Search Shelby County Court Records

How to Search Shelby County Court Records

There is no single portal that covers every Shelby County court. The county runs separate record systems for Circuit Court, Chancery Court, Criminal Court, General Sessions Civil and Criminal, Juvenile Court, and Probate Court. So the search starts with the case type. Circuit Court handles most civil suits, divorces, personal injury, name changes, and appeals from lower courts. Chancery Court hears equity matters, tax sales, and some divorces. Criminal Court takes felony cases, and General Sessions Criminal handles misdemeanors and traffic.

Before you start, gather the strongest identifier you have. A case number, indictment number, booking number, or a full party name will all help. The Shelby County courts landing page lists each local court department and links out to the clerk sites. The county courts page is a good first stop when you are not sure which office to contact.

The Shelby County courts directory groups the trial courts, clerks, and contact links in one place. Use it to confirm the right court before you drive downtown, since several offices share the same block but sit in different buildings.

1. Identify the court. Match your matter to Circuit, Chancery, Criminal, General Sessions, Probate, or Juvenile.
2. Open the official portal for that court. The Criminal Justice System (CJS) portal needs a sign-in to search case information.
3. Search by your best identifier first: case number, indictment number, booking number, or party name.
4. Read the result. Look at the court, division, parties, filing date, status, next hearing, and docket entries.
5. Order a certified copy from the clerk that holds the file if you need one for legal use.

The Criminal Justice System portal is the gateway for Criminal Court case information. Its main search fields are listed below so you know what to expect before you register.

The Shelby County Judicial System

Shelby County sits in Tennessee's 30th Judicial District. The state trial-court structure is not one unified county court. Circuit Courts are courts of general jurisdiction that hear civil and criminal cases plus appeals from Juvenile, Municipal, and General Sessions Courts. Chancery Courts are equity courts. The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts explains this split on its court structure page. Appeals from the local trial courts go to the Tennessee Court of Appeals for civil matters or the Court of Criminal Appeals for criminal ones.

The Tennessee court-structure overview helps explain why one county can have so many separate courts and clerks.

The state court system overview is a useful primer before you contact a Shelby County clerk.

That breakdown matters because each level produces different records. The table below shows the main trial courts in Shelby County and what they hear.

Case flow runs roughly like this: General Sessions or Juvenile Court › Circuit, Chancery, or Criminal Court › Court of Appeals or Court of Criminal Appeals › Tennessee Supreme Court. For a deeper look at the trial courts, see the Shelby County Circuit Court page.

Which Clerk Holds Which Shelby County Records

Shelby County does not have one district clerk. The work is split among several elected and appointed clerks. The Circuit Court Clerk supports a court with nine judges and about 5,500 cases filed each year. The Chancery Court's Clerk and Master, an appointed six-year post, manages equity records. The Criminal Court Clerk handles felony case records and online payments. General Sessions has its own clerk for civil and criminal divisions, and Probate Court has a separate clerk for estates and guardianships.

The County Clerk is a different office again. That office issues marriage licenses, vehicle tags, and business tax records. It does not hold court case files. Knowing this split saves time, because a request sent to the wrong clerk will not find your record.

• Circuit Court Clerk - civil suits, divorce, personal injury, name change, restoration of citizenship.
• Clerk and Master (Chancery) - equity, tax sales, mandamus, replevin, some divorces.
• Criminal Court Clerk - felony cases, indictments, payments through payit901.
• General Sessions Clerk - misdemeanors, traffic, civil detainers, small claims.
• Probate Court Clerk - wills, estates, guardianship, conservatorship, name change.

More detail on each office sits on the Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk page.

Types of Court Records Available in Shelby County

Court records in Shelby County cover a wide range of matters. Civil Circuit records include auto accident, breach of contract, condemnation, medical malpractice, minor settlement, worker's compensation, and wrongful death files. Each can hold a complaint, summons, motions, orders, a judgment, and post-judgment collection papers. Chancery records cover tax sales, declaratory judgments, mandamus, and equity disputes. Criminal records run from General Sessions misdemeanor files to Criminal Court felony files.

Family and probate matters add another layer. Divorce can be filed in Circuit or Chancery. Probate covers estates, wills, guardianship, and conservatorship. Some records are open to anyone, while others are limited by law.

• Criminal records - charges, warrants, bonds, pleas, judgments, sentencing.
• Civil records - contract, injury, property, and money disputes.
• Family and divorce records - decrees, parenting plans, support orders.
• Probate records - wills, estates, guardianship, conservatorship.
• Traffic records - citations, court dates, fines, and dispositions.

The full breakdown by court is on the Shelby County court records page.

What Shelby County Court Records Show

Most case files share a common set of fields, though the labels shift by court. A criminal payment page notes that some Criminal Court case numbers begin with the letter C and that a case number has eight characters, a dash, then eight more. Civil files use plaintiff and defendant names, while probate files name an estate or a ward. The table below covers the fields you are most likely to see when you pull a Shelby County court record.

Sensitive items such as Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and confidential minor information are redacted or sealed. See the Shelby County court dockets page for how docket entries read.

Public Access Laws for Shelby County Court Records

The Tennessee Public Records Act gives citizens a right to inspect public records unless a law says otherwise. Court records are also governed by Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 34, which recognizes a public right to inspect court records with set exceptions. The Tennessee Comptroller's Office of Open Records Counsel explains the request process in its public records FAQ. Shelby County keeps its own administrative records policy, while each court clerk handles court files under Rule 34.

