How to Search Ramsey County Court Records
The main path to Ramsey County court files is Minnesota Court Records Online, known as MCRO. The portal is statewide. Pick Ramsey under Court Locations to keep the search local. MCRO has four tabs: Case Search, Document Search, Hearing Search, and Judgment Search. Each tab pulls from the same Odyssey case data. The site warns that MCRO results are not certified and that some case types stay off the web for legal reasons.
Before a search, gather a name, a case number, a citation number, or an attorney bar number. A date of birth or a date range narrows results when the name is common. Pending criminal, traffic, and petty misdemeanor cases without a conviction do not return by defendant name and must be looked up by case or citation number.
The official summary of the case-records platform sits at the MCRO overview page on the Minnesota Judicial Branch site.
The MCRO landing page lists the four search tabs, the document availability rules, and the terms that apply to every Ramsey County court records search.
- Open MCRO at publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us and accept the terms on first use.
- Choose a tab: Name, Case Number, Citation Number, or Attorney.
- Click Court Locations, pick Select Specific County Court Locations, and choose Ramsey.
- Enter a name or number. Use wildcards only after two characters and avoid Sounds Like when wildcards are on.
- Narrow with date of birth, date filed, case category, or status.
- Open the case to read Case Details and the Register of Actions.
- Use Document Search by case number to pull public PDFs when available.
- Order a certified copy from Ramsey District Court Records if a sealed paper version is needed.
The Ramsey County Judicial System
Minnesota uses three levels of state court. The Minnesota Supreme Court is the court of last resort. It has seven justices, sets statewide court rules, and hears first-degree murder appeals and certain election cases without an intermediate step. The Minnesota Court of Appeals has 19 judges, sits in three-judge panels, and was created in 1983. By state law the panels must rule within 90 days of oral argument or the scheduled conference date. Most Ramsey County District Court appeals stop there.
The trial level is the Minnesota District Court. It is one unified court with 10 judicial districts and 296 judges. Ramsey County District Court is the Second Judicial District. The court has general jurisdiction over civil, criminal, family, juvenile, probate, traffic, housing, conciliation, and commitment cases. There is no separate county court, JP court, or Texas-style district clerk in Minnesota.
Case flow: District Court › Minnesota Court of Appeals › Minnesota Supreme Court
| Court | Role | Case Types |
|---|---|---|
| Ramsey County District Court (Second Judicial District) | Trial court of general jurisdiction | Civil, criminal, family, juvenile, probate, traffic, housing, conciliation, commitment |
| Minnesota Court of Appeals | Error-correcting intermediate court | Most final trial-court decisions and many agency rulings |
| Minnesota Supreme Court | Court of last resort | Discretionary review, first-degree murder appeals, election cases |
A federal case filed in Ramsey County goes to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, not the state district court. Federal cases use PACER and CM/ECF, which are covered on the public records page.
Ramsey County Courthouses
The main building is the Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse at 15 West Kellogg Boulevard. The Second Judicial District also has four other Ramsey County court sites. Most civil filings, probate, and the District Court Records office sit at the main courthouse. Criminal and traffic cases run through the Law Enforcement Center and the Maplewood suburban site. Juvenile and family matters use the Juvenile and Family Justice Center.
Court locations and visitor rules are listed on the Ramsey court locations and hours page.
The page maps each Ramsey County District Court address, posts business hours, and lists the items banned at security screening.
Main Courthouse
15 West Kellogg Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55102
651-266-8266
Records Office, Room #72: 651-266-8237
Law Enforcement Center
425 Grove St.
Saint Paul, MN 55101
651-266-9350
Criminal, traffic, jail-side calendars
Juvenile and Family Justice Center
25 West 7th St.
Saint Paul, MN 55102
651-266-5255
Juvenile and family court
Suburban Site (Maplewood)
2050 White Bear Ave.
Maplewood, MN 55109
651-266-8266
Suburban criminal and traffic court
The 402 Commitment Court at 402 University Ave. East, Suite 100, Saint Paul, MN 55130 handles civil commitment dockets. The Ramsey County Law Library is on the 18th floor of the main courthouse.
Court Divisions and Specialty Calendars
Ramsey County District Court is split into three divisions: Civil, Criminal & Traffic, and Juvenile and Family. The Civil Division covers conciliation, housing, probate, and civil commitment cases. The Criminal Division covers six offices: Criminal, Criminal Records, Law Enforcement Center, specialized courts, Suburban Court, and the Violations Bureau. The Juvenile and Family Division handles family files, paternity, and domestic abuse and harassment orders.
The full division layout is on the Ramsey court divisions page.
The division summary lists each office that handles part of the Ramsey County court records workload.
