Fort Bend County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Fort Bend County, Texas, is home to over 832,600 people. With Richmond as its county seat, it covers a land area of 861 square miles. Similar to some counties in Texas, Fort Bend operates a broadly structured court system that comprises the District Court, County Court, County Court at Law, and Justice Courts. The courts each have original and, sometimes, concurrent jurisdiction and are all crucial to the delivery of justice to the residents of Fort Bend County.

The District Courts, located in Richmond, handle land disputes, civil cases involving over $200, felony criminal matters, juvenile proceedings, and divorce cases. The County Court has jurisdiction over civil cases involving between $200 and $20,000, misdemeanors with a fine of over $500 or jail terms, and juvenile and probate matters. The County Courts at Law, located in Richmond, largely has the same jurisdiction as the County Court, except that this court may hear civil cases involving between $200 and $250,000. The Justice Courts may only hear civil matters involving $20,000 or less, criminal misdemeanors punishable only by fines, evictions, and other cases permitted by law.

In mid-2023, the Fort Bend County Justice Courts alone had over 105,000 active cases, indicating a busy docket for most courts across the county. Leveraging its structure, the county's judiciary has been able to manage the caseload and is fully committed to addressing backlogs, especially in light of the county's crime rate of 428 incidents per 100,000 people; and the commitment to further reduce this. All documents, including pleadings, filings, applications, and even court orders, concerning cases handled by the Fort Bend County courts are preserved and maintained by the respective Court Clerk. They collectively constitute the county's court records and are available to the public on the County Clerk's Online Record Search portal. Instances of sealed records, permission is to be requested to access the files and may require a court order.

In summary, Fort Bend County's court system is a core part of its governance, and it has been critical in keeping law and order within the county. The court structure and the courts' broad jurisdiction encompass a wide variety of legal matters, indicating a diverse caseload. The court system is also committed to strengthening public trust in the judiciary, transparency, and diligent recordkeeping, through ensuring easy public access to court documents and court officials. As Fort Bend County continues to improve, it leaves a good example for other counties on the ideal judiciary.