How Riverside and San Bernardino County Superior Court Case Lookup Works

Quick Answer

To look up a Riverside County Superior Court case, create a free account on the court’s Public Access portal (reached from riverside.courts.ca.gov) — case-number searches are free and return the register of actions, while name searches carry a fee. To look up a San Bernardino County Superior Court case, use the Court Access Portal (CAP) from sanbernardino.courts.ca.gov — case information is free to search by case number or party name, and registration is only required if you purchase document images. Both courts charge per-page fees, capped at $50 per document, to download filed documents. Below, we walk through each county’s system step by step — including the case-number quirk that trips up most San Bernardino searches.

The Inland Empire’s two superior courts serve nearly five million people across the largest county footprint in California — San Bernardino County alone is geographically the biggest county in the contiguous United States, and Riverside County’s court system runs fourteen locations from the Historic Courthouse downtown to the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Both courts put substantial case information online, but they run different systems with different rules, and neither works quite like Los Angeles or Orange County’s. Note: Go to our companion blog For a discussion of car accident claims in the Inland Empire.

At Steven M. Sweat, Personal Injury Lawyers, APC, we litigate injury cases throughout Southern California — Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties — and monitoring dockets in these courts is part of every litigated case. This guide completes our court lookup series: see also our guides to the Los Angeles County Superior Court case lookup and the Orange County Superior Court case lookup.

The Two Systems at a Glance

Riverside County: Step-by-Step Case Lookup

• Step 1 — Create an account on the Public Access portal. Unlike most California courts, Riverside requires an online account before you can search at all. From riverside.courts.ca.gov, go to Online Services → Search Court Records – Public Access, and complete the free registration. Note the usage policy: the system enforces a limit of 30 searches or case lookups per 5-minute window, and exceeding it can suspend the account.
• Step 2 — Search by case number (free). A case-number search returns the case and, when selected, its register of actions — the chronological list of every document filed, the filing date, and which party filed it. Coverage extends back to the early-to-mid 1990s for most case types.
• Step 3 — Name searches cost money. This is Riverside’s defining quirk: searching the index by a person’s or business’s name is treated as a records search and a fee is charged for every name search. If you can obtain the case number any other way — from court paperwork, correspondence, or counsel — you avoid the fee entirely.
• Step 4 — Documents and certified copies. Filed documents can be downloaded where the California Rules of Court permit: $1 per page for the first 5 pages of a document and $0.50 per page after that, capped at $50 per document under Government Code § 68150(h). Certified copies require the court’s local form (Request for Certified Copies, RI-MC011), submitted online through eSubmit or by mail to the courthouse handling the case.
• Know the purge rule. Riverside routinely purges old records from the database under Government Code § 68152 — so an empty search result does not always mean no case ever existed. For purged matters, the court offers a records-search request handled by staff.
• Calendars. Hearing calendars are searchable up to 7 days out, showing the hearing time, type, and department — confirm before driving to Riverside, Indio, Moreno Valley, or any of the county’s other locations.

San Bernardino County: Step-by-Step Case Lookup

• Step 1 — Open the Court Access Portal (CAP). From sanbernardino.courts.ca.gov, go to Online Services → Case Information & Documents, which routes to the Court Access Portal. No account is needed to search — accept the terms and you’re in. Registration is required only when you purchase document images.
• Step 2 — Decode your case number first. San Bernardino’s number-one search failure: the prefix printed on court documents is the case type, not the jurisdiction code the system uses. A document printed as “RFL012345” is actually case RS012345 — RS being the jurisdiction code, 012345 the number. If your exact printed case number returns nothing, this is almost always why.
• Step 3 — Search by case number or name (both free). The portal returns the case summary — case type, parties, status — plus hearing dates and the register of actions. Calendar searches by date range are also available. Case information is free; San Bernardino charges only for documents.
• Step 4 — Download documents if you need them. Remote access to civil case document images runs $0.50 per page, capped at $50 per document, for documents legally available for public viewing. Sealed and confidential filings are not available remotely.
• Know what’s excluded. Certain civil case types do not appear on the portal at all — including civil harassment restraining orders, gun violence restraining orders, workplace violence restraining orders, and petitions to compromise a minor’s claim. For those, inquiries go through the clerk’s office. Public access terminals in every courthouse lobby remain available for free in-person searches, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Why Court Lookup Matters in an Inland Empire Injury Case