Problem-solving calendars run inside the District Court rather than as separate courts. The court A-Z lists Drug Court, the DWI Problem-Solving Court, Mental Health Treatment Court, and the Veterans Treatment Court. County Attorney John J. Choi credits his office with helping launch the Veterans Court and with drug-law and traffic-stop reform work. JusticePoint partners on adult pretrial services.
Types of Court Records Available in Ramsey County
Ramsey County court records cover most case categories the District Court hears. Each category has its own remote-access rules under the Minnesota Rules of Public Access. Some files are open online, some sit only in the courthouse, and some are sealed by statute. The list below sums up the main types and where to find them.
- Civil records — lawsuits, conciliation (small claims), evictions, name changes, money judgments. Most documents filed July 1, 2015 or later are on MCRO.
- Criminal records — misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, and felony cases through the Criminal Division. Pending no-conviction cases are name-restricted on MCRO.
- Family and divorce records — covered on the marriage and divorce records page. Family documents are limited to court-prepared orders, opinions, and notices for online viewing.
- Probate records — formal probate, guardianship, conservatorship, and trust files are fully public on MCRO from July 1, 2015 forward.
- Traffic records — payable tickets, contested citations, and criminal traffic cases through the Violations Bureau.
- Juvenile records — restricted under Minnesota Statutes section 260B.171. CHIPS and Juvenile Delinquency Felony 16 cases are not on MCRO.
- Civil commitment records — public documents are accessed at the courthouse, not through MCRO.
What Ramsey County Court Records Show
A Ramsey County District Court file usually carries a case number, a category, parties, a filing date, hearings, a Register of Actions, and any documents that have been added. The court file number for a Ramsey criminal case uses county code 62 in the open jail data, with a category letter and a year, for example 62-CR-23-2188. Civil and probate files use the same county prefix with different category letters. Each field on the public record is listed below.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | District Court file number, e.g., 62-CR-23-2188 for a Ramsey criminal case. |
| Case Category | Civil, criminal, family, probate or mental health, traffic, conciliation, housing. |
| Filing Date | Date the case or document was filed with the court. |
| Parties | Plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, debtor, decedent; street addresses are hidden. |
| Register of Actions | Chronological docket of filings, hearings, orders, judgments, notices. |
| Hearings | Date, time, location, courtroom, judicial officer, hearing status. |
| Documents | Public PDFs where remote access is allowed for the case type. |
| Disposition / Judgment | Outcome, sentence, money award, or current status. |
More fields, screen examples, and tips for a Ramsey County court records search are on the court records page.
Public Access Laws for Ramsey County Court Records
Court records sit under the Minnesota Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch, not just the state Data Practices Act. The Supreme Court rules cover what the court must show online compared with what it shows at courthouse terminals. MCRO terms cite Rule 8 subdivision 2 for the remote-access limits on family, juvenile, OFP, HRO, CHIPS, and civil commitment cases.
Other Ramsey County court records and law enforcement files use general state data statutes. Most are public by default unless a statute says otherwise.
Key Statutes:
Minnesota Statutes § 13.03 — sets the default rule that government data is public unless classified otherwise.
Minnesota Statutes § 13.82 — controls law-enforcement data, including arrest, request-for-service, and warrant-index records.
Minnesota Statutes § 260B.171 — protects juvenile delinquency records from broad public release.
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 609A — the criminal-record expungement framework, now with petition-based and automatic paths.
Minnesota Statutes § 13.87 — governs criminal history data; BCA fingerprint-linked checks live under this section.
The MCRO terms also note that party street addresses and comment fields stay off the public web. Criminal sentencing condition comments are the one exception. See the public records page for non-court files held by the county.
Records That Are Restricted or Confidential
Several Ramsey County court records are off the web by rule or statute. Domestic abuse OFP cases and Harassment Restraining Order files are blocked from the internet because the federal Violence Against Women Act bars online display. CHIPS and Juvenile Delinquency Felony 16 cases are also off MCRO. Civil commitment files only appear through courthouse public access. Family case documents are limited to court-prepared orders, opinions, and notices on MCRO; the rest sit at the courthouse.
Sealed records under Chapter 609A still exist in the court file room, but a search will not return them to the public. A Ramsey County District Court judge must order any unsealing. Expunged records remain open to courts, prosecutors, law enforcement, and certain agencies for criminal investigation and sentencing reviews. To start an expungement, use the Self-Help Service Center or a Volunteer Lawyers Network clinic.
Online Dockets and Hearing Searches
Hearings, judgments, and individual documents each have their own MCRO tab. The Case Search returns the Register of Actions for a case. The Hearing Search returns scheduled court dates by name, case number, judicial officer, or attorney. The Judgment Search returns docketed money judgments by debtor name. Document Search pulls public PDFs by case number when remote access is allowed.
