme Court cases use the Minnesota Appellate Courts Case Management System public view (P-MACS).
If a district-court criminal case was appealed, use the appellate system to review the appeal, orders and other available appellate case information.
Access Minnesota Appellate Court RecordsWhat to do if a Minnesota criminal court record appears wrong
If the apparent error is in the court case itself, contact court administration in the county where the case was filed.
Examples include:
- incorrect defendant identity
- wrong or missing disposition
- incorrect case event
- missing document
- incorrect sentence information
- duplicate or mislinked case information
If the court record is correct but a BCA criminal-history record is wrong, the correction process may instead involve the BCA and supporting certified court documents.
Minnesota Judicial Center in St. Paul
The Minnesota Judicial Center houses the Minnesota Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and statewide Judicial Branch offices. It is useful for appellate matters and statewide court administration, but ordinary district-court criminal records remain associated with the county district courts.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: (651) 297-7650
Published hours:
Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., excluding court holidays.
Use the county courthouse instead
For trial-court copies, paper files and case questions, contact court administration in the county where the criminal case was filed.
Find the correct courthouseMinnesota criminal court search tips that prevent wasted time
Pending case? Stop searching the defendant’s name
Use the case number, citation number or attorney information because MCRO suppresses defendant-name results for pending criminal matters.
Save the complete case number
It is the fastest route to the docket, documents, clerk requests and appellate follow-up.
Use several name formats
Try with and without middle names or initials because MCRO name searching is exact.
Try “Sounds Like”
This can help when a surname has several common spellings.
Older document missing?
Documents filed before July 1, 2015 have more limited remote access. Move to courthouse access.
Search warrant?
Do not keep searching MCRO. Search warrants require courthouse-terminal access when public.
Dismissed does not mean erased
A dismissed case can remain in the public court record unless later sealed, destroyed or otherwise restricted.
Need proof?
Downloading a docket is not the same as obtaining a certified document from court administration.
Appealed case?
Switch from MCRO to P-MACS for Court of Appeals and Minnesota Supreme Court records.
Questions people commonly have about Minnesota criminal court records
1. Where can I search Minnesota criminal court records online?
Use Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO), the official Minnesota Judicial Branch public-access system for many district-court cases and documents.
2. Is MCRO free?
Yes. Minnesota currently does not charge a fee to search MCRO or to access and download documents that are remotely available through the system.
3. Why can’t I find a pending criminal case by the defendant’s name?
Minnesota restricts defendant-name searches for pending criminal matters when no conviction has been entered. Search by case number, citation number, attorney name or attorney bar number instead.
4. What is the Register of Actions?
The Register of Actions is the chronological case docket showing filings, hearings, orders, dispositions and other recorded case events.
5. Can I download Minnesota criminal court documents online?
Many public criminal documents filed on or after July 1, 2015 are remotely accessible through MCRO. Access to documents filed before that date is more limited.
6. How much is a certified Minnesota criminal court record?
Minnesota currently lists a statewide base fee of $14 for a certified copy of an instrument from a civil or criminal proceeding. An uncertified court copy is currently free.
7. Are dismissed Minnesota criminal cases still public?
Generally yes. A dismissed criminal case can remain publicly accessible unless it has been expunged, destroyed under the retention schedule or otherwise restricted by law.
8. Can I search Minnesota search warrants in MCRO?
No. Minnesota Judicial Branch guidance states that search warrants are not available through MCRO. Public search warrants must be searched through courthouse public-access terminals, and some warrants are sealed.
9. Where can I search a Minnesota criminal appeal?
Use the public Minnesota Appellate Courts Case Management System, P-MACS, for Minnesota Court of Appeals and Supreme Court case information.
10. Is MCRO the same as a Minnesota criminal background check?
No. MCRO is a court-record system. Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension operates the separate Public Criminal History Search for statewide criminal-history information.
Official Minnesota sources for checking court records
- Minnesota Judicial Branch — Minnesota Court Records Online
- MCRO — Public Access
- MCRO Frequently Asked Questions
- Minnesota Judicial Branch — Access Case Records
- Minnesota Judicial Branch — Find a District Court
- Minnesota Judicial Branch — Court Copy Requests
- Minnesota Judicial Branch — Ways to Request Copies
- Minnesota Judicial Branch — District Court Fees
- Minnesota Judicial Branch — Criminal Court FAQs
- Minnesota Judicial Branch — Criminal Expungement
- Minnesota Judicial Branch — Minnesota Judicial Center
- Minnesota BCA — Public Criminal History Search