Register for PACER

• 1). Visit the "Register for a PACER Account" page at pacer.gov.
  
  
• 2). Enter basic identification information. You are required to provide your name, address, phone and email contact information.
  
  
• 3
  Use your credit card to speed up PACER registration.credit card image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com
  
  Enter credit card information for quickest access to PACER. You are not required to provide credit card information. However, without it, PACER will set up your account via mail, a process that takes at least a week. If you include credit card information, registration can be completed quickly online.
  
  
• 4). Retrieve your login information. PACER will provide you a login code, password and instructions via email, if you provided credit card information, or through the U.S. mail. Follow the instructions provided to log into PACER for the first time.
  
  

Search PACER for Case Materials

• 1
  Use the PACER "Client Code" option to track fees on individual accounts.building business image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com
  
  Log in to the PACER Case Locator with your login code and password.
  
  You can include an optional "Client Code" as well if you want to keep track of PACER fees for an individual client.
  
  
• 2
  You can search PACER for individual types of cases, such as bankruptcy, criminal or civil court records.bankruptcy 2 image by Sorin Alb from Fotolia.com
  
  Use the tabs to select the court system you wish to search. You can select "All Courts," a specific court region such as the federal Third Circuit courts, or a category of court cases, such as "bankruptcy" or "civil" cases.
  
  
• 3). Enter the name of a party involved in the case in the "Party Name" field.
  
  Alternatively, use "Advanced Search" to focus your search more narrowly by entering date ranges for the filing or closing date of the case you're seeking, case number or case title.
  
  
• 4). Click "Search" to generate a list of cases that match your criteria.
  
  

Retrieve Case Materials

• 1). Review the search results for the case you are seeking.
  
  Results include the names of the plaintiff and defendant in the case, the court in which the case is being heard, a case number, the original filing date of the case and a closing date, if relevant.
  
  
• 2). Click the case number to open a PACER "Query" page for the case.
  
  
• 3
  Most federal courts make case information available online through PACER.Palais de Justice de Montpellier image by Florian Villes?¡§che from Fotolia.com
  
  Click "History/Documents" from the Query options.
  
  Select from the options presented. You can generate a list of "All events" or can restrict results to "Only events with documents." The former provides a list of every action in a case, which can often result in a very lengthy list. The latter restricts results to items with downloadable documents.
  
  
• 4). Click "Run Query" to generate a list of documents. Depending on the case, the materials may include indictments, affidavits, stipulations, hearing motions and judicial orders.
  
  
• 5). Click the link of any document of interest to open a PDF version of the document. Prior to actually opening the document, PACER provides summary information on the number of pages and the fee for full retrieval.