The four tabs sit at the state public access site, hosted at publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us.
The Case Search form supports name, case number, citation number, and attorney lookups across Ramsey and the rest of Minnesota.
Document Search is the fastest tool when the case number is known. It returns the docket and any public PDFs for download. See the Document Search page for the field list.
Document Search has a single text field and pulls every public PDF in the case file.
The Hearing Search is best for finding a court date when only a name is known.
The form lets users pick Ramsey under Court Locations and filter by hearing date range and category.
Civil judgments use a separate tab. The Judgment Search returns docketed money judgments by debtor name.
Judgment Search includes a person or business toggle, docketed date filter, and county selector for Ramsey.
Ramsey County Sheriff and Jail Information
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office is led by Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who took office as the 23rd Sheriff on January 10, 2019. The office runs five divisions: Administration, Court and Security Services, Detention Services, Public Safety Services, and Regional Services. Public services include the jail roster, the Online Warrant Search, incident reports, the crime map, and civil process.
Jail bookings live at the Adult Detention Center at 425 Grove Street, Saint Paul, MN 55101, phone 651-266-9350. The 500-bed pretrial facility updates its roster every 30 minutes. Sentenced residents serve up to one year at the Ramsey County Correctional Facility at 297 South Century Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55119, phone 651-266-1400. Juvenile detention is at 25 West 7th Street, Saint Paul, MN 55102, phone 651-266-5255.
Roster fields, search tips, and facility comparisons are on the inmate records page. Outstanding warrants are listed on the warrant records page. Capacity, average daily population, and jail trends are covered on the jail population page.
Note: The Adult Detention Center roster keeps records visible for five days after release; older records sit in the open data archive.
Marriage, Divorce, and Probate Records
Marriage records and marriage licenses are kept by Ramsey County Vital Records at the Plato Building, 90 Plato Boulevard West, Saint Paul, MN 55107, phone 651-266-1333. Divorce records, on the other hand, are District Court files, not Vital Records files. The split confuses many first-time users. A divorce certificate is a court paper signed by a judge. A marriage certificate is a vital-records document held by the county. See the marriage and divorce records page for the full application and search flow.
Probate is a Civil Division calendar at the District Court. MCRO makes formal probate, guardianship, conservatorship, and trust documents fully downloadable when filed on or after July 1, 2015. The probate records page walks through the categories, forms, and the small-estate option.
- Testator
- The person who made a will.
- Executor / Personal Representative
- The person the court appoints to settle an estate.
- Intestate
- A decedent who died without a valid will.
- Conservator
- A court-appointed manager of a protected person's finances.
- Guardian
- A court-appointed decision-maker for a minor or incapacitated adult.
Court Records Office and Certified Copies
The District Court Records office at Room #72 of the main courthouse provides certified, exemplified, and plain copies of Ramsey County District Court documents. Court Administrator Heather Kendall heads up court administration for the Second Judicial District. Requests can be made by mail, by phone at 651-266-8237, or in person. Payment is required before copies are released. Mail orders take check or money order. Phone orders take credit or debit. In-person orders take cash, check, money order, or card.
The records office also keeps public access terminals for cases and documents that are not on MCRO.
The full guide to the office sits at the Ramsey County District Court Records page.
The page lists request methods, payment options, agency rules for certified criminal copies, and transcript notes.
Older case files and archived records are handled differently. Civil case files from 1858 through 1902, file numbers 1 to 78,050, are at the Minnesota Historical Society State Archives. The Court Administrator page covers public terminals, payment, and transcript routing in more detail.
Ramsey County Court Records Fees
Court copy fees for Ramsey County District Court follow the statewide Minnesota Judicial Branch fee schedule. The local records office uses the same rates as every other Minnesota district court. Card payments by phone may add processor fees. Mail payments use check or money order. The chart below covers the most common items.
| Item | Source |
|---|---|
| Plain court copies | Minnesota Judicial Branch Court Fees schedule, per page |
| Certified court copies | Per-page fee plus certification charge; Ramsey-only cases |
| Exemplified copies | Court-issued under-seal copy of a judgment or order |
| Phone card payment | Card processor charge may apply on top of court fee |
| Mail payment | Check or money order; no card surcharge |
| Agency certified criminal copy | Up to five business days; email request to records office |
The MCRO downloads themselves are free. Probate, vital-records, and marriage license fees are listed on each subpage.
How to Read a Ramsey County Court Record
A Ramsey County District Court file has two main parts: the Register of Actions and the documents themselves. The Register lists every event in date order. Each entry can include a filing, a hearing notice, an order, a payment, or a warrant event. The Register is the fastest way to track a case. The documents tab shows what is downloadable for free.
