How to Get Court Records
Begin with the Custer County docket calendar or an approved vendor's Register of Actions to learn the full case number and the title or date of the item. Next, fill out the Judicial Branch Record/Document Request Form and choose Custer County. The form covers many products. An ROA, criminal or traffic disposition, protection order, ticket, civil judgment papers, and several probate records all fit. It also asks whether certification or exemplification is needed.
- Identify the case number, court level, and document title or date.
- Choose an ROA, plain document copy, certified copy, or transcript.
- Submit the online form or send the request to Custer Combined Court.
- Confirm estimated copy, search, research, and retrieval charges.
- Provide identification if the clerk says the file requires it.
More Custer County channels sit on the local trial-court hub. Email CusterCountyClerk@judicial.state.co.us, call 719-783-2274, or fax 719-735-1706. Mail goes to P.O. Box 60, Westcliffe, CO 81252, and walk-in service happens at 205 S. 6th Street. Formal research requests route to CusterRecordsRequest@judicial.state.co.us. Expect an answer within three business days unless unusual circumstances arise, per the statewide form.
Four Custer County Record Products
Name the right product and the request moves faster. The docket is the public hearing schedule. The ROA is the running case summary. A filed document is the real pleading, order, or judgment itself. Certification or exemplification adds clerk authentication. Each product answers a different question, and each carries its own charge.
| Product | What It Provides | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Docket calendar | Upcoming date, time, hearing type, location, and courtroom | Free Judicial Branch calendar |
| Register of Actions | Chronological index of filings, events, and outcomes | Vendor service or court request |
| Filed document | The text of an accessible complaint, motion, order, or judgment | Custer Combined Court clerk |
| Certified copy | An accessible copy authenticated by the clerk | Custer Combined Court clerk |
Online vendors sell Custer County ROA data, the Judicial Branch explains, but not copies of filed documents. So even when a vendor helps you find the case, the Custer County clerk remains the source for the official record.
Types of Court Records
Custer Combined Court holds Custer County records for two trial levels. District Court covers felony, general civil, domestic-relations, juvenile, probate, mental-health, and related matters. County Court takes misdemeanor, traffic, civil-under-$25,000, protection-order, small-claims, and early felony-complaint cases. One judicial clerk serves both levels. The case class tells you which court and record series applies.
The statewide form lists Custer County options such as Disposition/Sentence Order, Protection Order, Ticket, Order for Judgment, Transcript of Judgment, Satisfaction of Judgment, and an ROA. Probate choices run from letters, wills, and trusts to applications, petitions, closing papers, and claims. A transcript is a different animal. It captures a proceeding word for word. It uses JDF 4. A Transcript of Judgment, by contrast, is a clerk-issued judgment record with its own set fee.
Land records, elections, licenses, and county-government papers belong to the elected Clerk & Recorder, not the court clerk. Both offices share the courthouse address. That makes the split easy to miss. A civil pleading or criminal disposition must go to Custer Combined Court.
Custer County Court Record Request Choices
The online form gathers the requester's name and business name when relevant. Email, phone, street address, city, state, and ZIP code go on it too. A case number is optional. Skip it and the clerk may need a $5 name search. A precise request saves clerk research time. It also lowers the risk of getting the wrong item.
| Case Identification | Case number, party name, court level, case type, and filing year when known. |
|---|---|
| Document Choice | ROA or a named order, ticket, judgment paper, or probate filing. |
| Authentication | Certification or exemplification only when the receiving authority requires it. |
| Delivery Details | Contact and mailing information used for estimates and delivery. |
| Identity | Government-issued photo ID may be required for certain accessible restricted files. |
The official record-request interface shows the full list of choices and fees.
Filling out the form starts a request; it does not promise every item is public. The clerk checks the governing access level before releasing anything.
What a Court Record Contains
A full Custer County case file can hold more than the calendar or ROA shows. The header gives the court, case number, class, status, and assigned judge. The caption names the parties and their roles. Entries and documents then trace the filings, settings, rulings, and result. Protected identifiers may be redacted from the public version.
| Header | Court, county, case number, class, status, and judge. |
|---|---|
| Caption | Formal case style and party roles. |
| Chronology | Filings, service, motions, minute orders, settings, and rulings. |
| Outcome | Judgment, disposition, findings, sentence, or dismissal where public. |
| Financial Detail | Public fees, fines, costs, or satisfaction entries when part of the record. |
Think of the Custer County ROA as an index. It may summarize an order without giving its terms. When dates, findings, conditions, or exact wording matter, request the actual paper.
Custer County Court Record Responses
Three business days is the expected response window, the statewide form says, unless unusual circumstances apply. That is a response statement only. Completed copying is not guaranteed on that clock. Off-site retrieval, redaction, broad research, or a transcript can take longer, so give clear contact details and let the Custer clerk send an estimate or ask questions.
