How to Search Alachua County Court Records
Alachua County court records are searched through the Clerk's online Court Records system. The Clerk calls it Internet access to the index of court records on file in the office. Entry is gated by a CAPTCHA, so you clear that first. You do not have to fill every box. Search by a name, a company, a filing date range, a case number, a case type, a party, or a status. Party and status searches are limited, so they work best with extra detail like a case number.
Before you start, know what you have. A case number is the fastest path. A full name is the next best thing. The system can return many results for common names, so a date range helps. The Clerk's court-records page lays out the rules and the limits in plain terms.
The entry screen for the search is shown on the Clerk's Court Records search page. The screenshot shows the CAPTCHA gate that every public user must pass before the index opens. After the gate, the search form accepts the fields listed below.
- Open the Clerk's Court Records page and start your search.
- Complete the CAPTCHA gate. Use the audio control if you need it.
- Enter the narrowest detail you have. For a case number, drop the "01" county prefix.
- For a person, put the last name in the first box and the first name in the second.
- Add a filing date range to cut down a long result list.
- Open a result to view the docket and any nonconfidential images.
The table below lists the fields the Clerk documents for the court records search.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAPTCHA | Text | Yes at entry | Must be cleared before the index opens. |
| Last Name | Text | No | Enter the last name in the first name box. |
| First Name / Middle Initial | Text | No | Enter in the second name box. |
| Company | Text | No | Use for a business party. |
| Date Filed From / To | Date | No | Narrows a broad search. Example: 10-01-1999. |
| Case Number | Text | No | Drop the "01" prefix. New format began in 1999. |
| Case Type | Dropdown | No | Lists only 100 records when used alone. |
The Alachua County Judicial System
Florida splits its trial work between circuit courts and county courts. The state has a Supreme Court, five District Courts of Appeal, twenty circuit courts, and sixty-seven county courts. Alachua County is the largest county in the Eighth Judicial Circuit. That circuit also serves Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union Counties. The circuit's court administration office sits inside the Family and Civil Justice Center on East University Avenue.
Circuit judges hear felony criminal cases, family law, probate, guardianship, juvenile, mental health, and larger civil cases. County judges hear misdemeanors, civil traffic, small claims, landlord-tenant disputes, and lower-value civil cases. The Chief Judge of the circuit is William E. Davis. The Alachua County Circuit Court page lists the judges, and the County Court page covers the lower trial level.
Case flow: County Court › Circuit Court › District Court of Appeal › Florida Supreme Court
The Clerk of the Court and Comptroller, J.K. "Jess" Irby, keeps the trial-court records for both levels. The Clerk's home page names the office, the address, and the service menu.
The page above, the Clerk's main page, shows the office that holds Alachua County court records day to day. The table sums up which court hears which kind of case.
| Court | Jurisdiction | Case Types |
|---|---|---|
| Florida Supreme Court | Highest state court | Constitutional questions, death-penalty review |
| District Court of Appeal | Intermediate appeals | Appeals from the circuit courts |
| Circuit Court (Eighth Judicial Circuit) | General trial jurisdiction | Felony, family, probate, juvenile, larger civil |
| County Court | Limited trial jurisdiction | Misdemeanor, civil traffic, small claims, landlord-tenant |
Alachua County Courthouses
Alachua County uses two downtown Gainesville buildings. The split matters. A person who goes to the wrong building can lose time at security and parking. Criminal and traffic-payment matters sit at one building. Civil, family, probate, and marriage matters sit at the other.
The Judge Stephan P. Mickle, Sr. Criminal Courthouse handles felony, misdemeanor, and criminal traffic work, plus payment of civil traffic citations. The Family and Civil Justice Center handles family law, civil actions, juvenile, probate, domestic violence, mental health, foreclosure sales, small claims, landlord-tenant, tax deeds, and marriage licenses. The court administrator's office is on the fourth floor of the Family and Civil Justice Center.
The official courthouse information page describes both buildings and their entrances. The image confirms the building roles so you pick the right address before you drive downtown.
