These guides explain how to search for someone within a specific state using major cities, counties, and public-record context that can help narrow the correct person.
State guides
Arizona
Arizona's court records are centralized through the statewide AZCourtConnect portal, but Maricopa County — covering Phoenix — accounts for over 60% of filings and requires county-level filtering to cut through name overlap.
California
California's size and population density mean that common names can return results across dozens of counties — narrowing to a metro area or specific county significantly improves accuracy.
Colorado
Colorado has a two-tier trial court system — county courts for misdemeanors and lower civil matters, district courts for felonies — and Denver County operates a completely separate portal from the statewide iCourt system.
Connecticut
Connecticut abolished county government in 1960 — property and land records sit with 169 individual town clerks, not county offices. Court records are the exception, covered statewide through the Judicial Branch eCourt portal.
Florida
Florida has some of the broadest public records access in the country under its Sunshine Law, but large population centers like Miami-Dade and Broward generate significant name overlap.
Georgia
Georgia has a fragmented court structure with multiple overlapping trial court types, so understanding which court handled a case matters before searching county records.
Illinois
Cook County dominates Illinois searches by population and filing volume, but the state's other 101 counties use separate court systems that require individual searches.
Indiana
Indiana's MyCase statewide portal covers most counties and makes court access more straightforward than many states, though pre-Odyssey records and Indianapolis's Unigov structure require extra awareness.
Kentucky
Kentucky has 120 counties — more than nearly any other state — each with separate Circuit and District Court records and no fully consolidated statewide public portal. Establishing the county before searching saves significant time.
Louisiana
Louisiana uses parishes instead of counties, and all records — court filings, property records, and vital records — are organized at the parish level. There is no single statewide court portal; each parish clerk of court is the authoritative source.
Michigan
Michigan's records are split across district and circuit courts at the county level, with the Wayne County area — covering Detroit — generating the highest search volume and most name collisions.
Missouri
Missouri has two major search traps: Kansas City spans the state line into Kansas, and St. Louis city is not part of St. Louis County — confirming the right jurisdiction before searching saves significant time.
Nevada
Clark County holds roughly 75% of Nevada's population, making it the statistical starting point for almost any statewide search. Nevada has no single statewide court portal — Clark and Washoe counties each maintain separate systems.
New Jersey
New Jersey's eCourts portal covers all 21 counties in a single search, but the OPRA framework for agency records is entirely separate — knowing which system to use saves significant time.
New Mexico
High-frequency Hispanic surnames appear at rates that make middle-name disambiguation essential in New Mexico. Tribal jurisdiction also means some records for residents near the state's 23 pueblos and tribal lands fall outside the state court system entirely.
New York
New York City's five boroughs each function as separate counties, which means borough context is essential before moving into court or arrest records.
North Carolina
North Carolina operates a unified court system where all trial courts fall under one structure, which simplifies access but still requires knowing the correct county of residence.
Ohio
Ohio's 88 counties each maintain separate court systems with varying levels of online access, making county identification an important first step before searching records.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma's OSCN portal covers most district courts statewide, but the McGirt Supreme Court decision means post-2020 criminal records for tribal members in eastern Oklahoma may be in federal court rather than the state system.
Oregon
Oregon's OJD eCourt portal covers all 27 circuit court districts statewide in one free search — one of the more useful public court portals in the country. The Portland metro spans three counties, so city alone doesn't identify the correct court.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System provides statewide court access, but Philadelphia and Allegheny counties generate the majority of search volume and require additional identity anchors.
South Carolina
South Carolina's Public Index covers all 46 counties statewide for Superior Court and Family Court records. Magistrate court records — misdemeanors, small claims — are a separate county-level system not integrated into the portal.
Tennessee
Tennessee has 95 counties and no centralized statewide court portal — county identification is essential before searching, and Nashville and Memphis dominate name-search noise for common surnames.
Texas
Texas has 254 counties — more than any other state — so identifying the right county early makes a significant difference in how quickly searches resolve.
Utah
About 80% of Utah's population lives in the Wasatch Front corridor. Surname clustering from family naming patterns is unusually high — adding a middle initial or birth year before searching is more important here than in most states.
Virginia
Virginia searches require careful locality matching because independent cities operate separately from surrounding counties and use different court structures.
Washington
Washington searches often depend on choosing the correct court level and county system, with King County covering Seattle generating the highest name-collision rate in the state.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin's WCCA portal covers all 72 circuit courts in one free statewide search — one of the best public court portals in the Midwest. Municipal court records for ordinance violations are a separate system not included in WCCA.
Maryland
Baltimore City is an independent jurisdiction entirely separate from Baltimore County — records for city addresses and suburban county addresses route to completely different courts. Maryland Judiciary Case Search covers both Circuit and District Court for all 24 jurisdictions in a single free search, one of the more useful East Coast public court portals.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts has seven Trial Court departments — Superior Court for felonies, District Court for misdemeanors, and the Boston Municipal Court as an entirely separate system for Boston and eight adjacent communities. Cambridge, Somerville, and Newton are in Middlesex County, not Suffolk County.
Minnesota
Minnesota's MNCIS portal at mncourts.gov covers all 87 county district courts in one free statewide search. Minneapolis is in Hennepin County; St. Paul is in Ramsey County — entirely separate courts. Minnesota's expanded 2023 expungement law means a clean result doesn't guarantee no criminal history.
Iowa
Iowa Courts Online covers all 99 county district courts in one free statewide search. Iowa's limited expungement statute makes results more complete than in many comparable Midwest states. Council Bluffs borders Omaha, Nebraska and Davenport borders Rock Island, Illinois — cross-state records are often relevant for those border metros.
Need a more local search?
In many cases, the county matters more than the state. These county guides explain how local court and record systems work in some of the highest-volume counties across the country. For a full list of available county guides, see the people search by county page.
Arizona
California
- Los Angeles County, CA
- San Diego County, CA
- Orange County, CA
- Riverside County, CA
- San Bernardino County, CA
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Missouri
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Tennessee
- Davidson County, TN (Nashville)
- Shelby County, TN (Memphis)
- Knox County, TN (Knoxville)
- Hamilton County, TN (Chattanooga)
Texas
- Harris County, TX (Houston)
- Dallas County, TX
- Tarrant County, TX (Fort Worth)
- Bexar County, TX (San Antonio)
Connecticut
Kentucky
Louisiana
Nevada
New Mexico
- Bernalillo County, NM (Albuquerque)
- Doña Ana County, NM (Las Cruces)
- Sandoval County, NM (Rio Rancho)
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
Maryland
- Baltimore City, MD
- Montgomery County, MD (Rockville/Bethesda)
- Prince George's County, MD (College Park)
Massachusetts
- Suffolk County, MA (Boston)
- Middlesex County, MA (Cambridge/Lowell)
- Norfolk County, MA (Quincy/Brookline)
Minnesota
- Hennepin County, MN (Minneapolis)
- Ramsey County, MN (St. Paul)
- Dakota County, MN (Eagan/Apple Valley)
Iowa