Custer County Transcript Requests Differ
A Custer County hearing transcript comes from the record of the proceeding itself. Do not confuse it with the $25 Transcript of Judgment. That is a clerk record used to reflect a judgment. For spoken testimony or argument, file JDF 4. Name the case, hearing date, and proceeding. Custer Combined Court accepts these by email, fax, mail, or in person.
Transcript prices shift with delivery speed and page type. The form warns that added copy charges can apply. No single flat price covers the work, so get an estimate first. The form also offers a request path for an accessible accommodation.
Do not mix the terms: A Transcript of Judgment records a judgment; a hearing transcript is the word-for-word proceeding.
Certified Copies and Fees
Custer County court record copies are fee-assessed under CJD 06-01. Every figure the state publishes is an estimate. For ordinary research, a plain informational copy will usually do the job. Certification matters only when another court or agency demands proof. The proof must show the copy came straight from the clerk. Exemplification is the most formal authentication of all. It carries that same published per-document charge.
| Item | Published Charge |
|---|---|
| Plain copy | $0.25 per page |
| Party or party-attorney copy | $15 maximum, regardless of pages; no maximum for nonparties |
| Certified or exemplified copy | $20 per document |
| Transcript of Judgment | $25 |
| Certificate of Satisfaction | $20 |
| Name search | $5 |
| Research or redaction | $30 per hour in 15-minute units after the first hour |
| Off-site retrieval | Actual retrieval cost |
Fees on a court copy can be waived when CJD 06-01 or Colorado law calls for it. And don't rely on the Clerk & Recorder's separate certification price for a court-case copy.
Custer Combined Court Clerk
205 S. 6th Street
Westcliffe, CO 81252
Mail: P.O. Box 60
719-783-2274
Custer County Court Record Retrieval
Some older Custer County court records sit in off-site storage. Bringing one back takes a retrieval. The statewide fee rule lets the court pass that actual cost along. Before sending any money, ask the clerk to confirm custody and the total. An approximate year helps, so does the court level. The record type and a party name will narrow the request too.
Custer County Records Use Five Access Levels
Custer County follows Colorado's five access levels: Public, Protected, Restricted, Suppressed, and Sealed. Public material gets released. Protected material may need redaction first. Restricted and suppressed categories open only to defined groups. They never open to the public at large. Sealed material stays with authorized court personnel unless a court order grants someone else access.
- Public
- Available for public inspection and copying.
- Protected
- Public access may follow removal of sensitive information.
- Restricted
- Available to judges, court staff, parties, counsel, and defined justice agencies.
- Suppressed
- Available to the court, parties, and counsel, with still narrower agency access.
- Sealed
- Unavailable outside authorized court personnel without judicial permission.
The official court-record security-level definitions show how these labels guide release.
A visible docket entry does not make every filing under it public. The clerk can hand out an accessible version with protected text removed.
Public Access and Sealed Records
Chief Justice Directive 05-01 governs Custer County Judicial Branch case-record access. It covers inspection, copying, remote access, privacy protection, exclusions, and cost recovery. Other laws layer on top. The Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act reaches criminal proceeding records. The Children's Code adds juvenile limits. The Colorado Open Records Act covers public records broadly. Yet it is not the only route into an individual Custer County case file. The policy was amended effective November 10, 2025. The current CJD 05-01 access directive shows the operative rules.
Suppressed, juvenile, probate, and adoption files in Custer County may require identification. Some stay closed entirely. A court record can also come out partly, with redactions applied. A missing public result proves nothing about whether a case or document exists.
Governing framework: CJD 05-01 controls Judicial Branch case-file access; P.A.I.R.R. 2 addresses branch administrative records, and other statutes add record-specific limits.
Custer County Court Record ID Checks
Expect an ID check for Custer County court records. Suppressed cases, juvenile and probate files, and protected documents may demand U.S. government-issued photo identification. The person must be someone entitled to access. Showing ID never converts a sealed record into a public one. It simply helps the clerk decide whether the requester fits an authorized access group.
Older and Federal Custer County Records
Custer County court work stretches back well before computers. Colorado State Archives finding aids list Custer County docket books, registers, case files, probate dockets, and judgment books reaching into the 1870s. Ask the Combined Court whether a file needs off-site retrieval, then identify the right archive series once local custody ends. The actual retrieval cost may apply. Federal records live with federal custodians. The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and the federal bankruptcy court run on PACER and their own clerk copy processes. The District of Colorado's PACER information spells out how federal docket access works.
Bankruptcy copies follow a separate federal fee schedule, and the bankruptcy court lays out its document-copy channels directly.
Jurisdiction and the case number set the search path. Send a federal document request to the federal court, not to the Custer Combined Court, even if the party lives in the county.