How to Get Court Records
The Clerk of Court for El Paso County Combined Court holds the District Court and County Court files. The office sits in the Fourth Judicial District. Need only a case number or a hearing date? The free court calendar covers that first step. For the actual El Paso County court record, you have several options. File the state record and document request. You can also email 04ResearchRequest@judicial.state.co.us. Or mail your request to 270 S. Tejon Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80903. You can also walk in at Room S101. Call 719-452-5490 with any record questions.
- Identify the court, party names, filed year, case type, and case number if known.
- Choose an ROA, a named filing, a transcript, or a plain, certified, or exemplified copy.
- Submit once through the online form, local email, mail, or Room S101 counter.
- Review the clerkâs quote and pay by the stated method within the local deadline.
- Use the separate transcript email when the spoken proceeding, rather than a filed record, is required.
Expect a response within three business days when no extenuating circumstances apply. That clock measures the reply, not the file. Off-site or restricted records can take longer to complete.
El Paso County Request Form
The official request form gathers just enough detail to route El Paso County court records. It does not demand needless personal data. It takes contact information, an address, case number, case type, filed year, county or location, party information, date of birth when known, and other identifying facts. Checkboxes split document products by family, criminal, civil, probate, and other categories. The ROA and certified or exemplified options sit separately. Document choices run narrow by design. Family requests can name a decree, parenting plan, separation agreement, support order, or petition. Criminal choices include the Complaint or Information, Disposition or Sentence Order, protection order, and ticket. Civil options cover an Order for Judgment, Transcript or Satisfaction of Judgment, and protection order. Probate picks include letters, a will, trust, application, petition, closing, claims, and date of death. Those labels let an El Paso County requester order the one signed item that answers the need. That is better than a broad file. The state's own page displays its request interface. El Paso County also publishes a local records-request PDF with mailing and payment instructions.
This form is the official order path for state trial-court material. It is not a name-search database. Missing the case number is fine. The form accepts case type, filed year, party details, county or location, and other identifying information instead. One checkbox even covers an unknown county. When El Paso is known, selecting it helps the statewide form. It reaches the correct combined-court research desk that way.
Types of Court Records
El Paso County court records come in distinct products. An ROA gives a short chronological explanation, including charges, sentences, and minute orders where applicable. A filed document supplies the actual text of a complaint, petition, motion, order, judgment, will, or other item. Certification authenticates the clerk's copy. These differences matter because a calendar row cannot replace the file behind it.
- ROAs and minute-order case histories
- Criminal Complaint or Information and Disposition or Sentence Order
- Civil orders, judgments, transcripts of judgment, and satisfactions
- Family decrees, parenting plans, support orders, and petitions
- Probate letters, wills, trusts, applications, petitions, closings, and claims
- Certified or exemplified reproductions of eligible documents
Municipal court records stay with the city that heard the ordinance matter. Colorado Springs routes its court records to MunicipalCourtViolations@ColoradoSprings.gov or 719-385-5928.
El Paso County Record Choices
ROA, filing, and transcript get confused often. The ROA is the case timeline. A filed document is one item within that timeline. A transcript records spoken proceedings, and El Paso County transcripts use 04TranscriptRequest@judicial.state.co.us; audio recordings are not available. Asking for the right product cuts delay and avoids paying for a summary when the text of an order is what matters.
| Product | Contains | Request route |
|---|---|---|
| Register of Actions | Chronological summary, charges, sentences, minute orders | Court-record request |
| Filed document | Actual pleading, notice, order, or judgment | Court-record request with exact title |
| Transcript | Written record of spoken proceedings | Dedicated transcript email |
| Certified copy | Clerk-authenticated reproduction | Request form certification choice |
What a Court Record Contains
Contents vary by case type, though El Paso County court records share a common anatomy. A full file may hold separate documents that the public hearing results never show. Read the free calendar only for settings and assigned court information.
| Case number | Year, class, and sequence identifier, such as 2026-CR-123456. |
|---|---|
| Court and division | District or County Court, courthouse, and assigned judicial unit. |
| Caption and parties | Formal case style and the roles of the named parties. |
| Register of Actions | Chronological entries, settings, orders, and minute activity. |
| Filed records | Pleadings, petitions, motions, orders, judgments, and case-specific products. |
| Disposition | Outcome or status supported in the official file. |
Colorado offers no free clickable full sample ROA. So treat any promised public document images or fields with caution unless the clerk itself supplies them.
El Paso County Quote Deadline
Submit your El Paso County court-records request once. Once the clerk finds what's responsive and quotes a cost, the fee holds for fourteen days. Miss that window and you start over. Off-site retrieval can add real time and expense. A case number, document title, year, and party name spare the clerk needless digging. Include them up front.
The local form takes a check, money order, or credit card. Wait for the clerk's math rather than guessing an amount. Party and attorney copies are capped at $15. Nonparty requests get no such cap. Research and redaction kick in only after the first hour, billed in fifteen-minute increments. An off-site file carries its actual retrieval cost. Fax, scanning, transcript duplication, judgment, and certification work each carry a listed fee. Name the record type and delivery method before the quote comes back.
