Franklin County Court Docket records list every hearing, motion, filing, and order in a case filed in Franklin County, Ohio. You can search these dockets online for civil, criminal, traffic, family, probate, and appellate matters.
The Franklin County Clerk of Courts and the Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk each run separate search portals. This page explains how each system works, what you can view, what records cost, and where to call for help.
What a Court Docket Shows
A court docket is a running list of every action in a case. It shows the case number, the names of the people or businesses on each side, the attorneys of record, the assigned judge, and the full history of filings. Each entry includes a date, a description, and the document type. You see when a complaint was filed, when a motion was served, when a hearing was set, and when a judge issued a final order. The docket also shows scheduled future events, which many people call the upcoming docket or court calendar docket. Anyone can view most docket entries without paying a fee. Printed or certified copies of the actual filed documents carry a per-page charge.
Courts That Maintain Dockets in Franklin County
Franklin County sits in central Ohio and uses five separate courts. Each court runs its own docket system. Knowing which court heard your case tells you which search tool to use. The courts are the Common Pleas General Division, the Municipal Court, the Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division, the Probate Court, and the Tenth District Court of Appeals. Felony criminal cases, civil cases over fifteen thousand dollars, and dissolution filings start in the Common Pleas General Division. Misdemeanors, traffic tickets, small claims, and most other civil cases go through the Municipal Court. Divorce, custody, and juvenile cases move through the Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division. Wills, estates, and guardianships go through the Probate Court. Appeals from the lower courts are handled by the Tenth District Court of Appeals, which also sits in Franklin County.
Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Docket
The Franklin County Court of Common Pleas General Division has original authority over all felony cases and all civil cases where the amount in dispute exceeds fifteen thousand dollars. The Common Pleas docket is the most active docket in the county. Each year the court handles thousands of felony indictments, large civil suits, and foreclosure actions. Eviction filings alone topped twenty-five thousand in a recent year, with thousands more added in 2026. Ohio lawmakers are now pushing to seal many of those eviction records. Even so, most Common Pleas docket entries remain open to the public.
You can search the Common Pleas docket through the Clerk of Courts Case Information Online system. This free tool lets you look up cases by name, case number, or filing date. It returns a list of docket entries, hearing dates, and party details. The system is updated each business day. New filings may take one business day to appear. The Clerk of Courts office processes every new filing, assigns the case number, and posts the first docket entry within twenty-four hours of receipt.
Franklin County Municipal Court Docket
The Franklin County Municipal Court handles misdemeanors, traffic offenses, OVI charges, small claims, and civil cases where the amount in dispute does not exceed fifteen thousand dollars. The Municipal Court Clerk’s Office, led by Clerk Lori M. Tyack, maintains a separate docket system for these matters. The Municipal Court docket also supports arraignment operations, payment processing, and the issuance of forms and reports to the public.
To search the Municipal Court docket, use the Municipal Court Clerk case search portal. This portal returns case details, party names, charge descriptions, hearing times, and disposition entries. You can also check bond amounts, payment status, and bench warrant flags. The system covers every city, village, and township case that flows through the Municipal Court. It does not include cases filed in Whitehall Mayor’s Court or other mayor’s courts. For mayor’s court matters, contact the city directly. Whitehall Mayor’s Court, for example, shares the Municipal Court phone line at (614) 338-3109 for referral help.
Franklin County Domestic Relations and Juvenile Court Docket
The Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division hears all divorce, legal separation, dissolution, custody, parenting time, child support, parentage, and juvenile delinquency cases. These dockets are highly sensitive. Many entries get restricted from public view, especially those involving minors. The Clerk of Courts Case Information Online portal covers the public portion of these dockets. You can search by case number or party name to see scheduled hearings, filing dates, and assigned magistrates. Document images for sealed or restricted cases require a formal request to the Clerk.
Visitors to the Domestic Relations and Juvenile Courthouse can use public access terminals in the clerk’s lobby. These terminals show the same docket data as the online portal. Staff can help you operate the terminal but cannot give legal advice. The Franklin County Law Library at 614-525-4971 can direct you to approved custody, visitation, parentage, and divorce forms.
Franklin County Probate Court Docket
The Franklin County Probate Court handles estate administration, wills, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships, adoptions, name changes, and mental illness proceedings. The Probate Court docket lists each filing in the case, from the initial application to the final decree. As of February 23, 2026, the Probate Court has been actively revising and simplifying many of its forms. Several forms have already been replaced, and more changes are still in progress. Always check the Probate Court website before filing to make sure you have the current version of every required form.
The Probate Court docket is searchable through the Clerk of Courts Case Information Online system for general case status. To view document images or request certified copies, you can visit the Probate Court clerk’s office in person or use the court’s e-filing system. Probate filings often involve lengthy timelines, and the docket reflects each step, including creditor notices, inventory filings, and final accounts.
