Litchfield County Court Docket Records

Litchfield County court docket records are managed by the Connecticut Judicial Branch through the Litchfield Judicial District, which sits in Torrington. This is the main hub for civil, family, and housing cases filed by residents across the county's 24 towns. Criminal and motor vehicle cases go through Geographical Area Court 18, also in Torrington. You can search Litchfield County court docket records for free through two state online tools. Each tool covers a different case type. If the online tools do not show what you need, the courthouse staff at 50 Field Street in Torrington can pull docket files in person during regular business hours.

Litchfield County Docket Search Online

The fastest way to find Litchfield County court docket records is through the state's free online lookup tools. For civil, family, housing, and small claims cases, the Civil/Family Case Look-up is the tool you want. It covers all cases filed in the Litchfield Judicial District, both active and disposed. You can search by party name, docket number, or attorney. Results show the case type, filing date, parties involved, and every docket entry from start to finish. This tool pulls records from every Judicial District in the state, so make sure you filter to the Litchfield JD if you only want local results. Most civil case records go back several years in the system.

Criminal court docket records for Litchfield County are on a separate tool. The Criminal/Motor Vehicle Case Look-up handles all criminal and traffic cases that go through GA 18 in Torrington. You can search for conviction records, pending cases, and daily court dockets. The daily docket is useful if you need to check what cases are set to be heard on a given day. Conviction data stays in the system for up to 10 years, as outlined in Practice Book Section 7-13. Cases that ended in acquittal, dismissal, or pardon may have been erased under the erasure rules that Connecticut adopted in recent years.

Note: Juvenile and youthful offender docket records do not appear in any public search tool due to state confidentiality rules.

Litchfield Judicial District Court Details

The Litchfield Judicial District courthouse is located at 50 Field Street in Torrington, CT 06790. This court handles all civil, family, and housing docket filings for the 24 towns in Litchfield County. The phone number is (860) 626-2100. Walk-in hours run Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. When you visit, bring the case name or docket number so the clerk can find the file fast. You can ask for copies of any public docket record at the counter. Standard copy fees are $1.00 per page, and certified copies cost an extra $2.00 per document. The clerk's office handles a mix of civil lawsuits, divorce filings, foreclosures, and restraining orders, all of which become part of the court docket.

The Litchfield JD courthouse directions page shows how to reach the building from different parts of the county.

Parking is available on site. The courthouse shares the building with GA 18, so both civil and criminal matters are handled in the same location in Torrington.

GA 18 Court Docket in Litchfield County

Geographical Area Court 18 sits at the same address as the Litchfield JD. The phone number for GA 18 is (860) 626-2300. This court processes criminal arraignments, motor vehicle violations, and some lower-level civil matters for the towns in Litchfield County. Each new case gets a docket number that tracks every hearing, motion, and order. If you need to look up a criminal case from this court, the state criminal lookup tool is the place to start. Just search by name or case number and you can see the full docket history.

GA 18 covers all the same 24 towns that fall under the Litchfield Judicial District. The towns include Torrington, New Milford, Thomaston, Winchester, Litchfield, Kent, Sharon, Salisbury, Cornwall, Canaan, North Canaan, Norfolk, Colebrook, Hartland, Barkhamsted, New Hartford, Harwinton, Goshen, Morris, Warren, Washington, Roxbury, Bridgewater, and Bethlehem. If a resident of any of these towns is charged with a crime or gets a traffic ticket, the case starts at GA 18. From there, serious felony cases may move to the Litchfield JD for trial, while misdemeanors typically stay at the GA level. Both courts use the same docket tracking system, so the record follows the case wherever it goes.

You can find directions and details for GA 18 on the court directions page from the Judicial Branch.

Since GA 18 and the Litchfield JD share a building, you can handle both civil and criminal docket matters in one trip to the courthouse.

Court Docket Access Rules in Litchfield County

Court docket records in Litchfield County are public. Anyone can look them up. You do not need to be a party to the case. You do not need to give a reason for your request. This right comes from both common law and the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, found in C.G.S. 1-200 et seq. The law says that government records are open to the public unless a specific statute says otherwise. Court docket records fall under this rule. Civil case files, criminal dockets, family court filings, and housing matters are all available for viewing unless a judge has ordered the file sealed.

There are some limits. Juvenile cases are confidential under C.G.S. 46b-124. Sealed files are off limits. Records that were erased under the state's criminal record erasure laws cannot be accessed. Connecticut has expanded its erasure rules in recent years. Under C.G.S. 54-142g through 54-142p, certain criminal records are automatically erased after an acquittal, dismissal, nolled charge, or pardon. That means some older criminal docket records from Litchfield County may no longer exist in the system. If you search and cannot find a case you expected to see, erasure could be the reason.

The Judicial Branch sets its own policies for docket record access under C.G.S. 51-36a, which gives the Chief Court Administrator broad authority over court operations.

How to Get Litchfield County Docket Copies

There are three main ways to get copies of court docket records from the Litchfield Judicial District or GA 18. The first is to visit the courthouse at 50 Field Street in Torrington. Walk up to the clerk's window and ask for the file by name or docket number. Staff will pull the file and make copies while you wait. The second option is email. Send your request to SuperiorCourtRecordsCenter@jud.ct.gov with the case name and docket number. This works best for disposed cases that have moved to the Records Center in Enfield. The third option is by phone at (860) 626-2100 for the Litchfield JD or (860) 626-2300 for GA 18.

Copies cost $1.00 per page. Certified copies add $2.00 per document. If you need a transcript of a court hearing, those run $3.00 per page for regular turnaround. Audio recordings of proceedings from November 2018 forward cost $25 per day per docket number. Payment is typically accepted by check or money order, though some courts now accept credit cards as well.

• In person at 50 Field Street, Torrington, CT 06790
• By email to SuperiorCourtRecordsCenter@jud.ct.gov
• By phone at (860) 626-2100 for civil or (860) 626-2300 for criminal
• Online search is free but document copies require a fee
• Disposed cases are stored at the Records Center in Enfield

Note: Processing times for email requests are usually 1 to 2 business days, but older files stored off-site may take longer.

Litchfield County Docket Filing Towns

Litchfield County has 24 towns. All of them file court cases through the Litchfield Judicial District or GA 18 in Torrington. Two towns in the county have populations over 25,000 and their own city-level court docket pages on this site. Torrington is the largest town in the county, with a population around 36,000. It is where the courthouse sits. New Milford is the second largest, with roughly 28,000 residents. Both towns are served by the same courts at 50 Field Street.

The remaining towns in Litchfield County include Barkhamsted, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Goshen, Hartland, Harwinton, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Hartford, Norfolk, North Canaan, Roxbury, Salisbury, Sharon, Thomaston, Warren, Washington, and Winchester. These are smaller communities, most with populations under 10,000. Their court docket records are all handled through the same Torrington courts. If you live in any of these towns and need a docket record, the process is the same as described above.

Nearby County Court Docket Resources

If you need court docket records from areas next to Litchfield County, two neighboring counties have their own pages on this site. Fairfield County is directly to the south and has multiple Judicial Districts, including Danbury, which handles some cases from towns near the Litchfield County border. Hartford County lies to the east and is home to the Hartford Judicial District, the busiest in the state. Cases that involve parties from both counties may be filed in either location depending on the specifics.

Connecticut's court system is unified statewide. That means you can search court docket records from any county using the same two online tools. The civil and criminal lookup portals cover every Superior Court and GA court in the state. So even if a case was filed in a different county, you can find it through the same search process described on this page.