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What is PACER?
Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is a service that allows users to obtain pleadings and case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and the U.S. Party/Case Index via the Internet. The State Library of Ohio is participating in a pilot program with the Government Printing Office and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to provide free access to PACER to patrons using this library. Under the terms of our pilot project agreement, there is NO remote access to PACER. One must be physically present in the library to access PACER.
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What types of documents can I find on PACER?
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Through PACER one can obtain copies of documents filed in connection with court cases filed in the federal courts. This includes complaints, answers, motions, briefs, orders, decisions and court dockets. Only those documents that have been filed electronically are available. The federal courts began accepting electronic filings about ten years ago and now electronic filing is mandatory in most federal courts. Documents that were not filed electronically are not available through PACER. PACER is most useful when you have identified a particular case and want to see the documents filed in connection with that case.
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Are state court documents available through PACER?
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No, only documents filed in connection with federal court cases are available.
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What information do I need to begin a search on PACER?
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The more information you have about a specific case, the easier your search will be. You should know what court the case was filed in, the names of the parties involved, or the docket number of the case.
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Where can I find more information on using PACER?
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The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has a
PACER User Manual with complete information on searching PACER
