Cameron County Court Records
Roughly 7,300 cases are filed and 9,000 are rejected annually. These court cases include personal injury, divorces, workers' compensation, adoptions, and child support cases, to name a few. About 5,000 cases are pending in Cameron County.
Cameron County court records are documents, recordings, affidavits, dockets, exhibits, or papers lodged and maintained at a legal jurisdiction in charge of handling these civil or criminal court cases.
Per Loc. Gov't. Code § 191.001, the County Court of Clerk is charged with the responsibility of filing and maintaining these court records.
Cameron County court records serve as legal instruments for promoting transparency within the District Court, County Court at Law, and the Texas judicial system at large. Thus, members of the public, including legal practitioners may have access to the records for justice and research purposes.
Are Court Records Public in Cameron County
Yes. Any file or information written, assembled, and maintained by a state governmental office is considered public information in Texas per the Texas Public Information Act.
However, the Texas Judiciary as an independent unit is exempt from this Act. As such, the Supreme Court of Texas holds the exclusive right to decide what court records should be disclosed to the general public.
For example, the subjects of an order of nondisclosure are legally exempted from having their criminal records disclosed to the general public, except on court order. An order of non-disclosure, in this regard, is a court order prohibiting courts, clerks of the court, law enforcement agencies, and prosecutorial offices, from disclosing certain criminal records.
Where to Conduct a Cameron County Case Lookup
Members of the public can conduct Cameron County court case lookup via the following ways:
- Physical visit to the courthouse where the record is maintained
- Search Request form
- Via Email or phone call
- Online search via the iDocket provided by the Cameron County Clerk Court
- Online search via the Public Access portal provided by the Cameron County District Court
How to Conduct a Cameron County Case Records Search
Regardless of what court record one is looking for, here’s how to conduct a Cameron County case records search:
Physical Visit to the Courthouse
Typically, individual courts in Cameron County maintain a court record under the jurisdiction of the clerk, depending on the court where the court case was filed and decided. Hence, it is vital to figure out the exact courthouse where the case was filed and decided.
Requesters must have basic details to find the court records, like a party name, case number, and information that can be used to identify a case, such as a case number, party name, and year, including the case type.
Inspecting most court records and case information at either the County Court Clerk or District Court Clerk is free of charge. One can also request all relevant court records at the Records Management Department of the County Clerk Court at a nominal record preservation fee.
The Records Management Facility is located at
Joe G. Rivera and Aurora De la Garza County Annex Building
San Benito, TX
One can find thousands of important records including Civil, Probate, Deed Records, Oil and Gas, Official Records, Plats, and Financial Records at the warehouse.
Case Records Search by Search Request Form
Court record requesters may conduct a case records search by filling out a search request form in writing to the clerk’s office:
- First, complete any of the department forms, either a Criminal Department Search Request Form, a Civil Department Search Request Form, or a Civil/ Probate Record Search form, with the accurate information contained in the form, to facilitate the records search.
- The required fee for each department request copy is contained in the form. The court record search fee, for instance, is $5, and a certified copy per doc is $5 + $1 per page. All court record fees are payable by cash, credit or debit card, money order, and check to the County Court Clerk. Personal checks and cheques are not acceptable.
Here are the various mailing addresses for each department:
For Criminal Case Records Search
Sylvia Garza-Perez, County Clerk
P.O. Box 2178
Brownsville, TX 78522
Civil/Probate Case Record Search:
Cameron County Clerk
974 East Harrison
Brownsville, TX 78521
Civil/Criminal Case Record Search
District Clerk Of Cameron County
974 East Harrison Street
Brownsville, TX 78520
Email: dcrecords@co.cameron.tx.us
Note: All fees must be paid in advance. Also, the forms may require 2 to 5 business days to be made available.
Online Court Records Search
Cameron County maintains two online records portals for inquirers who wish to find court records maintained with either the County Clerk or District Court Clerk. The iDocket (idocket.com) maintained by the Court of Clerk provides free searches for certain court records. One may search by litigant name to determine a "case number;" and view court case numbers, case types, case styles, case filing, disposition dates, and so on.
However, subscribed users may perform sophisticated case searches. The court also maintains a Public Portal for anyone who wishes to access case hearings.
Another way to search case records in Cameron County is to access the District Court's Quicklink. The website is designed to provide users with round-the-clock internet-based remote access to court records maintained by the District Court Clerk as an alternative to in-person courthouse access.
One can search for case information for free but the documents will appear distorted until they are purchased and downloaded. The website contains historical Civil Case Files Index Books and corresponding Case File Images, From 1849 To 1920.
Cameron County Civil Court Case Records
Civil court case records are files, hearings, and documents maintained by the county courts in charge of civil matters. This includes small claims, disputes between private parties that exceed $5,000.00 and not more than $1,000,000.00, Class A and B Misdemeanor Cases, probate records, juvenile cases, and other civil matters.
In Cameron County, the County Court at Law, District, Juvenile, Probate, and Justice of the Peace Court are granted civil jurisdiction. As such, requesters who want to access a civil court case record should contact the specific courthouse in charge of the non-criminal case record.
The court clerk's office for each judicial department often provides information on how to locate these court records or follow the guidelines on how to conduct Cameron County case records searches as outlined above.
Cameron County Criminal Court Case Records
Criminal court case records in Cameron County are files, transcripts, or papers maintained in connection with a criminal legal proceeding. These criminal records may be accessed at the criminal department of the County Court Clerk. Likewise, the County Court at Law, District, Juvenile, Probate, and Justice of the Peace Court are granted record preservation authority over criminal cases filed and proceeded in their jurisdiction
Anyone who wishes to obtain a Cameron County criminal court case record may pay a physical visit to the relevant courthouse or employ other court-approved methods.
How to Get Court Records Online for Free
Typically, Cameron County provides remote access to court records through the public portals mentioned earlier. However, one may need to subscribe or make payment before complete access is granted to them. Notwithstanding, the person may inspect court records for free at the physical location of the respective courts.
Third-party aggregator companies and websites may offer free court records online searches. Typically, users will need to have a litigant’s name, case number, or county to gain access. Just like county courts, a nominal fee may apply for sophisticated record searches.
Courts in Cameron County
Cameron County Clerk Office locations
Brownsville Main Office
835 East Levee Street
3rd Floor
Brownsville, TX 78520
Phone: (956) 544-0815
San Benito Office
1390 West Expressway 83
San Benito, TX 78586
Phone: (956) 247-3509
Harlingen Branch Office
3302 West Wilson Road
Harlingen, TX 78552
Phone: (956) 364-7606
La Feria County Annex Building
200 Industrial Way
La Feria, TX 78559
Phone: (956) 887-6007
Cameron County Courthouse
974 East Harrison Street
2nd Floor
Brownsville, TX 78520
Phone: (956) 544-0867
Civil Court Department
974 East Harrison Street
2nd Floor
Brownsville, TX 78520
Phone: (956) 544-0826
Criminal Department
974 East Harrison Street
2nd Floor
Brownsville, TX 78520
Phone: (956) 544-0848
District Court Clerk
Cameron County Courthouse
Judicial Building
3rd Floor
974 East Harrison Street
Brownsville, TX 78520
Probate Court
974 East Harrison Street
Brownsville, TX 78520
Phone: (956) 574-8116
Juvenile Justice Department
2310 US-77 BUS
San Benito, TX 78586
Phone: (956) 399-3075
Contact details of all court and county departments are contained in the county directory for interested requesters.
