How do I request court records?

You can request court records by post or email

Requesting court records can be difficult and bring up a range of emotions. You may want to seek legal support or find support from support and advocacy groups to help you through this process.

You can request records about a case that has been heard in court

You can make your request to the registrar of the court where the case was heard. For example, if the case was heard in the Family Court in Wellington, please make your request to the registrar of that court.

• A registrar manages court documents and other administrative tasks.

Find the contact details of courtsopen_in_new.

Learn what information the Courts need from you for a records request.

You can complete an optional form with your information  

If you want, you can fill in a form with your information and provide that with your request.

Download the form for access to court recordsopen_in_new.

You can hand this form in to the court in person, by letter or by email. Find the contact details of courtsopen_in_new.

You do not have to use this form if you do not want to. Some reasons you may not want to, could be:

• you do not have all the information the form is asking for
• some parts of the form are hard to understand
• you would prefer not to use the form.

You may be able to request court records on behalf of whānau

You may need approval from a judicial officer to request court records on behalf of living whānau, or about deceased whānau. A judicial officer (also a judge or registrar) is a person with the responsibilities and power to make decisions about how laws are applied.

The judicial officer should consider your request under the court’s rules. They will balance your request against the whānau member’s rights to privacy and your request’s effects on court proceedings.

If the registrar or judge does not approve your request, they should tell you why.

There may be a cost involved 

If you were a party in the case you want court records from, you can receive one free copy of court records.

The parties to a civil (non-criminal) case are:

• the person who made the claim (called the applicant or plaintiff, depending on the type of case) and
• the person who is opposing the claim (called the respondent or the defendant, depending on the type of case).

The parties to a criminal case are:

• the party making the claim (the Police or the Crown) and
• the party who is opposing the claim - the defendant (in the Youth Court, the defendant is called the Young Person).

If you are not a party, you may need to pay a fee to search for and request court records. The only exception is court adoption records, which have no court fees.

Learn more about court record costsopen_in_new.

If you want to request court adoption records, you may need a Court Order 

The courts usually require a Court Order if you want to request court adoption records. 

Learn how to apply for court adoption records.