Franklin County Court of Appeals Docket
The Tenth District Court of Appeals hears appeals from the Common Pleas General Division, the Municipal Court, the Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division, and the Probate Court. The appeals docket is also routed through the Clerk of Courts Case Information Online portal. Each appellate case receives a new case number that begins with the year. The docket shows the lower court case, the notice of appeal, the record transmission, the briefs filed by both sides, and the oral argument schedule. Many appellate decisions are posted as PDF documents to the docket once the court issues its ruling.
Franklin County Court Docket Search Tools
Three official search tools cover the Franklin County court docket. The right tool depends on which court handled your case.
- Case Information Online: Covers Common Pleas General Division, Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division, Probate Court, and the Tenth District Court of Appeals.
- Municipal Court Clerk case search: Covers Municipal Court criminal, traffic, civil, and small claims cases.
- Court-specific e-filing portals: Allow attorneys and self-represented filers to submit new documents and view docket activity for the same case types.
All three tools are free for basic public lookups. They share the same data fields: case number, party name, filing date, hearing date, and docket entry description. A delay of one business day between a court filing and the system update is normal.
Franklin County Docket Search by Case Number
Searching by case number returns the fastest and most accurate results. Every case filed in Franklin County receives a unique case number that includes the year, the court code, and a sequence number. For Common Pleas cases, the format is a two-digit year followed by a court code and a six-digit sequence. For Municipal Court cases, the format follows a similar pattern with a different prefix. Enter the full case number, including all letters and dashes, into the search field. The system returns the full docket, all hearings, and all filed documents that are open to public view.
If you do not know the case number, the docket search by name option is the next best path. The system will return every case that matches the name you entered, including prior names and aliases. You can narrow the list by adding a year range or a court type.
Franklin County Docket Search by Name
The name search works best when you know the full legal name of at least one party. The system does not require a date of birth or middle name. It returns all matching cases across the selected court. You can click each result to view the full docket. If the same name appears in many cases, add a date range or a court type to filter the list. The portal does not let you search Social Security numbers or financial account numbers, since those fields are redacted under Ohio law.
Franklin County Daily Docket and Calendar
The Franklin County daily docket shows every hearing set for a given day in a given court. Judges and magistrates publish their calendars the day before each session. You can view the daily docket by selecting the court and the date in the search portal. The Municipal Court daily docket is the most active and shows arraignments, pretrials, sentencings, and small claims hearings. The Common Pleas daily docket shows motion hearings, status conferences, plea hearings, and trials. The Domestic Relations and Juvenile daily docket shows dissolution finals, custody trials, and juvenile adjudications. The Probate Court daily docket shows estate hearings, guardianship reviews, and adoption finalizations.
Many users call this the Franklin County today’s docket, since the same list is the only docket active on a given day. The court calendar docket for the week ahead is also available and lists all scheduled events for the next five business days.
Franklin County Court Docket Online Access
Online access to the Franklin County court docket is available twenty-four hours a day through the official portals. The system requires no login for basic public docket searches. To view document images in sensitive case types, you may need to register for a public account or submit a written request. Registered users can save searches, set case alerts, and download PDF copies of filed documents. Attorneys with active e-filing accounts can also see restricted entries related to their own cases.
For users who do not have internet access, every courthouse in Franklin County has a public access terminal. These terminals run the same search software and are free to use during normal business hours. Staff can help you operate the terminal. They cannot, however, give legal advice or perform searches on your behalf outside of standard public access.
Franklin County Court Docket Fees and Copies
Viewing docket entries online is free. Printed or certified copies of filed documents carry a per-page fee set by Ohio law. Standard copies cost a few cents per page. Certified copies, which carry the court seal and the clerk’s signature, cost more per page plus a flat certification fee. The clerk accepts cash, money order, and most major debit or credit cards for in-person requests. Online certified copy requests are available through the e-filing portal for a small convenience fee.
Some dockets also list a court cost judgment at the close of a case. That entry is part of the public record and shows the total court costs, fines, and fees assessed in the case. Payment history entries are also public and appear in the docket once the case closes.
Public Access Rules for Franklin County Dockets
Ohio law makes most court docket records open to the public. Any person can view the docket, ask for copies, and request a certified copy of any public document. The clerk must respond to a public records request in a reasonable time. You do not need to give a reason for your request. The clerk may ask for your name and contact details so they can send the response.
Public access covers the case number, the party names, the attorney of record, the assigned judge, the docket entries, and the hearing schedule. Document images may carry a fee. Names of jurors, minor children, and certain witnesses are redacted from the public docket before the entry is posted online.
Sealed and Restricted Franklin County Court Records
Some docket records are sealed by law and do not appear in the public search. Juvenile delinquency cases, adoption files, mental health proceedings, and certain family court filings stay confidential. The clerk removes these entries from the public docket. Even case number listings for sealed cases may be limited to a generic placeholder in some search results. To view a sealed docket, you must file a motion with the court that issued the sealing order. A judge must grant the motion before the clerk releases the records.
