New Haven County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

New Haven County was created in 1666 by an act of the Connecticut General Court, and it is home to the prestigious Yale University. It is the state's third-most populous county, with a population of 864,751 people. The city of New Haven served as the county seat until county governments were abolished in 1960. The Probate and Superior Courts handle all legal controversies within New Haven County.

New Haven County Probate Courts have jurisdiction over deceased persons' estates, adoptions, conservatorships, guardianships for minors, and testamentary trusts. These courts are situated within the cities of West Haven, Waterbury, New Haven, Wallingford, Milford, Naugatuck, East Haven, Cheshire, Branford, and Ansonia. Superior Courts handle civil, family, criminal, and housing matters. Most importantly, they are geographically organized into Judicial Districts, Geographical Areas, and Juvenile Matters Courts. New Haven County has the following superior courts:

• Ansonia-Milford Judicial District
• Ansonia-Milford Judicial District at Derby
• Geographical Area 4 at Waterbury
• Geographical Area 5 at Derby
• Geographical Area 7 at Meriden
• Geographical Area 22 at Milford
• Geographical Area 23 at New Haven
• Housing Session at New Haven
• Housing Session at Waterbury
• Meriden Judicial District
• Waterbury Judicial District-criminal
• Waterbury Judicial District-civil
• New Haven Judicial District
• Juvenile Matters at New Haven
• Juvenile Matters at Waterbury

Based on trends, Geographical Area Courts (Waterbury, Derby, Meriden, New Haven, and Milford) collectively process about 20,000 criminal case dispositions a year. Meanwhile, the Juvenile Matters Courts in New Haven and Waterbury each dispose of approximately 1,000 juvenile delinquency cases annually. The primary role of each court's Chief Clerk is to maintain the court records of cases filed in New Haven County. Besides juvenile or sealed records, court records are open and accessible to the public at the clerk's office and through the Case Look-Up web page provided by the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch. If access is required for juvenile and/or sealed records, a special permission request would be required during an in-person visit to the Clerk's office.

The New Haven County court system comprises both Superior Courts and Probate Courts. The Superior Courts are further divided into different Geographical Areas, Judicial Districts, and Juvenile Matters. Through the various divisions, the Superior Court hears civil, criminal, family, and housing matters. Conversely, the Probate Courts specifically handle all probate-related cases. Individuals interested in viewing court records can either use the Case Look-Up webpage or visit the office of the records custodian.