A few statutes and rules do most of the work here. They set both the right to look and the limits on what stays private.

For a full walkthrough of requests and fees, see the Shelby County public records page.

Records That Are Restricted or Confidential

Not every court record is open. Juvenile records are restricted by Tennessee juvenile law, and the Juvenile Court Clerk keeps separate contacts for records and expungements. Adoption records are generally sealed. Mental-health and judicial hospitalization files handled by Probate Court often hold medical detail and stay restricted. Rule 34 also excludes sealed and protective-order materials, judge drafts, and internal deliberative notes.

Expunged records are removed from public view by court order. The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts describes free expungement for cases that were dismissed, ended in a no true bill, an arrest without charges, a not-guilty verdict, or nolle prosequi. To view a sealed file, a person usually must petition the court that holds it and show legal grounds. When in doubt, ask the clerk before you assume a record is public.

Specialty Courts in Shelby County

Shelby County runs several diversion and treatment courts. The Shelby County Veterans Court was the first Veterans Court launched in Tennessee. It diverts eligible veterans from the traditional system into treatment, education, and job programs while a judge monitors progress. Participants appear before the presiding Veterans Court judge in Division 15 at 201 Poplar.

Other programs focus on mental health and domestic violence. General Sessions Division 9 functions as a Mental Health Court, and Division 10 by law has exclusive jurisdiction over domestic violence cases. The Domestic Violence Unit pairs General Sessions 10 with Criminal Court 5 and works with the Family Safety Center, Kindred Place, and the YWCA.

Note: Specialty court records still route through the matching criminal court division, so case lookups follow the same criminal-records steps.

Shelby County Sheriff and Jail

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office runs the county jail and the public inmate and warrant tools. The jail information page says the two adult facilities hold an average daily census of about 2,600 inmates, with roughly 56,000 bookings a year. Men are housed at 201 Poplar Avenue downtown, and the women's facility sits at 6201 Haley Road in east Memphis. The jail is accredited by the American Corrections Association.

For the inmate roster and profile details, see the Shelby County inmate records page. To check active warrants, use the warrant records page. Release questions and notifications are covered on the released inmates page.

Marriage, Divorce, and Probate Records

The Shelby County Clerk issues marriage licenses at the Downtown, Shelby East, and Millington offices. A divorce can be filed in Circuit or Chancery Court depending on the matter. Probate Court handles wills, estates, guardianship, and conservatorship. For copies and steps, see the marriage and divorce records page and the probate records page.

A few probate terms come up often. The short list below defines the ones people ask about most.

Testator

The person who makes a will.

Executor

The person named to carry out the will.

Conservator

A person the court gives authority over an adult who needs help.

Intestate

Dying without a valid will.

Shelby County Court Records Fees

Fees depend on the court and the document. Copy and certification fees apply even when a record can be viewed online for free. The Circuit Court publishes a fee schedule effective January 1, 2026. Probate copies run lower per page, and marriage copies have a flat fee. The table below lists common charges.

The Circuit Court fee schedule and the Probate cost schedule both took effect January 1, 2026, so confirm the current amount with the clerk before you pay.

Federal Cases in Shelby County

Federal cases from Shelby County go to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. The Memphis courthouse is the Odell Horton Federal Building at 167 North Main Street. The district court site says the court covers 22 counties in western Tennessee and handles federal criminal and civil cases. Bankruptcy goes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District, and appeals go to the Sixth Circuit.

Federal case files are searched through PACER, the paid federal case system, at pacer.uscourts.gov. The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator covers federal inmates, not county jail inmates.

History of Shelby County Courts

Shelby County is Tennessee's most populous county, and its courts grew into a dense downtown cluster. Within a few blocks sit 140 Adams Avenue for Circuit, Chancery, Probate, and General Sessions Civil; 201 Poplar for Criminal Court and the jail; 616 Adams for Juvenile Court; and 167 North Main for the federal court. The county profile and geography page note the county spans more than 750 square miles, and Tennessee's lowest point sits on the Mississippi River here.

The Public Defender office dates to 1917 and calls itself the first public defender east of the Mississippi. The Veterans Court was the first in the state. Recent years brought a major jail modernization at 201 Poplar and a move of Chancery tax sales online in April 2024.

The county profile gives the population and land-area context that shapes how busy these courts stay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there one search for all Shelby County court records?

No. The structure is split. Circuit, Chancery, Criminal, General Sessions, Juvenile, and Probate courts each keep their own records, and the County Clerk handles marriage licenses. A third-party page that claims one universal Shelby County search is not the official record. Start by matching your case to the right court, then use that court's portal or clerk.

Why can't I open the CJS portal?

The official Criminal Court page says you must register and sign in to the Criminal Justice System portal to search case information. If the portal is down or you cannot log in, contact the Criminal Court Clerk for help with a case. Payment users can use the Smart Search tool to find a case to pay.

How do I get a certified marriage record?

Use the Shelby County Clerk. You can visit a marriage-license office or mail a $10 check or money order with the exact marriage date and both parties' full names to the County Clerk's Marriage Department on Washington Avenue. More detail is on the marriage and divorce records page.

More answers are on the Shelby County Court Records FAQ page.