Restricted, juvenile, probate, suppressed, and protected material may demand government photo ID. It may also demand proof you may see it. That screening is lawful record handling. It is not a sign the case is closed to every authorized person. Room S101 opens weekdays 7:30 to 4:30. It closes at 3:30 on each third Wednesday in 2026. A call to 719-452-5490 first confirms the counter schedule and whether electronic inspection works on site.
El Paso County Copy Limits
El Paso County fee rules split requesters into camps. A party or an attorney pays no more than $15 for copies. A nonparty enjoys no cap at all. The limit also leaves room for separate certification, name-search, off-site retrieval, and research charges past the first hour. Say whether you come as a party, counsel, or member of the public, then wait for the clerk's itemized quote before paying anything.
Off-site retrieval bills at actual cost. After the first hour, research and redaction run $30 per hour in 15-minute increments. Handing over a case number and an exact document title trims avoidable search work. Whatever the clerk quotes, pay it inside the local 14-day window.
Certified Copies and Fees
A plain El Paso County court-record copy works fine for reading and reference. A certified copy adds clerk authentication. Exemplified copies get special authentication on top of that. The local fee schedule also prices searches, retrieval, redaction, fax, scanning, and judgment products separately, and the mix of pages and services sets the final bill. Confirm the quote first.
| Item | Official fee |
|---|---|
| Single-sided copy | $0.25 per page |
| Double-sided copy | $0.50 |
| Certified or exemplified copy | $20 per document |
| Name search | $5 |
| Transcript of Judgment | $25 |
| Certificate of Satisfaction | $20 |
| Research or redaction after first hour | $30 per hour in 15-minute increments |
| Off-site retrieval | Actual cost |
El Paso County Combined Court Records
Room S101, 270 S. Tejon Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
719-452-5490
El Paso County Transcript Requests
A transcript is not an ROA or a filed document. When you need the written record of what was said in court, email 04TranscriptRequest@judicial.state.co.us. Case documents and register requests still go through the clerk's research email. Note that El Paso County makes no audio recordings available. Asking for audio will not substitute for ordering the transcript.
Decide first what question the record must answer. The ROA gives chronology. An order gives the judge's written ruling. A transcript preserves the spoken proceeding. Name the hearing date, division, case number, and proceeding you want. That detail routes the request cleanly instead of turning it into a broad file search.
Federal El Paso County Records
Federal cases live with different keepers. The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado handles federal matters. It runs its dockets and documents through PACER. Its Colorado Springs courthouse sits at 212 N. Wahsatch Avenue. Hours are weekdays 8:00 to 5:00. PACER charges $0.10 per page, and quarterly fees of $30 or less are waived. Keep in mind that it never searches El Paso County Combined Court cases. The official District of Colorado PACER page lays out that federal route and its terms.
That image marks a separate federal system, not another doorway into Colorado state trial-court records.
El Paso County Appellate Paths
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court keeps federal bankruptcy records. Its official copy instructions walk through PACER, a terminal, clerk copies, certification, searches, and archive retrieval.
Bankruptcy court sits in Denver, and its fees differ from state clerk fees. Tenth Circuit appeals go through yet another clerk; the Tenth Circuit contact page names that office.
These federal layers matter only when the case is federal. State appeals ordinarily travel the Colorado appellate structure instead.
Public Access and Sealed Records
El Paso County court records can generally be inspected at reasonable times. Remote access is narrower. Chief Justice Directive 05-01 governs facility and remote access. It also covers exclusions, redaction, fees, vendor duties, and correction. Colorado Supreme Court Chapter 38 public-access rules also govern court records. The Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, CRS 24-72-301 through 305, permits some limits. Law, court rule, order, or the public interest can require them.
Key access rules:
CJD 05-01 sets the main court-record access and redaction framework.
CRS 24-72-703 removes sealed records from public access while preserving specified lawful access.
CRS 13-3-117 supports narrow defendant confirmation for automatic eligible-conviction sealing.
Juvenile, sealed, suppressed, and identifier-bearing details may be withheld or redacted. Data missing online proves nothing about sealing. Check the venue and case number, then ask the clerk which request applies and what proof of entitlement to bring.
El Paso County Court Record Custodians
Find the right office before you ask for anything. Sheri King, Clerk of Court, runs the combined-court office. It holds El Paso County District and County Court records. City ordinance cases live with each municipal clerk instead. Federal files sit elsewhere too. The U.S. District Court, Bankruptcy Court, and Tenth Circuit all keep their own records. A state clerk cannot hand you a city or federal file. CCE is its own animal as well. That Colorado Courts E-Filing platform lets lawyers submit and serve filings. It is not a public reading room. A CCE filing receipt is no substitute for an official clerk copy. The free hearing calendar, likewise, will never replace the filed document itself.