How to Search Court Dockets in West Virginia
Know the court level and county before you search. Circuit Court, Magistrate Court, Family Court, municipal, probate, and appellate matters do not all live in one system. WVPASS covers public Circuit Court records. The Magistrate Case Record Search, or MCR, handles Magistrate case information. Neither tool indexes every record held by every West Virginia court, so a docket search may still need the county clerk.
- Identify the court type from a citation, notice, order, or case number. A felony may have an early Magistrate docket and a later Circuit docket.
- For a public Circuit Court matter, open the Judiciary’s Court Records Access page and follow WVPASS. For a Magistrate matter, use the separate MCR search.
- Check the result against the county, case type, and filing date. An absent result can reflect a court outside the portal’s scope or a restricted record.
- For the full docket sheet, document images, a public terminal, or a certified copy, contact the clerk in the county where the case was filed. Use the county directory to reach the correct court site.
- For an appeal, municipal ticket, probate matter, or federal case, confirm the separate court and record custodian before searching.
A docket shows events and filings. A short entry may not show the court's full ruling, so ask the clerk for the signed order or complete file when a line leaves the question open.
The Judiciary's statewide access page sets out the separate Circuit and Magistrate routes. That distinction matters before choosing a name or number search.
The West Virginia Judiciary landing page routes users to the right statewide system. It does not replace the clerk who maintains the county case file.
West Virginia Docket Search Starts With Court
West Virginia organizes records around court authority, not one all-purpose docket number. A traffic citation usually starts in Magistrate Court. A city ordinance may send it to Municipal Court instead. A felony can move from preliminary Magistrate proceedings to Circuit Court. A domestic-relations case belongs to Family Court, though its clerk is the Circuit Clerk. A County Commission clerk holds the probate records.
That structure explains many empty results. A person may hold a Magistrate case number from the first proceeding. A new Circuit number can follow after bindover. Appeals create their own appellate docket too. Start with the court named on the notice. Then follow later orders or ask the clerk whether the case moved.
The West Virginia Statewide Case Search
West Virginia runs two distinct statewide public court searches. WVPASS is the public Circuit Court records portal. MCR is the public Magistrate case-information search. Each covers a different court tier and returns different material. Search and registration on WVPASS are free, though public document downloads cost $0.25 per page plus a nominal card-processing fee. MCR costs nothing and does not show filed document images.
| Search Path | Verified Search Fields | What It Returns |
|---|---|---|
| WVPASS | Live form controls were not verifiable | Public Circuit records from all 55 counties, described back to 1999; sealed and juvenile filings excluded |
| MCR | First name, last name, or case number | Magistrate case information, up to 30 results; no document images |
Neither portal promises a consistent interface. WVPASS may present a search form that varies between visits. The MCR search sits behind a CAPTCHA gate. Treat no field labels, dropdowns, date limits, sorting, refresh schedule, or export controls as guaranteed. West Virginia's official materials describe coverage rather than interface behavior. Confirm any docket detail against the case record itself.
The West Virginia court system overview covers system roles and record limits. It follows records from the local court clerk through the statewide portals.
When West Virginia Dockets Miss WVPASS
A zero-result WVPASS search does not establish that no case exists. WVPASS holds public Circuit Court records only. It is not a universal search for Magistrate, municipal, probate, appellate, federal, or confidential Family Court files. Juvenile or sealed material stays out. Family Court orders and indices may be public. But pleadings and exhibits remain confidential under Family Court Rule 6.
An older paper file may still need a clerk request. The same goes for a document never posted online. This can be true even when the case falls inside the portal's stated date range. A felony's first Magistrate case can also carry a distinct Circuit number after bindover. Search the other court level if the case path changed. Contact the Circuit Clerk or Magistrate Court Clerk in the filing county when a result is missing or incomplete.
West Virginia posts no statewide public trial-calendar search. The SCA and ICA current dockets list appellate arguments, not every county hearing. For a lower-court date, check the case record or call the local court.
