Find Tulare County Dockets

Tulare County court dockets are available through the Superior Court online portal and at courthouse locations in Visalia and other cities. The main courthouse is at 221 South Mooney Boulevard in Visalia. You can search for case dockets online using the Tyler Technologies Odyssey system. This portal covers civil, criminal, family, probate, and traffic cases filed in Tulare County. The online system lets you search by party name or case number. Document viewing requires payment but basic case searches may be free depending on the search type you run. Over 470,000 people live in the county so the court processes thousands of cases each year.

Tulare County Court Docket Portal

You can search court dockets online at online.tulare.courts.ca.gov. This portal runs on Tyler Technologies Odyssey. It covers cases filed in all Tulare County courthouses. You can search by case number or party name. Case number searches go directly to the docket. Name searches may return multiple results if the name is common. The system shows case status, filed date, and upcoming court dates.

The online portal lets you view the register of actions. This is the main docket sheet for a case. It lists every filing, hearing, and order in chronological order. You can see what happened in the case from start to finish. Some documents are available for viewing or download. Fees apply to document access. The court charges per page for downloads. Check the fee schedule on the portal before you start downloading files in Tulare County.

If you cannot find a case online, it may not be in the system yet. New filings take a day or two to appear. Very old cases may not be digitized. For cases filed before the computer system launched, you may need to visit the courthouse and search paper records. Call the court at 559-730-5000 if you have trouble locating a case in the online portal.

Visalia Courthouse and Other Locations

The main courthouse is at 221 South Mooney Boulevard in Visalia, CA 93291. This building handles most case types. Other courthouse locations serve different parts of the county. Each has a clerk office where you can search for case files. Public terminals let you search at no charge. You only pay when you want printed copies from the clerk.

The clerk office can help you find a case or file new papers. Staff cannot give legal advice. They can tell you what forms to use and what fees apply. If you need legal help, consider hiring a lawyer or contacting a legal aid organization. The court website at www.tulare.courts.ca.gov may list resources for people who cannot afford a lawyer in Tulare County.

Parking is available at the courthouse. Some locations charge for parking. Arrive early if you have a court hearing. Security screening takes time. You must pass through metal detectors and have bags checked. Leave weapons, large bags, and prohibited items at home. The court website lists what you can and cannot bring into the courthouse building.

Tulare Court Docket Types

Civil dockets cover lawsuits between parties. These include contract disputes, personal injury claims, property disputes, and business litigation. The docket tracks every step in the case. You can see when the complaint was filed, when the answer came in, and what motions the parties filed. Many civil cases settle before trial. The settlement shows up on the docket as a dismissal or stipulated judgment.

Criminal dockets list prosecutions for crimes. Each entry shows the charges, court dates, and case status. The docket tells you when arraignment happened, what bail was set, and when the next hearing is scheduled. If the defendant took a plea deal, the docket shows the plea date and sentencing date. Trials appear with jury selection dates and verdict dates. Post-conviction hearings like probation reviews also show up on criminal dockets in Tulare County.

Family law dockets handle divorce, custody, and support cases. These dockets can be long if the parties fight over issues. Each motion, hearing, and order appears on the docket. Probate dockets manage estates, conservatorships, and guardianships. Traffic dockets track citations and violations. A speeding ticket or other moving violation creates a case you can look up by citation number or your name.

Docket Search Fees

Searching for cases at the courthouse is free. Public terminals are open to anyone during court hours. You pay when you need copies. The fee is fifty cents per page for regular copies. This is the state standard rate. Certified copies cost forty dollars plus the per page fee. You need certified copies for official use in Tulare County.

Online searches may have fees depending on the type of search. Case number searches are often free. Name searches might cost a few dollars. Document downloads add more charges. The first few pages might cost one dollar each. Additional pages drop to a lower rate. Some portals cap the total cost per document. Check the fee schedule on the online portal before you download files.

If a clerk search takes more than ten minutes, the court can charge a fifteen dollar search fee. This is rare for simple searches. It applies when staff must dig through old files or cross-check multiple record systems. Most people avoid this by using the public terminal or online portal first to locate the case number before asking staff for help.

Appeals from Tulare County

Appeals go to the Fifth District Court of Appeal. This court sits in Fresno. It covers Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne counties. You can search appellate cases at appellate.courts.ca.gov. The Fifth District reviews trial court decisions for legal errors. Most cases do not get appealed. Appeals take many months and cost money for filing fees and attorney time in Tulare County.

Contact Tulare County Court

The main phone number is 559-730-5000. The court website is www.tulare.courts.ca.gov. For online portal questions, check the help section on the portal or call the main number. Clerk offices are open weekdays during business hours. Many close from noon to 1:00 p.m. for lunch. Check the website or call ahead to confirm hours before you visit in Tulare County.

Major Cities in Tulare County

Tulare County has one city over 100,000 population. Court dockets for residents of this city are maintained by the county Superior Court:

Nearby Counties

Tulare County borders these counties: