Search Queen Anne's County Court Records
Most Queen Anne's County court records start with Maryland Judiciary Case Search, the statewide public portal for District Court and Circuit Court case information. Case Search is useful for civil, criminal, family, traffic, and landlord-tenant case lookups when the record is public and online. It is not the only channel. Some older Queen Anne's County Circuit Court files, including equity records listed by the Clerk, may require in-office Papervision review at the Clerk's Office.
Use the broadest search that still fits the record. A party-name search helps when the case number is unknown. A full case number is better when a docket, notice, citation, or clerk letter already gives it. Traffic searches can use citation details, while estate matters use Maryland Estate Search rather than Case Search.
- Open Maryland Judiciary Case Search and accept the public-access notice.
- Choose a person, company, case number, or citation number search.
- Filter to Queen Anne's County, Circuit Court, or District Court when the portal offers those controls.
- Read the case number, parties, status, hearing entries, and financial fields shown in the result.
- Contact the Clerk's Office for certified copies, old Papervision files, or documents not posted online.
The Maryland Judiciary Clerk landing page identifies the local Circuit Court and Clerk resources for Queen Anne's County.
That local page matters because statewide search results may not answer copy, certification, older-file, marriage-license, and land-record questions.
Queen Anne's County Search Fields
Maryland Case Search field labels can vary by search path, but the research file identifies the common public controls used for Queen Anne's County court records. Searchers should match the field to the record type instead of forcing every matter through a name search.
| Field | Type | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name / First Name | Text | Person search | Useful for defendants, plaintiffs, petitioners, and respondents. |
| Company Name | Text | Business party search | Use for organizations in civil or landlord-tenant cases. |
| Case Number | Text | Known court case | Circuit examples can include patterns such as C-17-FM-25-000266. |
| Citation Number | Text | Traffic lookup | Use for traffic citations and fine information. |
| Court System / County | Filter | Narrow results | Choose Circuit Court, District Court, and Queen Anne's when available. |
| Date Range / Case Type | Filter | Refine long lists | Availability depends on the portal path and record type. |
Queen Anne's County Court System
Queen Anne's County uses Maryland's trial-court structure. The Circuit Court is the county-level trial court for major civil cases, felony criminal cases, family cases, juvenile matters, jury trials, and certain appeals. The District Court of Maryland location in Centreville handles traffic violations, landlord-tenant cases, replevin, civil claims up to $30,000, misdemeanors, and some felonies, but it does not hold jury trials.
Probate records do not go to a court named Probate Court in Maryland. Estate filings use the Register of Wills and judicial probate matters use the Orphans' Court. Commissioners at the District Court building are also important for charging documents, warrants, bond, and initial appearances.
Case flow: District Court Commissioner › District Court or Circuit Court › Appellate Court of Maryland › Supreme Court of Maryland.
| Court or Office | Address | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court for Queen Anne's County | 200 N. Commerce Street, Centreville | Major civil, felony, family, juvenile, jury-trial, and Circuit Court records. |
| District Court of Maryland | 120 Broadway, Suite #1, Centreville | Traffic, landlord-tenant, replevin, misdemeanors, some felonies, and civil claims to $30,000. |
| Orphans' Court and Register of Wills | 107 North Liberty Street, Centreville | Estate filings, wills, judicial probate, and Estate Search records. |
| District Court Commissioner | 120 Broadway, Centreville | Charging documents, warrants, bond, and commissioner duties. |
Queen Anne's County Courthouses
The main Circuit Court and Clerk's Office address is 200 N. Commerce Street, Centreville, MD 21617. The Clerk's Office lists phone 410-758-1773, toll-free Maryland number 800-987-7591, Maryland Relay 711, and hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The court phone is 410-758-0216. The separate District Court building is at 120 Broadway, Suite #1, Centreville, MD 21617-1092, phone 410-819-4000.
Circuit Court and Clerk
200 N. Commerce Street
Centreville, MD 21617
410-758-1773
District Court of Maryland
120 Broadway, Suite #1
Centreville, MD 21617-1092
410-819-4000
Queen Anne's County Record Types
Queen Anne's County court records include civil, criminal, family, traffic, estate, juvenile, adoption, protective-order, name-change, judgment, lien, garnishment, and land-record-related materials. The routing depends on the record. Circuit Court handles divorce, family, felony, jury-trial, major civil, equity, and some appeal records. District Court handles most local traffic matters, landlord-tenant filings, replevin, smaller civil claims, misdemeanors, and certain felony front-end proceedings.
- Criminal records: charges, pleas, hearings, verdicts, dispositions, sentences, probation, and financial obligations when public.
- Civil records: complaints, service, judgments, dismissals, satisfactions, garnishments, and post-judgment events.
- Family and divorce records: Circuit Court filings, custody, support, visitation, and divorce events, with limits for minors or sealed content.
- Estate records: Register of Wills and Orphans' Court records, searched through Maryland Estate Search.
- Traffic records: District Court citation records, separate from MDOT MVA driver records.