Criminal Courthouse
Judge Stephan P. Mickle, Sr. Criminal Courthouse
220 South Main Street
Gainesville, FL 32601
352-374-3636
Family & Civil Justice Center
201 East University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32601
352-374-3636
Office of Court Administrator
201 E. University Ave., Room 417
Gainesville, FL 32601
352-374-3638
Types of Court Records Available in Alachua County
Alachua County court records cover the full range of trial-court work. Civil and family files sit at the Family and Civil Justice Center. Criminal files connect to the Criminal Courthouse. The Clerk keeps the index for all of them in one search system, with separate case-type codes.
Online coverage does not reach back forever. Civil and civil traffic documents start in September 2001. Criminal documents start in December 2005. The oldest indexed case was filed back on July 23, 1928. Many older closed files are not online and must be pulled at the Records Department.
- Criminal records - felony files in circuit court, misdemeanor files in county court.
- Civil records - lawsuits, judgments, foreclosures, and garnishments.
- Family records - divorce, child support, paternity, and name change.
- Probate records - estates, wills, guardianship, and trusts.
- Traffic records - civil traffic citations and criminal traffic cases.
What Alachua County Court Records Show
A record in the Clerk's system has a set structure. The case number drives most searches. The case type tells you which court and which kind of matter. Party names, the filing date, and the disposition round out the basic view. Some images are open to download. Some are blocked by law even when the case type and docket show.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | Modern format like 1997CA1234; the "01" county prefix is dropped in the search. |
| Case Type | Code such as CA civil, DR family, CP probate, MH mental health, CC county or small claims. |
| Parties | Last, first, and middle initial, or a company name. |
| Filing Date | The date the case opened; searchable by range. |
| Disposition | The outcome, such as dismissed, adjudicated, or closed. |
| Documents | Nonconfidential images, capped at 60 retrievals per hour. |
Public Access Laws for Alachua County Court Records
Florida has one of the broadest public-records systems in the country. Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes says state, county, and city records are open for any person to inspect and copy, unless an exemption applies. Court files add another layer of rules from the Florida Constitution, the Supreme Court, and Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.420. In Alachua County, the Clerk puts this into practice with a free online index and limits on document images.
The Clerk's Official Records and Public Records Web Access portal is one place these rights play out. It offers official records, marriage menus, and party-list searches to the public.
The Public Records Web Access portal shown above sits next to the court records search as a second public door into Clerk-held records. A few statutes do the heavy lifting.
Key Statutes:
Florida Statutes § 119.01 - the general policy that public records are open for inspection and copying.
Florida Statutes § 119.07 - how to inspect and copy records, plus fees and exemptions.
Florida Statutes § 119.0714 - confidentiality and redaction inside court files and official records.
Records That Are Restricted or Confidential
Not every Alachua County court record is open. Some files are sealed by law. Adoption records are confidential under Florida Statutes § 63.162. Juvenile dependency and delinquency records are restricted under § 985.045. Mental health and Baker Act clinical records are protected under § 394.4615. In some of these, the case type and docket may show, but the document images stay blocked online.
Records can also be sealed or expunged by court order under § 943.0585 and § 943.059. To view a sealed file, a person usually needs a court order or a legal basis. The Clerk cannot give legal advice on this. A holder of a Social Security or financial account number may ask the Clerk to redact it from a court file.
Specialty Courts in Alachua County
The Eighth Judicial Circuit runs problem-solving courts. These programs mix treatment, testing, and close court review. Adult Felony Drug Court works with the State Attorney, the Public Defender, the Clerk, and treatment providers for defendants whose crimes tie back to substance abuse. Mental Health Court serves defendants whose justice involvement links to mental illness, with referrals from judges, attorneys, and the jail's Forensic Program Director.
The circuit also runs a Veterans Treatment Court that pairs court supervision with VA resources and peer mentors. For details on any of these programs, the circuit lists a Specialty Courts Manager, Sherry Browne, at 352-384-3094.
Alachua County Sheriff and Jail
The Alachua County Sheriff is Chad D. Scott. The Sheriff's Office headquarters is at 2621 SE Hawthorne Road in Gainesville. The Department of the Jail sits at 3333 NE 39th Avenue. The jail is a large facility for north central Florida, with 1,148 beds across 314,000 square feet, and it holds adult men and women for up to one year.
