Search St. Louis County Court Records
Most St. Louis County court record searches begin with Missouri Case.net. The county court's own Find My Case material points users to Case.net by case number or litigant name, then tells them to use Track This Case for cases they want to follow. Case.net is statewide, so the county filter matters. Narrowing to St. Louis County or the 21st Judicial Circuit helps separate Clayton cases from St. Louis City cases and from other Missouri courts with similar party names.
The St. Louis County Find My Case page confirms that the local circuit court relies on the state court portal rather than a separate county case database.
- Open Case.net and choose a name, case number, filing date, hearing, or judgment search path.
- Enter the full case number when known, or search by last name and first name for a person or business.
- Narrow the court location to St. Louis County or the 21st Judicial Circuit when the search screen allows it.
- Review the case header, parties, docket entries, hearings, and public documents that are available remotely.
- Contact the Circuit Clerk when a certified copy, older file, sealed-record question, or missing document needs clerk review.
| Search field | Use in St. Louis County | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Looks for the exact Missouri case file. | A ticket, filing, or clerk notice already lists the number. |
| Litigant name | Finds parties by last name, first name, or business name. | The case number is unknown. |
| Court location | Limits a statewide search to the 21st Judicial Circuit. | Common names create too many matches. |
| Case type | Separates civil, criminal, domestic, probate, and traffic records. | The user knows the record category. |
| Track This Case | Adds notice tracking where the portal offers it. | A pending case has future docket activity. |
St. Louis County Court System
St. Louis County is the 21st Judicial Circuit of Missouri. The main trial court is the Circuit Court, not a district court. It has divisions for circuit civil and criminal matters, associate civil, associate criminal and traffic, family, juvenile, custody and divorce, probate, Department of Revenue matters, treatment court, small claims, and municipal coordination. That structure explains why a St. Louis County court records search may send one person to Case.net, another to a municipal court, and another to the Recorder of Deeds.
The 21st Judicial Circuit home page identifies the local court system and its public court navigation.
The circuit site is the official starting point for court divisions, clerk services, judges, courthouse entry, maps, and St. Louis County court department links.
The official court departments overview shows the local split among family, probate, small claims, treatment, municipal, and clerk services.
That department layout is why a single St. Louis County court records search can branch into several different offices and court divisions.
| Court or office | What it handles | Record path |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | Civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, associate, and small claims court work. | Case.net and Circuit Clerk. |
| Municipal Division and city municipal courts | Ordinance, traffic, and bench-warrant matters. | Case.net, county municipal search, Tyler portal, or city court clerk. |
| Circuit Clerk | Circuit case files, filings, forms, deposits, fees, and copy requests. | Clerk counter, phone, forms, and Case.net. |
| Recorder of Deeds | Marriage licenses, marriage copies, deeds, and recorded instruments. | Recorder office and marriage application or copy process. |
The court also publishes an official judges and commissioners roster with division, room, floor, and phone details.
Judge and commissioner assignments help users connect a docket entry or hearing notice to the right courtroom or division.
St. Louis County Records Offices
The courthouse and county-government offices sit close together in Clayton, but their record duties are different. The Circuit Clerk is the court records office for case files in the 21st Judicial Circuit. The Recorder of Deeds handles marriage-license records and recorded instruments. The County Clerk handles county administrative records that are not filed as court cases. Department of Justice Services manages jail custody records for the Justice Center.
The Circuit Clerk services page is one of the core office references for St. Louis County court records.
Its service links point users toward forms, fee schedules, bulk-filer material, frequently used numbers, and case-search instructions.
St. Louis County Circuit Clerk
105 South Central Avenue
Clayton, MO 63105
314-615-8029
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Recorder of Deeds
41 South Central Avenue
Clayton, MO 63105
314-615-7100
Justice Services
100 South Central Avenue
Clayton, MO 63105
314-615-5245
St. Louis County Court Record Types
St. Louis County court records include civil petitions, criminal informations, family and divorce filings, probate estates, small claims, traffic and ordinance cases, protective orders, judgments, liens, garnishments, and selected public documents. Case.net may show the docket and remote public documents. The clerk remains the right office for certified copies, copy questions, older files, and filings that are not visible online.
- Civil records: petitions, answers, motions, orders, judgments, service returns, garnishments, and appeal notices.
- Criminal court records: charges, bond, counsel, pleas, docket entries, dispositions, sentence, probation, and warrant events.
- Family and divorce records: dissolution, custody, child support, paternity, and modification records, with privacy limits for minors.
- Probate records: estates, wills, administrations, guardianships, conservatorships, and some mental-health proceedings.
- Traffic and ordinance records: municipal or associate criminal/traffic cases that may also affect Missouri driver records.
What St. Louis County Records Show
A St. Louis County court record usually starts with a case number and caption. The caption gives the parties or case style. The record may list the court division, filing date, status, attorneys, judge or commissioner, docket entries, hearings, charges, judgments, disposition, and financial items such as costs, fines, restitution, bond, or judgment amounts. Public document access has expanded under Missouri court access rules, but sealed and confidential filings stay blocked.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Docket | A dated list of court events, filings, hearings, orders, continuances, and judgments. |
| Disposition | The way a claim, charge, motion, or case ended. |
| Bond | Money or release conditions used to secure a defendant's appearance. |
| Judgment | The final court decision resolving claims or imposing liability. |
| Expungement | A statutory process that closes eligible criminal or arrest records from ordinary public view. |
St. Louis County Public Access Rules
Missouri law favors open public records, but court access is not the same as a normal county Sunshine Law request. Case.net and the Circuit Clerk are the practical access path for court files. Non-court county records go to the correct county custodian. Copies, certified documents, and older files may require the clerk counter or a written request with the case number, party names, filing year, document names, and copy type.