What Queen Anne's County Records Show
A Queen Anne's County court record can be a full case file, a docket entry list, a public case summary, or a certified copy. Docket PDFs show hearing schedules and limited fields. Case Search can show public case details when a record is available online. Clerk counter copies may include documents that do not appear in a public online result.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | Court, county, case type, year, and sequence pattern when shown. |
| Parties | Names such as State, defendant, plaintiff, petitioner, respondent, or decedent. |
| Hearing Entry | Date, time, courtroom, judge or magistrate, and hearing type in docket PDFs. |
| Status or Disposition | Open, closed, dismissed, guilty, not guilty, nolle prosequi, stet, or other outcome. |
| Financial Section | Fines, costs, restitution, judgments, filing fees, copy fees, or bond details. |
| Restrictions | Redactions or limits for sealed, expunged, juvenile, adoption, or confidential records. |
Queen Anne's County Public Access Rules
Queen Anne's County court access starts with Maryland judicial-record rules. The JPortal access page and Maryland Judiciary FAQ point to Maryland Rules 16-901 through 16-914 for access to judicial records. Those rules treat many court records as open while protecting sealed, expunged, shielded, juvenile, adoption, and other confidential material.
Key access rules: Maryland Rules 16-901 through 16-914 govern judicial-record access; Maryland General Provisions Title 4 governs many agency public-records requests; Criminal Procedure Section 10-105 covers expungement; CJP Section 3-8A-27 protects juvenile police and court records.
Restricted Queen Anne's County Records
Not every record can be searched by the public. Juvenile records are confidential under Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Section 3-8A-27, and the local Clerk page states juvenile and adoption records can be accessed only through a court order. Expunged, shielded, sealed, trade-secret, mental-health, and sensitive personal-identifier records may be unavailable to the public or redacted before release.
For criminal records, eligibility for expungement depends on the disposition and waiting period. A person should identify the case number, check the statute, and file in the court that handled the case. If the State's Attorney objects, the court may hold a hearing before any record is removed from public access.
Queen Anne's County Sheriff and Jail
The Queen Anne's County Office of the Sheriff is at 505 Railroad Avenue, Centreville, MD 21617, phone 410-758-0770. Sheriff Gary Hofmann's office handles local law-enforcement work, Most Wanted postings, public-information requests, and app-based public safety tools. Sheriff's incident reports, body-camera requests, and related law-enforcement records use the Sheriff's public-information process, not Maryland Judiciary Case Search.
The Detention Center is at 500 Little Hut Drive, Centreville, MD 21617, phone 410-758-3817. The county page links commissary, Access Corrections, Securus phone and tablet accounts, and detention contacts. The Queen Anne's Sheriff and DES app listings state that the app includes inmate search, Most Wanted, sex offenders, alerts, weather, news, crime tips, and contact information.
The Queen Anne's County government homepage gives broader county context for local offices and public services.
County government pages are useful when a records question crosses from court files into detention, public safety, or county administration.
Queen Anne's County Court Fees
The Queen Anne's County Clerk's civil and land-record pages list several copy and filing costs. Use the official office before mailing a payment, because fees can vary by document type and service request.
| Item | Amount | Source context |
|---|---|---|
| Copy fee | $0.50 per page | Civil and land-record copy fees. |
| Certification fee | $5.00 | Added to copy fees for certified records. |
| Exemplification fee | $10.00 | Added to copy fees when required. |
| Civil ceremony | $25.00 | Marriage page fee for a civil ceremony. |
| Certified marriage copy | $5.50 each | Available after the officiant's return is received. |
Queen Anne's County Court History
The local courthouse history is more than a trivia point. The Maryland Judiciary history page says the Queen Anne's County Court House was accepted by the County Court on June 1, 1796 after the county seat moved from Queenstown to Centreville. The page calls it the oldest courthouse in continuous use in Maryland. That long use helps explain why older Circuit Court records may not look like modern electronic case entries.
Queen Anne's County Record Contacts
Some record questions move outside the courthouse. County administration, public safety, detention, emergency services, and the Sheriff's Office have separate contact paths. The county contact page helps identify those offices when the record is not a court case file.
The Queen Anne's County contact page lists county government contacts for offices near the court district and related departments.
Use county and court contacts together when a trip involves more than one office, such as Circuit Court records, estate filings, detention questions, and county administration.
Queen Anne's County Court FAQ
Where do I search Queen Anne's County court records? Start with Maryland Judiciary Case Search for public Circuit Court and District Court case information. If a Circuit Court file is old, certified, or not online, contact the Clerk's Office.
Are Queen Anne's County dockets the same as case records? No. A docket is a schedule or event list. A case record can include pleadings, orders, judgments, charges, and certified copies.
Where are estate records? Estate records use Maryland Estate Search and the Register of Wills. Judicial probate matters use the Orphans' Court, not a Maryland court named Probate Court.
How do sheriff records work? Sheriff's reports and body-camera requests use the Sheriff's Public Information Request process. Court Case Search does not replace that route.