Which Courts Keep Dockets
West Virginia's trial and appellate courts split case types among separate clerks and systems. Circuit Courts serve as the general-jurisdiction trial courts. Magistrate Courts take misdemeanors, felony preliminary proceedings, and limited civil matters. Family Court handles domestic relations under special confidentiality limits.
| Court | Docket Covers | Where to Search |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | Felonies, general civil matters, appeals assigned by law | WVPASS for covered public records; Circuit Clerk for full file |
| Family Court | Divorce, custody, support, and related domestic matters | Circuit Clerk; public orders and indices have restricted access routes |
| Magistrate Court | Misdemeanors, felony preliminary hearings, limited civil cases | MCR for case information; Magistrate Court Clerk for documents |
| Municipal Court | Local ordinance matters | Issuing municipality |
| Appellate courts | Appeals assigned to the ICA or Supreme Court of Appeals | Appellate Clerk and current argument calendars |
| County Commission | Probate and fiduciary matters | County Commission Clerk or Fiduciary Supervisor |
West Virginia's 30 Circuit judicial circuits group 55 counties, and 80 Circuit judges were reported for 2025. The West Virginia Circuit Court overview describes that court's statewide divisions and circuit structure.
The West Virginia Circuit Court map lays out the state-level arrangement. For any docket or filing, the county Circuit Clerk remains the local record keeper.
West Virginia Felonies Can Create Two Dockets
A West Virginia felony often starts small. The case may first appear in Magistrate Court for a preliminary examination. If it moves ahead, the prosecution shifts to Circuit Court. The Circuit case gets its own number and docket. That second record is not simply the first one expanded. So search both court levels whenever a notice, citation, or prior order signals a transfer or bindover.
Magistrate case information can show appearance dates, an event schedule, charges, bond details, and docket entries when those fields exist. The field list comes from a blank template. A form label never proves a real case holds that data. And one more caution applies. A public entry is not the signed order itself.
What a Court Docket Shows
A docket in West Virginia is an ordered log of case activity. Trial Court Rule 15A treats Circuit and Family e-file events as an electronic docket. That term means an electronic register of actions. MCR uses the heading “DOCKET ENTRY.” for its Magistrate events. Fields shift with the system and the case. The state publishes no complete public glossary of docket codes.
| Case Number | An identifier assigned in a specific court. West Virginia uses more than one pattern; examples from the Magistrate payment system are not a universal code guide. |
|---|---|
| Parties or Case Style | Names and roles associated with the case, if shown in the public record. |
| Filing or Docket Entry | A dated description of a filing, action, hearing, or order. A short description may not include the filed paper. |
| Hearing Setting | Where available, the date, time, room, location, judge, and event type. |
| Disposition | The recorded outcome or status. Read the actual order to understand its legal effect. |
A filing receipt under Trial Court Rule 15A confirms the clerk received an electronic submission. An upload alone proves nothing. The Magistrate detail page draws fields like Case ID, Case Location, Filing Date, Case Charges, Bond Information, Event Schedule, and Docket Entry from the blank public template. Not every case fills them. Completeness varies by case.
West Virginia Court Docket Terms
West Virginia’s public systems borrow terms from court rules and from their own record layouts. The plain meanings here offer orientation. Its real effect depends on the order behind it.
- Electronic register of actions
- The chronological record of Circuit or Family case events and filings under Trial Rule 15A.
- Case information
- MCR’s label for public Magistrate case details and events.
- Continuance
- A court-approved move of a scheduled proceeding to a later date.
- Bindover
- Movement of a felony matter from preliminary Magistrate proceedings to Circuit Court after the required process.
- Certified copy
- A clerk-authenticated copy of an official court record. Ask the record custodian how to request one.
Never guess at what a code means. Ask the clerk for a full event description, or obtain the underlying order when an entry stays unclear.
West Virginia Court Docket Filing Counts
West Virginia’s 2025 Annual Statistical Report counts 40,396 Circuit Court filings. That is up 1.4 percent from 39,833 in 2024. Circuit categories for 2025 break down as 21,071 civil filings, 11,022 criminal filings, and 8,303 juvenile filings. Family Court logged 19,671 new cases. Separate Magistrate reports add 103,433 misdemeanor cases and 48,599 civil filings.
These totals measure filing volume by court and category. They are not conviction counts. They are not outcomes or pending cases either. A high figure says nothing about a given case. It does not tell you whether that case has a public online document.
The West Virginia Judiciary statistics and annual reports page posts dated filing totals. It adds statewide court context as well.
Annual totals come from court and clerk reporting. They give system context, while the case-specific answer still lives in the correct court record.
West Virginia Court Docket Access Rules
West Virginia law generally opens court records to inspection. Statutes, court rules, or orders can still limit access. A public search does not erase those limits. Sealed and juvenile filings stay out of WVPASS. Magistrate search returns case information without document images, and family pleadings and exhibits remain confidential even where orders or indices are public.