A charge on the docket is not the same as a conviction. A criminal case may have a charge listed under the case category even when the file ends with a dismissal, a stay of imposition, a continuance for dismissal, or a finding of not guilty. Read the disposition entry, not just the charge line. The arrest records page covers the difference between an arrest, a charge, and a conviction in more depth.
Accuracy and Record Limitations
MCRO is not the official record. The Minnesota Judicial Branch does not certify MCRO data and warns that case type at search time is not the final outcome. Name searches can be wrong when two people share a name or birth date or when a party used an alias. BCA's Minnesota Public Criminal History Search is the proper tool for fingerprint-linked background checks. MCRO is for case lookup only.
Records change when the court file is updated. Lag time from filing to online posting can be hours or days. Newly sentenced people may not appear in the Minnesota DOC locator for several business days. The ADC roster updates every 30 minutes. For exact custody or case status, call the issuing court or facility.
History of the Ramsey County Courthouse
The first Ramsey County courthouse was a two-story brick Greek Revival building, designed in 1851 by Dr. David Gray, a physician who served as county clerk. It cost $9,000. The second courthouse went up in 1885 at Fourth and Wabasha, designed by Edward P. Bassford in Romanesque Revival style and built of Kasota stone for $600,000.
The current building opened in 1932. A 1928 bond issue paid the projected $4 million cost. When work began during the Depression, prices for stone, wood, and metal fell, which let the building commission afford lavish details. Foley Brothers of Saint Paul paid 12.5 percent above the prevailing wage, or 45 cents an hour at the time, to bring in skilled tradesmen. The 18- to 21-story Art Deco tower was designed by Thomas Ellerbe & Co. of Saint Paul and Holabird & Root of Chicago, faced in smooth Indiana limestone, and dedicated in December 1932 by U.S. Attorney General William D. Mitchell.
The interior holds 23 kinds of wood, five kinds of imported marble, a Lee Lawrie entrance relief, four John Norton murals in the council chamber, Albert Stewart bronze elevator doors, and Carl Milles' 38-foot, 60-ton white onyx Vision of Peace statue that turns 132 degrees every two and a half hours. The county runs self-guided tours during business hours.
The official courthouse history is published at mncourts.gov.
The history page describes the 1851, 1885, and 1932 courthouses and the Art Deco interior in detail.
Self-Help and Legal Aid in Ramsey County
Ramsey County District Court runs a Self-Help Service Center at 651-266-5125. Staff help self-represented people with family court, juvenile delinquency, adult criminal expungement, and civil name changes. The center does not handle civil court, conciliation, criminal, housing, probate, or appeals matters, but it points users to statewide Help Topics.
Free legal clinics meet on a steady rotation at the Ramsey County Law Library on the 18th floor of the main courthouse. Conciliation Court clinic meets every Tuesday from 1 to 4 p.m. The Criminal Defense Law Clinic meets on the first and third Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m. The Volunteer Lawyers Network expungement clinic meets the fourth Thursday of each month from 1 to 3 p.m. Minnesota Justice Foundation runs a housing court clinic each Tuesday from 1 to 4 p.m. The family court clinic takes phone appointments on Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 2 p.m.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I search Ramsey County court records online?
Use MCRO. Open Case Search, pick a tab, and choose Ramsey under Court Locations. You can search by name, case number, citation number, or attorney bar number. Pending criminal, traffic, and petty misdemeanor cases without a conviction need a case or citation number, not a name.
Are MCRO records certified?
No. MCRO records are not the official court file and are not certified. Certified or exemplified copies must be ordered from Ramsey County District Court Records at Room #72, 15 W. Kellogg Blvd., Saint Paul. Phone the records office at 651-266-8237. Pay first, then receive copies.
Where do I find Ramsey County jail bookings?
The Adult Detention Center roster updates every 30 minutes and includes recent bookings, arrest charges, formal charges, and court case data. Records stay online while a person is in custody and for five days after release. For exact status, call 651-266-9350.
How do I check for a Ramsey County warrant?
Use the Sheriff's Online Warrant Search. The search covers active arrest warrants issued by Ramsey County District Court within the last ten years. It does not cover warrants in other counties, served warrants, or recalled warrants. Visit the warrant records page for more.
Where do I get a marriage license or a divorce record?
Marriage licenses come from Ramsey County Vital Records at the Plato Building, 90 Plato Blvd. West, Saint Paul. Divorce records, by contrast, are court records and live at District Court Records. The split is the most common point of confusion in Ramsey County court records lookups.
More answers are on the Ramsey County Court Records FAQ page.