Search Vanderburgh County Court Records Online
The main online path for Vanderburgh County court records is Indiana MyCase. The Indiana Judicial Branch says MyCase gives public access to non-confidential case information and many public documents from Odyssey courts. Vanderburgh County is covered through the state trial court system, so a search can reach Circuit Court, Superior Court, and other local court case types when those records are public and indexed. MyCase is useful for checking a case number, hearing date, chronological case summary, party names, financial entries, and public document links.
The online result is not the official court record. For official or certified copies, documents not posted online, archive searches, and records that require staff review, use the Vanderburgh County Clerk of the Courts. The Clerk of the Courts links to MyCase and handles court record duties, fees, traffic payments, child support collections, public records requests, marriage records, and official document requests. A broad court records search should treat MyCase as the starting point and the Clerk as the records custodian for copy work.
The Indiana MyCase search page is the source for the statewide case lookup shown here.
This portal is the practical first stop for Vanderburgh County court records, but the Clerk remains the source for certified copies and official file questions.
- Open MyCase and choose the search type that matches what is known, such as party name, case number, attorney, or citation.
- Filter to Vanderburgh County when possible so common names do not pull cases from other Indiana counties.
- Use case type and filing date filters to narrow civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic, and small claims results.
- Open the best match and compare court, party names, filing date, and case status before relying on the record.
- Use the Clerk request process if a document is missing, if the copy must be certified, or if the case is older or archived.
Vanderburgh County Court Records Search Fields
MyCase works best when the search is narrow. A name-only search can return many cases, especially when the name is common or the person has cases in more than one Indiana county. A cause number search is more precise. Date ranges, case type filters, and county filters help separate a Vanderburgh County court record from similar cases elsewhere in Indiana.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case number | Text | No | Use the exact Indiana cause number when known. |
| Party name | Text | No | Search person or business names; use last and first names to narrow. |
| Attorney | Text | No | Useful when counsel is known but the case number is not. |
| Court / county | Dropdown or filter | No | Select Vanderburgh County to limit statewide results. |
| Case type | Dropdown or filter | No | Civil, criminal, family, probate, infraction, ordinance, small claims, and public juvenile entries when allowed. |
| Filed date | Date range | No | Helpful for older cases and common names. |
| Citation / ticket number | Text | No | Used for traffic or payment paths when a ticket number is available. |
The Indiana Judicial Branch MyCase help page explains the public access limits of the portal.
Those limits matter when a Vanderburgh County court records search reaches a sealed, juvenile, or otherwise restricted file.
Types of Vanderburgh County Court Records
Vanderburgh County court records come from the county trial courts and their divisions. Indiana's trial courts include circuit courts, superior courts, and local city or town courts. Vanderburgh County uses both Vanderburgh Circuit Court and Vanderburgh Superior Court, while small claims, family, juvenile, traffic, misdemeanor, and probate matters route through local court offices and the Clerk. Some lower court, ordinance, or traffic matters may appear in MyCase if they use the state system. If a ticket or notice points to another local court, contact that issuing court or clerk.
The Indiana Judicial Branch Odyssey courts list helps explain why MyCase coverage depends on courts using the Odyssey case-management system.
For Vanderburgh County court records, Odyssey/MyCase coverage supports online lookup, while the Clerk remains the copy and records request office.
- Civil records include collections, torts, foreclosures, name changes, evictions, foreign judgments, proceedings supplemental, and small claims.
- Criminal records include felony and misdemeanor charges, hearings, pleas, bond entries, disposition, sentence, probation, and financial obligations.
- Family records include divorce, custody, support, paternity, parenting time, legal separation, and domestic relations matters, with child-related limits.
- Probate records include estates, wills, guardianships, trusts, inventories, notices, orders, accountings, and final distributions.
- Traffic and infraction records include citations, ordinance violations, payment entries, failure-to-appear events, and deferral or dismissal entries.
- Restricted record groups include juvenile, adoption, mental health, sealed, and expunged matters when Indiana law or court rules block public release.