Key Rules:
West Virginia Code §51-4-2 generally opens court records and papers for inspection, subject to legal restrictions.
Trial Court Rule 10.04 directs public-record requests to the custodian and addresses inspection and copying.
West Virginia Code §29B-1-3 sets the FOIA response process and actual-reproduction-cost rule for covered records.
Trial Court Rules 15A.24 to 15A.26 address redaction and public electronic access to eligible Circuit case records.
West Virginia Code §49-5-101 protects juvenile records from ordinary public access, subject to statutory exceptions.
Other administrative records need a FOIA request. Send it to the custodian of the record. West Virginia sets the statutory response window at up to five days, excluding weekends and legal holidays. That deadline triggers a response, not a finished set of copies for every complex request.
West Virginia Court Record Copy Fees
Fees vary by service. Search, download, paper-copy, and payment charges are separate. A record fee is not a court fine or a payment-portal charge, so confirm any certification, postage, or local handling requirement with the clerk who holds the file.
| Record Route | Published Base Charge | Where the Request Goes |
|---|---|---|
| WVPASS public document download | $0.25 per page plus nominal card fee; search is free | Online Circuit Court portal |
| Circuit Clerk paper copy | $1 per page under §59-1-11(b)(2) | Circuit Clerk in filing county |
| Magistrate Court copy | $0.25 per page under Magistrate Administrative Rule 11 | Magistrate Court Clerk |
| FOIA reproduction | Actual reproduction cost, not staff search or retrieval | Custodian of the requested public-business record |
West Virginia adds no general Circuit certified-copy surcharge. There is no uniform county add-on either, and a Magistrate payment-portal fee stays separate from a docket-search fee.
West Virginia Court Docket Technology
West Virginia court technology arrived in layers. Circuit and Family e-filing rules date to 2014. County rollout began with Monroe County in 2015 and finished statewide in Monongalia County in July 2024. CourtPLUS serves clerks and authorized WV E-File users. Vault holds the digital records. Neither is the public search site.
Magistrate Courts run their own case-management system. Public MCR search was announced in 2024 and opens Magistrate case information without document images. WVPASS launched on March 10, 2025 for public Circuit records. The separate projects changed how the public finds court information across the state. Still, they did not merge every court, record type, or custodian into one system.
Self-represented litigants in West Virginia still file paper with the Circuit Clerk, who scans or enters the papers into the case file. Appeals create a separate record at the appellate level, and the Circuit Clerk or Magistrate Court Clerk remains the practical contact for complete local records.
West Virginia Court Dockets and Active-Case Data
West Virginia's court system started publishing active-case dashboards on July 1, 2026. The numbers refresh daily at midnight. Circuit Court and Family Court measures are viewable by county and by judge. Figures for probation and treatment courts are there too. In short, the dashboards describe how busy each court is. That is all they do.
Counts here are not case lookups. A total is not a docket entry. It is not a hearing notice either. It is not proof of where any single case stands right now. Annual filings count the new cases that started in a reporting period. Active-case totals track a different measure entirely. For one public Circuit case, search WVPASS. For Magistrate cases, use MCR. When an entry is unclear or you need the full file, call the local clerk.
The West Virginia Judiciary active-case dashboards present these aggregate caseload views. They are broken down by county and by judge.
Think of the dashboard as statewide context. It shows trends across the West Virginia court system. It cannot replace a docket search, and it cannot replace a clerk's confirmation on any real case.
Find Court Dockets by County in West Virginia
Every West Virginia docket lives with the clerk of the county where the case was filed. That is where the full case file sits, too. Statewide portals can point you to public records. But they do not replace the local office. A Circuit Clerk is the one to see about missing, older, or restricted documents. Certified copies come from that office as well. County Commission probate records and municipal citations follow separate local routes of their own.
Kanawha County
Charleston · State capital and largest county by population
Berkeley County
Martinsburg · Eastern Panhandle population center
Monongalia County
Morgantown · University and northern county hub
Cabell County
Huntington · Major western county court system
Wood County
Parkersburg · Northern county population center
Raleigh County
Beckley · Southern county court and service hub
Open the directory of all 55 West Virginia counties to reach the court docket site for any county you need. Each one lists the local case lookup options. From there, the clerk's contact details close the gap.