Overview
A civil records search looks through court records for non-criminal cases involving a person. These are disputes between private parties, where one sues another over money, property, contracts, or conduct.
The search runs in the same courthouses as a county criminal search and follows the same jurisdictional logic, but it reads a different set of case files.
How Civil Differs From Criminal
A criminal case is brought by a government prosecutor and can result in a conviction and a sentence. A civil case is brought by one party against another and results in a judgment, usually an order to pay money or to stop doing something.
Nobody is convicted in a civil case, and nobody goes to prison as a result of one. The standard of proof is also lower, which means a civil judgment establishes considerably less than a criminal conviction does.
The same conduct can produce both. A collision can generate a criminal prosecution and a separate civil suit for damages, and the 2 cases proceed independently with different outcomes possible in each.
Upper and Lower Civil Courts
Most states divide civil cases by the amount in dispute, and screening reflects that division.
| Upper civil | Larger claims, heard in the court of general jurisdiction. Names vary by state, and this is where significant contract, injury, and business disputes are filed. |
| Lower civil | Smaller claims, heard in a limited jurisdiction or small claims court. Higher volume, lower dollar amounts, and frequently unrepresented parties. |
The threshold separating them is set by each state. A search ordered as upper civil will not return small claims matters, and an employer asking for civil records should know which it is receiving.
What Kinds of Cases Appear
- Contract disputes, including unpaid debts and business disagreements
- Personal injury claims
- Property disputes
- Foreclosures, where the state handles them through the courts. Some states use a non-judicial process instead, which produces no court record.
- Collections actions brought by creditors
- Landlord and tenant matters, including evictions, where the state files them in civil court
- Employment related litigation
- Restraining and protective orders, in states that handle them as civil matters
Family law matters such as divorce and custody are civil cases, and whether they appear in a screening search depends on how the state files them and on what the screening company includes.
What a Result Contains
| Court and case number | Which court holds the case. |
| Parties | Who sued whom. |
| Case type | The nature of the claim. |
| Filing date | When the case was brought. |
| Disposition | How it ended, including judgment, dismissal, or settlement. |
| Judgment amount | Where a monetary judgment was entered. |
Which Side a Person Was On
A civil record shows a name attached to a case, not what the person did. The individual may have brought the suit or defended it, and a search that returns a case has not established which. Being named in a lawsuit is not a finding about anyone.
Reading the record therefore requires attention to the party designation and the outcome. A dismissed case, a case that settled, and a judgment entered against someone are different results, and the last is the only one that establishes an obligation.
Reporting Limits
Federal law restricts how long civil information may appear on a consumer report. Civil suits and civil judgments are generally restricted after 7 years from the date of entry, or until the governing statute of limitations expires, whichever period is longer.
Unlike criminal convictions, which carry no federal time limit, civil matters are covered by that restriction, so an old civil case falls away in a way an old conviction does not.
Some states restrict civil reporting further. Our State Laws Overview covers how the states differ.
What It Does Not Cover
- Criminal cases, which are a separate search.
- Cases in counties not searched, since civil records follow the same jurisdictional limits as criminal ones.
- Federal civil cases, unless a federal search is ordered separately.
- Sealed cases.
- Disputes settled before a case was filed, which leave no court record.
- Bankruptcy, which is filed in federal court and covered on our Bankruptcy page.
Where It Fits Under the FCRA
A civil records search conducted for employment purposes is part of a consumer report. Written disclosure and authorization are required before it is requested, accuracy obligations attach to what is reported, and the individual has the right to dispute anything incorrect. Our FCRA Overview covers those requirements in full.
Civil records are public records, which brings additional obligations into play. A case reported without its outcome, or an old matter reported past its limit, is the kind of error those obligations exist to prevent.
Employers should also be aware that using civil litigation history in hiring can raise separate concerns where the case involved a protected activity, such as a discrimination claim or a workers compensation matter.
Where a civil record contributes to a decision not to hire, the required notice steps apply. See The Adverse Action Process.