Booking, custody, and jail records are separate from the Clerk's court files. To look up a person in custody, use the Alachua County inmate records page and the Sheriff's roster. For active warrants and surrender steps, see the warrant records page, since the Sheriff handles the Warrants Bureau.
Marriage, Divorce, and Probate Records
The Clerk issues marriage licenses at the Family and Civil Justice Center. Divorce is a family-law case under the DR code. Probate, wills, and guardianship use the CP code. The marriage and divorce records page covers license steps and fees, and the probate records page covers estates and guardianship.
The Clerk's marriage page lays out ID rules, fees, and the waiting period for residents. The screenshot shows the marriage license and ceremony information that applicants read first.
The marriage license page above feeds the marriage and divorce section of this site. A few probate terms help when you read an estate file.
- Testator
- A person who makes a will.
- Executor
- The person named to carry out a will; Florida calls this the personal representative.
- Conservator
- A person appointed to manage another's affairs; Florida usually uses the term guardian.
Alachua County Court Records Fees
The Clerk charges set fees for copies and searches. Online viewing of the index is free. Paper copies and certified copies cost money. The fee schedule below is drawn from the Clerk's recording and service fees, current as of January 1, 2026.
The Clerk also posts a full filing fee page for new cases. The screenshot shows that filing and court fee schedule.
The filing fee page covers new-case charges, while the copy fees below cover records you already want to pull.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Plain copy per page | $1.00 |
| Certified copy per document | $2.00 added |
| Records search, per year per name | $2.00 |
| Authenticate or exemplify a record | $7.00 |
How to Interpret Alachua County Court Records
Case numbers carry meaning. The two letters after the year set the case type. CA is civil. DR is family. CP is probate, guardianship, and wills. MH is mental health. CC covers county court, small claims, and landlord-tenant. Old numbers were converted in 1999, so 1997-1234-CA now reads 1997CA1234.
A charge is not the same as a conviction. An arrest or a charge starts a case. The disposition records the result. Watch for terms like adjudicated, withheld, dismissed, or nolle prosequi when you read a criminal file. The court records page breaks these terms down further.
Accuracy and Record Limitations
Online records can lag real life. The Clerk warns that data may be incomplete and disclaims warranties about its use. A new filing or a disposition can take time to appear. Idle sessions time out after 30 minutes, and the system caps document pulls at 60 per hour. The court-records page sets out the coverage dates and the rules.
The court records information page shown here lists the online start dates and the redaction notice.
Note: Confirm any case detail with the Clerk's office before you rely on it, since online records can lag the court file.
History of Alachua County Courts
Court work in Alachua County now splits between two downtown buildings. The Criminal Courthouse on South Main Street carries the name of Judge Stephan P. Mickle, Sr. The Family and Civil Justice Center on East University Avenue holds civil, family, probate, and marriage work. The jail has its own timeline. Its core building was finished in January 1994. The Sheriff took over the jail on January 18, 1998, through an interlocal agreement.
Technology changed access over time. The Clerk added an online Court Records index, Official Records web access, statewide e-Notify hearing reminders, and eFiling. Online documents reach back to 2001 for civil and 2005 for criminal, with the oldest indexed case dating to 1928.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I search Alachua County court records?
Use the Clerk's Court Records search. The entry page is gated by a CAPTCHA, so you clear that first. You do not need to fill every field. You can search by name, company, filing date range, case number, case type, party, or status. Party and status searches are limited and work best with a case number or full name. The court records page walks through each field.
What dates are available online?
The oldest indexed Alachua County case was filed July 23, 1928. Online documents start in September 2001 for civil and civil traffic, and December 2005 for criminal. Many closed civil cases before 1999, criminal cases before 1990, and civil traffic before March 2006 are not online. Those older files are pulled at the Records Department in person.
How do I find an inmate in the Alachua County Jail?
Use the Sheriff's inmate lookup. Search by last name, first name, or booking number, and partial entries are allowed. You can also view the full current roster. The inmate records page explains the roster fields and the detail page. The jail's main phone is 352-491-4444.
More answers are on the Alachua County Court Records FAQ page.