Expunged or sealed adult records also drop from the public docket after the court grants the sealing order. Under recent Ohio legislation, many eviction filings are now eligible for sealing. Once sealed, those eviction docket entries no longer appear in public search results. Franklin County continues to receive thousands of eviction filings each year, so the sealed records list is growing quickly.
Franklin County Court Docket Help and Resources
Three resources help with Franklin County court docket questions. The Franklin County Law Library, the Clerk of Courts office, and the Municipal Court Clerk’s office each provide public services. The Law Library can direct you to approved forms for custody, divorce, parentage, visitation, termination of marriage, and probate matters. The Library phone line is 614-525-4971. The Municipal Court Clerk phone line is (614) 338-3109. Both offices can answer general questions about how to read a docket entry, what each filing code means, and where to find a specific case.
For attorney portal questions, e-filing support, or technical issues with the search portal, contact the Clerk of Courts help desk. The Clerk of Courts office processes all new filings, manages case numbers, posts docket entries, and issues certified copies. Public records request forms are also available on the Clerk of Courts website for cases that are not already listed in the public search portal.
Official Contact and Location Details
Franklin County courts operate from courthouses in Columbus, Ohio. The Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk’s Office is led by Clerk Lori M. Tyack. The office supports arraignment operations, processes filings, manages payments, and provides public access to forms, reports, and case information. The Franklin County Law Library assists residents with approved forms and basic docket questions. For Municipal Court docket questions, call (614) 338-3109. For Law Library help, call 614-525-4971. Office hours for both offices run from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for official court holidays. The official website for the Municipal Court Clerk case search and the Clerk of Courts Case Information Online portal is available through the Franklin County court system web pages.
Franklin County Court Docket FAQs
How do I find a Franklin County court docket for a specific case?
You can find a Franklin County court docket by case number or by party name through the Clerk of Courts Case Information Online portal or the Municipal Court Clerk case search portal. Pick the portal that matches the court that handled your case. Common Pleas, Domestic Relations and Juvenile, Probate, and Appeals cases use the Case Information Online system. Municipal Court cases use the Municipal Court Clerk portal. The full case number, including the year prefix, gives the fastest match. If you only know a name, the name search returns all matching cases for the court you select.
Can I view the Franklin County daily docket for any judge?
Yes. The daily docket for any judge in any Franklin County court is posted the day before each session. Use the same search portal you would use for a single case. Select the court, the date, and the judge’s name from the calendar filter. The system returns every hearing set for that judge that day, including motion hearings, pretrials, sentencings, trials, and status conferences. The list updates as parties file new motions or settle their cases.
Are Franklin County court docket records free to view?
Viewing docket entries online is free for all public cases. You can see the case number, party names, attorneys, docket entries, and hearing schedule without paying a fee. Printed copies of docket pages cost a small per-page fee. Certified copies, which carry the court seal and the clerk’s signature, cost more per page plus a flat certification fee. Document images inside the case may also carry a per-page fee when you download them through the e-filing portal.
What records are sealed on the Franklin County court docket?
Juvenile delinquency cases, adoption files, mental health proceedings, certain family court filings, and expunged adult records are sealed by law. Sealed docket entries do not appear in public search results. Some case numbers for sealed cases show a placeholder instead of the party name. To view a sealed record, you must file a motion with the court that issued the sealing order and obtain a judge’s order granting access. Recent Ohio legislation has made many eviction filings eligible for sealing, so a growing number of older eviction dockets are now restricted from public view.
How do I get a certified copy of a Franklin County docket entry?
Request a certified copy from the clerk’s office that manages the case. Common Pleas, Domestic Relations and Juvenile, Probate, and Appeals certified copies come from the Clerk of Courts office. Municipal Court certified copies come from the Municipal Court Clerk’s Office. You can request a certified copy in person at the courthouse, by mail using a written request, or online through the e-filing portal. Include the case number, the document name, and your contact details. The clerk charges a certification fee plus a per-page fee and mails the certified copy to you or notifies you when it is ready for pickup.
How current is the Franklin County court docket online?
The online docket is updated each business day. New filings usually appear within twenty-four hours of receipt. A delay of one business day between a court filing and the online posting is normal. Hearing schedules are typically posted the day before each session. Sealed or expunged entries are removed from public view as soon as the court enters the sealing order. The official portal always lists the date and time of the last system update on the search page.
Can I search the Franklin County court docket by attorney name?
Yes. Both the Case Information Online portal and the Municipal Court Clerk portal let you search by attorney name in addition to party name. The system returns every case where the attorney appears as counsel of record, including active and closed cases. You can filter the list by court type and year to narrow the result. The attorney search also shows the attorney’s bar number, firm address, and current status as the attorney of record on each case.