Palm Beach County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Palm Beach County is located in the southeastern region of Florida. It prides itself as the third most populous county in Florida, after Miami-Dade and Broward counties. It was formed on April 30, 1909 and its county seat is West Palm Beach. Palm Beach County is home to an estimated population of 1,490,000 (2022) and named after one of its oldest settlements. Palm Beach County falls under the 15th Judicial Circuit Court. Four Circuit Courts and four County Courts make up the court system of Palm Beach County. They seek to improve the growth, development, and distribution of equitable justice across the county.

The Circuit Court has several divisions: the Criminal, Family, Civil, Probate, and Juvenile Divisions. These divisions handle guardianship, criminal, domestic violence, probate regarding (wills or no wills), probate of estates, and juvenile delinquency and dependency cases. Palm Beach County Circuit Court in West Palm Beach (main courthouse), Palm Beach County Circuit Court (South County Courthouse) in Delray Beach, Palm Beach County Circuit Court (North County Courthouse) in Palm Beach Gardens, and Palm Beach County Circuit Court (West County Courthouse) in Belle Glade are Circuit Courts handling criminal and civil cases. The County Courts are limited in jurisdiction. They share concurrent jurisdiction with Circuit Courts over landlord-tenant cases and handle equity cases in which the amount involved in controversy equals $15,000 or less. They are located in the same locations as the circuit courts The County Civil Court handles small claims, replevins, and other civil lawsuits where the amount in controversy does not exceed $50,000.

The Circuit Courts in Palm Beach County filed 45,431 cases from July 2022 to June 2023 and the County Courts had a caseload of 213,697 cases. In the same year, the Circuit Courts disposed 44,430 cases while the County Courts disposed 216,961 cases. Overall, there are 35,000 to 40,000 cases in the circuit courts and 200,000 cases yearly in the county courts. The Clerk of Circuit Court and comptroller is the judicial officer in charge of keeping and maintaining court records in the county. The public can view uncertified electronic court documents on the eCaseView or purchase electronically certified copies of official court records with ECertify. They can also view these court records at the office of the clerk as some of these court records are not available online. Adoption court records and most juvenile court records including juvenile delinquency are removed from public disclosure.

The Palm Beach County Courts assist litigants with family, juvenile, traffic, civil, criminal, and probate cases to avoid and minimize conflicts. The circuit courts and county courts maximize all resources readily available to assist with resolving familial related case litigation. The Fifteenth Judicial Circuit seeks to facilitate open and effective communication between judges, court staff, and attorneys to better serve litigants. The integrity of court records are protected by the Clerk of Circuit Court thereby creating free access or removing barriers to court records.