The practical uses mirror what we described for Los Angeles and Orange County — tracking your own lawsuit’s docket, verifying hearing dates and departments before a long Inland Empire drive, and researching a defendant’s litigation history — with one venue-specific note: minor’s compromise petitions, which every settlement for an injured child requires, are among the case types San Bernardino keeps off its public portal entirely. Where the docket fits in the life of a case — from complaint through discovery, mediation, and trial — is covered in our timeline of a California personal injury case, and why a firm’s actual courtroom record in these venues matters is the subject of our guide to trial experience and settlement value.

Frequently Asked Questions About Riverside and San Bernardino Court Lookup

How do I look up a court case in Riverside County?

Create a free account on the Riverside Superior Court’s Public Access portal, reached from riverside.courts.ca.gov under Online Services. Case-number searches are free and return the register of actions. Name searches carry a fee, and the system limits users to 30 searches per 5-minute window.

How do I look up a court case in San Bernardino County?

Use the Court Access Portal (CAP), reached from sanbernardino.courts.ca.gov under Online Services → Case Information & Documents. Searching by case number or party name is free and no account is required; registration is needed only to purchase document images, which cost $0.50 per page up to $50 per document.

Is the Riverside court case search free?

Partially. Creating the required account is free and case-number searches are free, but every search by name is charged a fee, and document downloads cost $1 per page for the first 5 pages and $0.50 per page thereafter, capped at $50 per document under Government Code § 68150(h).

Why can’t I find my San Bernardino case with the number on my paperwork?

Almost always because of the prefix. The case-type prefix printed on documents (such as FSB, RFL, or SMC) is not the jurisdiction code the search system uses. A printed number like RFL012345 corresponds to case RS012345 in the portal. Swap the printed prefix for the two-letter jurisdiction code and the search will resolve.

Why did my Riverside case disappear from the online system?

Riverside Superior Court routinely purges records from its database under Government Code § 68152, which sets retention periods by case type. A missing case does not necessarily mean it never existed — the court offers a staff-conducted records search request for matters no longer in the online database.

Can I see restraining order cases on the San Bernardino portal?

Generally no. Civil harassment, gun violence, workplace violence, and several related restraining order case types are excluded from the Court Access Portal, along with petitions to compromise a minor’s claim. Inquiries on those case types go through the clerk’s office, and in-person public access terminals at any courthouse can display more than the remote portal shows.

How much do court documents cost to download in these counties?

San Bernardino charges $0.50 per page, capped at $50 per document, for civil case document images. Riverside charges $1 per page for the first 5 pages of a document and $0.50 per page after that, with the same $50-per-document cap. Both courts restrict remote access to documents the California Rules of Court allow to be viewed online; certified copies are ordered separately through each clerk.

Do these online systems show the official court record?

No. Both courts caution that the online systems are a public convenience and do not constitute the official court record. For certified copies — needed for appeals, other proceedings, or official use — go through the clerk: Riverside by local form RI-MC011 via eSubmit or mail, San Bernardino through the clerk’s office at the courthouse handling the case.

Injured in the Inland Empire? We Litigate in These Courts

For over 30 years, Steven M. Sweat, Personal Injury Lawyers, APC has represented injury victims throughout Southern California — including cases in the Riverside and San Bernardino Superior Court systems, from the Historic Courthouse to the Larson Justice Center. If you were injured in an accident anywhere in the Inland Empire or greater Los Angeles, consultations are free and confidential, we handle every case on a contingency fee with nothing owed unless we win, and services are available in English and Spanish. Call 866-966-5240, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.