Maine Court Records: How to Find and Search Them

Maine has a state-run judicial branch with courthouses in every county. Its highest court, the Supreme Judicial Court, is also the state's only appellate court, and when it hears appeals it is called the Law Court.

Maine has been moving all of its courts to electronic filing, county by county. Cases filed electronically can be searched online, while older paper cases still require a request to the clerk.

How Maine's courts are organized

Maine's state courts include the Supreme Judicial Court and two trial courts. Probate courts are run separately by each county.

Supreme Judicial Court (Law Court)

Seven justices hear appeals from the trial courts and supervise the judicial branch and the bar.

Superior Court

The general jurisdiction trial court in each county, hearing civil cases, jury trials and serious criminal cases. A statewide Business and Consumer Docket handles complex commercial cases.

District Court

Hears family matters, protection orders, small claims, evictions, juvenile cases, civil cases and many criminal cases without a jury. Criminal cases now run on a Unified Criminal Docket shared by the Superior and District Courts.

Probate courts

County courts with part-time judges that handle wills, estates, guardianships, adoptions and name changes. They are not part of the state judicial branch.

Searching Maine court records online

Maine's online access depends on whether a case was filed electronically.

Maine eCourtsInformation about electronic filing and public access to e-filed cases, including the public case search.
Maine Judicial BranchOpinions, court locations, forms and records request information.
Maine Probate CourtsSearch and contact information for the county probate courts.

Getting records from the clerk's office

For a case filed on paper, contact the clerk's office of the court where it was filed. Clerks provide copies and attested (certified) copies for set fees. Maine's courts also accept written requests for criminal record information, which searches the courts' records statewide.

For estates and guardianships, contact the county Register of Probate.

Maine court records requestsHow to request copies of case files and criminal record searches.

What is public, and what is not

Most Maine court records are public, but protection from abuse addresses, juvenile, child protection, adoption and mental health records are confidential, as are personal identifiers. Maine's Rules of Electronic Court Systems govern what can be seen online.

Maine allows sealing of some criminal convictions for Class E crimes committed when the person was young, and some other records can be sealed under newer laws. Records of charges that did not lead to conviction are generally treated as confidential criminal history.

Pine Tree Legal AssistanceFree legal information for Maine residents, including on criminal records.

Older and archived records

Older closed court files are kept under the judicial branch's retention schedule. Historical court records, including early county court and Supreme Judicial Court files, are held by the Maine State Archives.

Maine State ArchivesHistorical state and court records.

Criminal history and background records

A court file tells you what happened in one case in one court. A criminal history record (often called a rap sheet) pulls together arrests, charges and outcomes reported from across the state, so it is a different product kept by a different agency.

The Maine State Bureau of Identification keeps the state's criminal history records. Conviction information is public, and anyone can request it online for a fee.

Maine criminal history record requestRequest a public Maine criminal history record online.
National Sex Offender Public WebsiteThe U.S. Department of Justice search that covers registries in every state, including Maine's registry run by the State Bureau of Identification.
Maine Department of Corrections resident searchInformation about people in Maine Department of Corrections custody.

Federal court records in Maine

Federal cases, including federal crimes, bankruptcies, and lawsuits over federal law or between citizens of different states, are not filed in Maine's state courts. Maine is a single federal judicial district, and each has its own clerk's office:

District of Maine

Federal case files are searched through PACER, the federal judiciary's records system. PACER charges a small fee per page, but you pay nothing if your charges stay under the quarterly fee-waiver threshold, court opinions are free, and every federal courthouse has public terminals you can use at no cost. Many PACER documents have also been copied into the free RECAP Archive on CourtListener. Appeals from Maine's federal courts go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Tips for a faster search

Ask whether a case was e-filed. If it was, you can likely see it online; if not, plan on a records request.
Probate records are kept by the county, not the state judicial branch.
The Maine courts' criminal record search covers the court system's records statewide and can be cheaper than searching county by county.
Have the full names of the parties, the county and a rough date range ready. A case number is the fastest way in if you have one.
Online indexes are not the official record. If a decision depends on it, get a copy (or a certified copy) from the clerk's office that holds the file.

Legal help and law libraries

Clerks and law librarians can explain how to find a record, but they cannot give legal advice. These organizations can point you in the right direction:

Maine State Law and Legislative Reference LibraryPublic law library in the State House.
Pine Tree Legal AssistanceFree civil legal help and information.
Maine Judicial Branch self-helpHelp for people going to court without a lawyer.

This guide is general information about public records, not legal advice. Court websites, fees and rules change, so confirm details with the court before you rely on them. Civics-Online.org is not affiliated with any court or government agency.