Access Union County Court Case Records

Union County Court Record Requests

Remote lookups for Common Pleas General Division and Domestic Relations files start with the county's eServices Public Records Search. The Union County Clerk of Courts, Legal Division, keeps those files and the Third District appellate records. You do not need that portal, though. Email, the counter, a phone call, or a plain public-record request all work. No special form, stated purpose, or identity is required. Staff may still ask enough to identify an existing record.

Always ask the court that owns the file. Probate and Juvenile records sit with their Judge / Ex Officio Clerk and deputy clerks. Marysville Municipal Court keeps its own traffic, misdemeanor, small-claims, and municipal-civil files. Older Probate material may belong to the Records Center & Archives instead. In short, a blank eServices screen settles nothing. It does not prove a Union County court record is missing.

1. Identify the court or division, the case number if known, and whether the request is for a docket, a filed document, a certified copy, or a transcript.
2. Search eServices for eligible Common Pleas records. For a municipal matter, use the municipal court path; for Probate or Juvenile, contact that division's custodian.
3. For a Common Pleas record that is missing online, email the Legal Office, call, visit the counter, mail a clear request, or use the ordinary public-record process.
4. State the court, case, document, copy type, and delivery preference. Ask for the current quote before sending payment when certification or transmission is involved.
5. Prepay copying, mailing, or transmission when the custodian requests it. For an older Probate file, call the Probate clerk before travel and use Archives when directed.

Note: A request can get you an accessible record that already exists. It cannot override an order or rule that restricts that record.

Union County eServices Record Coverage

eServices is the county's public search route for Domestic, Civil, Certificate of Judgment, Court of Appeals, and felony-criminal material. Its index reaches back to 1990, and imaged documents start in 2002. Updates run on a 72-hour cycle. Sensitive documents never leave the Legal Office. Finding an eligible case there is easy enough. A document on your screen does not mean every filing in a Union County court case record is available remotely.

When a search comes up thin, start with the county's Public Records Search coverage notice, which spells out those limits in full. Probate tells a different story. Records filed on or after June 1, 2019 live in the portal. Some Probate and Juvenile case types stay off-limits from home.

For the divisions behind that split, see the county's Probate and Juvenile Court information, which explains what each office holds and where its case records are kept.

Separate divisions keep their own files. That is why a Common Pleas search is never a complete search of every Union County court record.

Kinds of Union County Court Records

A docket or daily schedule is just the index: case activity and upcoming settings. The case file is broader. It holds pleadings, motions, journal entries, orders, judgments, and other filed papers. Custody follows the case type, not the place where a search began. The Legal Division keeps General Division criminal and civil documents. It also holds Domestic Relations documents. Probate, Juvenile, and Municipal Court maintain their own court case records.

• Common Pleas appearance, trial, and general docket information
• Filed pleadings, motions, journal entries, orders, and judgments
• Domestic Relations, civil, certificate-of-judgment, and felony-criminal files eligible for the county search
• Probate files, including records routed to the Probate clerk or historical collection
• Marysville Municipal Court traffic, misdemeanor, small-claims, and municipal-civil files

Note: Depositions and transcripts are not routine clerk-copy items under Local Rule 16. A transcript goes through the court-reporter channel.

Union County Probate Records and Archives

Probate takes its own route. Open and recent files generally stay in the Probate Clerk Office, and the online route covers records filed after June 1, 2019. Older or closed material may sit elsewhere. The clerk, the Records Center & Archives, or a public terminal can confirm it. The historic Probate index spans 1820 through May 2019. An older estate hunt should not end at an online search.

Before traveling, call the Probate clerk at 937-645-3029, extension 3405. The Records Center & Archives at 128 S. Main Street, Marysville, is the county's custodian for historic and closed Probate and archival material. Its public-record request policy supplies the Archives request route. The Probate Division Records page lays out both the current and historical route.

That split keeps an online current record distinct from an archival Probate volume. The Archives Clerk of Courts records description identifies the historic docket volumes in the county collection.

For older Union County court records that predate digital indexes and images, Archives can supply the missing context.

Court Records: What They Contain

What a record holds depends on the court and the type. Union's historic docket descriptions show an event trail. The daily schedule shows only the settings. Common Pleas schedule formats follow patterns such as YY-CR-####, YY-CV-####, and YY-DR-####. A current case file may add the underlying documents. Keep this in mind. A docket entry is not always a copy of the document filed that day.

The Archives public-record request policy identifies the county route for archival material.

Historic descriptions help explain the record layers. They do not promise a modern electronic case will display the same fields.

Union County Court Record Image Cutoffs

Union County's online court records have two separate starting points. The public index reaches back to 1990. Images only start in 2002. Probate public dockets and records filed after June 1, 2019 sit online. Older material may live on paper. It may also sit on microfilm, in an archive, or in a clerk-held file. Records Center work in 2024 digitized Probate marriage volumes, improved microfilm storage, and rehoused older Clerk civil and domestic cases. Not every historic court case record became a remote image.

Skip the repeated public docket searches for anything before its cutoff. Go to the custodian route instead. Describe the court, the date range, the names, and any known case number. That detail lets the clerk or archivist pull the right volume, microfilm, or file.

Copy Fees and Certification

Ordinary public-record copying through the Legal Division is listed at $0.10 per page plus mailing. Advance payment may be an option. Other Common Pleas statutory provisions read differently. Some copies run $1 per page. A certificate of fact under seal costs $1, and electronic transmission is $2 plus $1 per page. Those figures serve different purposes. They are not one universal certified-copy price, and the county publishes none. Ask the Legal Office what applies to your request and how to pay.

The county's Case Deposits page is the source for selected record-check and filing charges.

The published fee entries help you plan a request. For certification, though, get a current quote from the office that holds the records.

Union County Court Record Certification

Want a certified Common Pleas court record? Email the Legal Office at ClerkofCourtsLegal@unioncountyohio.gov. List the court, case number, document, copy type, and delivery method. The office will state the current fee and whether advance payment is required. For a deposition or transcript, ask which court-reporter channel applies. Do not request routine copying from the clerk for those items.

Going direct matters. An electronic view is not a clerk-certified copy. The $1 certificate-of-fact item is not a universal price for a certified docket or filed document.

Access Rules for Court Records

Ohio court records answer mainly to the Rules of Superintendence plus specific court statutes. The public may inspect accessible records at the proper custodian during business hours. Remote access works where the case type is eligible. Redactions and restrictions still apply. Under Legal Division policy, inspection is prompt, and copies arrive within a reasonable time. Any denial or redaction comes with an explanation.

Criminal sealing and expungement run through ORC 2953.32; juvenile sealing follows its own process in ORC 2151.356. Neither statute opens every record. A non-result in a search does not mean no court file ever existed.

Union County Protected Court Records

Knowing the case does not guarantee access to every document in it. County policy lists restricted examples. These include protected identifiers, privileged or trial-preparation material, grand-jury materials, and medical material. BMV material, judge-sealed items, and protected public-servant information are also restricted. Probate search limits cover adoption, mental illness or intellectual-disability matters, and sealed matters. Some minor-settlement material is limited too. Juvenile records may be confidential or simply unavailable through eServices.

Ohio rules also shield Social Security numbers beyond the last four digits. Financial-account numbers and certain juvenile names are covered as well. A clerk request cannot override these limits. When the law permits a motion for restricted records, use the court's judicial access process. The Juvenile Division page lays out the separate court channel for juvenile court information.

Using the proper division protects both the requester's time and the court's access limits.