What Vanderburgh County Court Records Show
A public case record is more than a file name. It can show the case number, court, county, caption, filing date, case type, status, parties, attorneys, hearings, docket entries, financial events, and public documents. The chronological case summary is often the most useful part because it lists case events in order. It can show when a complaint was filed, service was issued, a motion was filed, an order was entered, a hearing was set, a judgment was issued, or a criminal sentence was imposed.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Cause number | The unique Indiana case identifier assigned to the court record. |
| Court and county | Whether the case is in Vanderburgh Circuit Court, Vanderburgh Superior Court, or another listed local court. |
| Case type | The broad group, such as criminal, civil, small claims, domestic relations, probate, infraction, or ordinance. |
| Parties | Names such as State of Indiana, plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, estate, guardian, or attorney of record. |
| Chronological case summary | The event list showing filings, notices, hearings, orders, continuances, judgments, sentences, payments, and service entries. |
| Documents | Public pleadings and orders that may be viewable online, with official copies requested from the Clerk. |
| Financials | Filing fees, court costs, fines, restitution, bond, deferral fees, and payment status when public. |
Public Access for Vanderburgh County Court Records
Indiana public access is shaped by both general public-records law and court-specific access rules. Indiana Code Title 5 includes the Access to Public Records Act, which requires public agencies to permit access unless an exception applies. Court records are also governed by the Indiana Rules on Access to Court Records, which treat court records as public unless a rule, statute, or court order excludes them.
For Vanderburgh County court records, the access chain is practical. Use MyCase for public online information. Use the Clerk public-records request process for copies, archive files, and records not available online. The Clerk asks requesters to complete all fields on the form, describe the record with enough detail to locate it, and submit the request by mail, fax, or in person. The Clerk states it will notify the requester within seven days, though that response may be a status update rather than immediate production.
Note: A MyCase result is a public lookup record, not a certified copy for legal use.
Restricted Vanderburgh County Court Records
Not every court record is public. Access to Court Records Rule 5 lists categories excluded from public access. The Indiana Office of Court Services excluded-records list is also relevant when a document has protected information. Juvenile records, adoption files, sealed cases, expunged criminal records, mental-health proceedings, protected addresses, victim and witness contact details, medical data, financial account numbers, and some minor names may be withheld or redacted.
Access to Court Records Rule 9 gives a process to ask for access to an excluded court record, but the document remains confidential unless the court grants access. Expungement is handled under Indiana Code Title 35 for eligible arrest, charge, or conviction records. Juvenile confidentiality is tied to Indiana Code Title 31. These limits explain why a case may exist at the courthouse but not appear in an ordinary public search.
The Indiana DOC sex and violent offender registry page is a separate statewide registry source, not a replacement for Vanderburgh County court records.
Registry data, sheriff data, and court records can overlap, but each source answers a different record question.
Vanderburgh County Court Records Requests
Use the Clerk when a Vanderburgh County court records search needs an official copy, a certified copy, an older file, or a document not shown online. Public-records requests can be mailed to the Clerk, faxed, or submitted in person. The request should include names, case number if known, court or division if known, date range, record type, and enough context for staff to locate the file. Marriage licenses and divorce decrees also have an Official Records Online request channel, with mailed certified or uncertified copies and the copy fees listed by the Clerk.
Vanderburgh County Clerk of the Courts
825 Sycamore Street
Evansville, IN 47708
P.O. Box 3356, Evansville, IN 47732
812-435-5160
Fax: 812-435-5849
Recorded instruments, liens, and real-estate records are different from trial court case records. The Recorder's Tapestry and Laredo systems are useful for recorded documents, but they do not replace MyCase or the Clerk for Vanderburgh County court records. If the issue is a sheriff booking, warrant, crash report, incident report, or incarceration record, use the Sheriff's public-records channel instead of the Clerk. If the issue is a federal case from the Evansville federal courthouse, search the Southern District of Indiana through federal court systems rather than MyCase.