The Missouri Sunshine Law policy section helps with county public records, while judicial records also depend on court rules and clerk access procedures.
Key access rules: RSMo 610.010 defines public records, RSMo 610.026 addresses copying fees, RSMo 610.140 governs criminal expungement, and RSMo 211.321 makes juvenile court records confidential with exceptions.
St. Louis County Municipal Records
Municipal fragmentation is a major St. Louis County access issue. The 21st Judicial Circuit Municipal Division lists many city courts, including Ballwin, Florissant, Kirkwood, Manchester, University City, Webster Groves, Wildwood, and dozens more. A traffic ticket, ordinance charge, or bench warrant may be with a city municipal court rather than the main Circuit Court record path. The St. Louis County Municipal Court central division is at the main courthouse in Room S27, but city courts keep their own contacts.
The official Municipal Division list is especially useful when a name search in Case.net or the county portal does not identify a city ticket or bench warrant.
Practical flow: Case.net › county municipal case search or Tyler payment portal › city municipal court › Circuit Clerk or municipal clerk copy request.
St. Louis County Criminal and Jail Records
Criminal court records and jail records answer different questions. The criminal case file shows the charges, court events, plea, disposition, sentence, and probation terms when public. The inmate locator shows current custody or release in the past 72 hours, with arrest date, charges, next court date, bond amount, and bond type when available. The inmate locator itself warns that arrest is not a conviction and that disposition must be checked through Case.net or the municipal court.
The county's Department of Justice Services page is the public agency reference for jail management, while court outcomes still need to be verified through the court record.
St. Louis County Marriage and Probate
Marriage records are not Circuit Clerk records in St. Louis County. The Recorder of Deeds issues marriage licenses, records them, and provides certified marriage-license copies. Divorce records are Circuit Court records, so certified decrees come from the Circuit Clerk where the divorce was granted. Probate is part of the Probate Division of the Circuit Court, with public case information searched through Case.net when available and copy or filing questions handled through the probate court and clerk process.
The county marriage license page separates marriage licensing from the court case process used for divorce decrees and custody matters.
- Testator
- The person who made a will.
- Guardian
- A person appointed to care for a ward's personal needs.
- Conservator
- A person appointed to manage financial affairs for a protected person.
St. Louis County Traffic Records
Traffic records can appear in the county municipal portal, a city municipal court, Case.net, or the Associate Criminal/Traffic divisions. A court traffic record is not the same as a Missouri Department of Revenue driver record. The court file shows the citation, charge, plea, disposition, fines, costs, court dates, and any warrant or failure-to-appear event. A driver record shows driving history, points, suspensions, revocations, and license status.
| Record | Held by | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Court traffic record | Court or municipal clerk. | Paying, contesting, copying, or checking a citation case. |
| Missouri driver record | Missouri Department of Revenue. | Checking points, license status, suspensions, and driving history. |
Restricted St. Louis County Records
Some St. Louis County records are not ordinary public records. Juvenile records are confidential under Missouri law, subject to statutory exceptions. Sealed and expunged criminal records are closed to the general public, though they may remain available to the defendant and certain criminal justice or licensing agencies. Adoption files, mental-health commitments, protected addresses, minor information, victim data, Social Security numbers, and financial account numbers are withheld or redacted.
Expungement does not mean the file vanishes. It means the record is closed from ordinary public view if the court grants relief under the applicable statute. A person seeking relief must use the court where the case was prosecuted or where the arrest record fits the statutory process.
St. Louis County Court History
St. Louis County's court records have a county and city distinction that matters. St. Louis City separated from the county in 1876, and the county seat shifted to Clayton after the split. That is why St. Louis County, Missouri court searches should not be mixed with St. Louis City, Missouri records. Older St. Louis probate records from 1802 to 1900 may also live in Missouri State Archives Judicial Records rather than modern Case.net results.
The U.S. Census QuickFacts page captured in the research shows St. Louis County's scale in Missouri.
The county's size, municipal network, and separation from St. Louis City are all practical record-search issues, not just background facts.
St. Louis County Courthouse Access
The main courthouse is at 105 South Central Avenue in Clayton. Public hours listed by the court are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the general court phone at 314-615-8029. The Justice Center is nearby at 100 South Central Avenue, and some associate criminal and traffic rooms are there rather than on the main courthouse floors. The Recorder of Deeds and County Clerk are nearby at 41 South Central Avenue.
The court's maps and directions page is the official source for courthouse travel planning.
Parking, transit, court entry, and courthouse room assignments should be checked before a visit because Clayton access and garage details can change.
The court's court entry guidance is also part of the courthouse access research.
Entry guidance matters because visitors should expect screening, courthouse rules, and limits on restricted items before they reach a clerk counter or courtroom.
St. Louis County Court FAQ
Where do St. Louis County court records start?
Start with Case.net for circuit, associate circuit, probate, family, criminal, civil, and many municipal records. If the record is a marriage license, use the Recorder of Deeds instead. If it is a jail custody record, use the inmate locator and Justice Services.
Is there a countywide warrant list?
No official public St. Louis County, Missouri sheriff active-warrant database was located in the research. Search the case behind the warrant, call the issuing court, and check municipal courts for local bench warrants.
Can online records replace certified copies?
No. Online records can help identify a case and review public docket data, but certified copies must come from the issuing court, Circuit Clerk, Recorder of Deeds, or other official custodian.