# PACER basics: what it is and how to find a federal case

Editorial review: October 22, 2026. Official sources cited. Text updated: October 22, 2026.

Juricio is not an official court website and is not affiliated with the U.S. Courts or PACER. This guide is general information, not legal advice: for a decision about a case, talk to a licensed attorney, and confirm each detail in the official sources cited below.

[Esta guía en español](https://juricio.com/us/es/guias/pacer-en-espanol)

PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) is the federal judiciary's online service for public access to the records of the federal district, bankruptcy and appellate courts. With an account you can search the nationwide index of cases, open a case in the court where it was filed and read its docket and documents, paying per page.

## What can you find in PACER?

The case information and documents filed in the federal courts: more than a billion documents, according to PACER, available 24 hours a day. It does not include the state courts, which keep their own records, nor sealed documents. Transcripts of court proceedings are added 90 days after they are produced, and most cases created before 1999 exist on paper only.

## How do you open an account?

Register on the PACER site for a case-search account. Registering is free; viewing records is not. With a credit card on file the account works at once; without one, PACER mails an activation token, which takes 7 to 10 business days. PACER also has a free demonstration site to try it first.

## How do you find a case?

- **With the court and the case number**: log in to PACER and open the case in that court's system. It is also PACER's advice to keep costs down.
- **With a name only**: search the PACER Case Locator, which covers every federal court and returns the court, the case number and the dates the case was filed and closed (see [How to search PACER by party name](https://juricio.com/us/guides/search-pacer-by-name)).

## What does PACER cost?

$0.10 per page ($0.12 from January 1, 2027), for documents, docket reports and search results. A document or a docket report is billed for at most 30 pages ($3.00 today); search results and transcripts have no cap. Accounts are billed every quarter, and no fee is owed for a quarter with charges of $30 or less ($40 from January 1, 2027). The details are in [PACER fees in 2027](https://juricio.com/us/guides/pacer-fees-2027).

## When is PACER free?

- Court opinions are free, on PACER and, for many courts, on [GovInfo](https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/uscourts).
- Viewing case files on the public access terminals of a courthouse is free; printing costs $0.10 a page.
- Parties in a case and attorneys of record get one free electronic copy of each document filed electronically in their case.
- Courts may exempt some people from the fee on request.

## Who can help with PACER?

The PACER Service Center answers questions at (800) 676-6856, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Time, Monday to Friday, or at pacer@psc.uscourts.gov. For information beyond the docket and the documents, contact the court where the case was filed.

## Which words will you see in PACER?

PACER's pages are in English. These are the terms you will meet most, with their usual wording in U.S. Spanish:

| In PACER | In U.S. Spanish |
|---|---|
| Docket | Expediente (registro de actuaciones) |
| Docket entry | Actuación |
| Docket report | Reporte del expediente |
| Case number | Número de expediente |
| Party | Parte |
| Plaintiff | Demandante |
| Defendant | Demandado |
| Complaint | Demanda |
| Summons | Emplazamiento |
| Answer | Contestación |
| Motion | Moción |
| Order | Orden |
| Judgment | Sentencia |
| Hearing | Audiencia |
| Transcript | Transcripción |
| Sealed | Sellado |
| Bankruptcy | Quiebra |
| Trustee | Síndico |
| District court | Tribunal de distrito |
| Bankruptcy court | Tribunal de quiebras |
| Court of appeals | Tribunal de apelaciones |
| Clerk's office | Oficina del secretario del tribunal |
| PACER Case Locator | Localizador nacional de casos de PACER |
| Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) | Aviso de presentación electrónica |
| Public access terminal | Terminal de acceso público |

[Search federal cases](https://juricio.com/us/search) [Courts with RSS feeds](https://juricio.com/us/coverage)

## Questions

### Is PACER free?

Registering is free, but viewing records costs $0.10 per page ($0.12 from January 1, 2027). No fee is owed for a quarter with charges of $30 or less, and court opinions and the courthouse terminals are free.

### Does PACER include state court cases?

No. PACER holds the records of the federal district, bankruptcy and appellate courts. State courts keep their own records.

### Can I use PACER without an account?

Not online: to search federal court records online you need a PACER account. Without one, you can view case files for free on the public access terminals in the clerk's office of the court.

### Is PACER available in Spanish?

PACER's pages are in English. The Spanish version of this guide explains the terms you will see there.

## Sources

- [PACER: How can I receive case alerts using an RSS feed?](https://pacer.uscourts.gov/help/faqs/how-can-i-receive-case-alerts-using-rss-feed): on the same page: what PACER is, sealed documents, transcripts and the PACER Service Center's hours (consulted October 22, 2026).
- [PACER: Find a Case FAQs](https://pacer.uscourts.gov/help/faqs/find-a-case): who can access PACER, its hours, searching a court or the PACER Case Locator, and asking the court for more (consulted October 22, 2026).
- [PACER: Register for an account (PACER – Case Search Only)](https://pacer.uscourts.gov/register-account/pacer-case-search-only): registration, its cost, the activation token and the demonstration site (consulted October 22, 2026).
- [United States Courts: Find a Case (PACER)](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/find-a-case-pacer): paper files of cases created before 1999, public access terminals and quarterly billing (consulted October 22, 2026).
- [PACER Pricing: How fees work](https://pacer.uscourts.gov/pacer-pricing-how-fees-work): today's fees and when PACER is free (consulted October 22, 2026).
- [PACER: Pricing FAQs](https://pacer.uscourts.gov/help/faqs/pricing): the cap per document and what it does not cover (consulted October 22, 2026).
- [United States Courts: Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-programs/fees/electronic-public-access-fee-schedule): in force since January 1, 2020: fees, the quarterly exemption and free access (consulted October 22, 2026).
- [United States Courts: Judiciary Approves Funding for Case Management and Public Access Modernization](https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/judiciary-news/2026/06/26/judiciary-approves-funding-case-management-and-public-access-modernization): news release of June 26, 2026: the fee per page and the quarterly exemption from January 1, 2027 (consulted October 22, 2026).
- [PACER: Court Opinions](https://pacer.uscourts.gov/find-case/court-opinions): free opinions on PACER and through the Government Publishing Office (consulted October 22, 2026).
- [United States Courts: Comparing Federal & State Courts](https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure/comparing-federal-state-courts): state courts have their own court systems (consulted October 22, 2026).

## More guides

- [How to search PACER by party name](https://juricio.com/us/guides/search-pacer-by-name)
- [PACER fees in 2027: $0.12 per page](https://juricio.com/us/guides/pacer-fees-2027)
- [How to track a federal court case](https://juricio.com/us/guides/track-a-federal-court-case)
- [PACER alerts: how to get docket alerts](https://juricio.com/us/guides/pacer-alerts)
- [PACER RSS feeds: what they include](https://juricio.com/us/guides/pacer-rss-feeds)
- [Get alerts when a company is sued](https://juricio.com/us/guides/lawsuit-alerts-for-a-company)
- [How to find out if you are being sued](https://juricio.com/us/guides/am-i-being-sued)
- [Guides to federal dockets and alerts](https://juricio.com/us/guides)

## More on Juricio

- [Federal courts with RSS feeds](https://juricio.com/us/coverage)
- [Docket monitoring](https://juricio.com/us/docket-monitoring)
- [Alerts by party name](https://juricio.com/us/name-alerts)
- [Federal district and bankruptcy courts](https://juricio.com/us/courts)
- [Federal docket glossary](https://juricio.com/us/glossary)
- [See plans](https://juricio.com/us/pricing)