Required Acknowledgment for Minnesota Court Records Online ("MCRO")

Users must read and accept the following Terms and Conditions before using the MCRO application to access Minnesota district court records:

1.  UNOFFICIAL COURT CASE RECORDS.  The information available on Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) is provided as a service and is not the official court case record.  The Minnesota Judicial Branch does not certify MCRO records or search results, and is not responsible for any errors or omissions in the data found on MCRO.  Certified copies of court documents and civil judgment search results may be obtained from local court administration.

2.  LIMITED CASE RECORD INFORMATION AVAILABLE.  Case records are displayed for all Minnesota district (trial) courts.  The information available on MCRO is limited to case, hearing, and monetary judgment search results; case record information; Registers of Actions; monetary  judgment details; and documents for publicly accessible district court case records that may also be available online, as defined by Rule 8, subd. 2 of the Minnesota Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch.

Remote Access Restrictions: For privacy reasons, Rule 8, subd. 2 of the Minnesota Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch limits the information available online and through MCRO.  Public case records and documents available at the public access terminals (MPA Courthouse) in Minnesota courthouses and at the State Law Library are not all accessible through MCRO or available on the internet.  The following are not available in MCRO, but are available through MPA Courthouse:

a.  Domestic Abuse (OFP) and Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) case types, which the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) prohibits from displaying on the internet.

b.  Child Protection (CHIPS) and Juvenile Delinquency Felony 16 (D16) case types.

c.  Public documents in civil commitment case types.

d.  Party street addresses and comment fields in all case types.  Criminal sentencing condition comments display in MCRO. 

e.  Pending criminal, traffic, and petty misdemeanor cases for which there is no conviction will not return in the Case Search Results or Hearing Search Results when searching by defendant name.  The pending cases will return when searching by case number.  

You WILL NOT be notified when public data is unavailable for any of these reasons as you are conducting searches in MCRO.

3.  UNDERSTANDING AND USING MCRO CASE INFORMATION.  You are responsible for understanding the meaning of the search results, case record information, and documents that you view through MCRO, and for the appropriate and lawful use of such information.  If you have any questions regarding the meaning of the case record information in MCRO, contact local court administration at the corresponding district court.  You are also responsible for determining whether any case record information obtained from MCRO during previous searches is still accurate, current, and complete.

4.  ERRORS.  If you see errors with the case record information or documents in MCRO, please notify local court administration at the corresponding district court.

5.  MCRO SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS.  Background checks should be conducted through the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s (BCA) Minnesota Public Criminal History Search (CHS) system, which you can access online at https://chs.state.mn.us/; at their office located at 1430 Maryland Avenue East in St. Paul; or by calling (651) 793-2400 for information.  The BCA’s CHS system links prior criminal history through fingerprints to verify the identification of the individual.  MCRO cannot provide this level of verification.

6.  CAUTION: NAME SEARCHES CAN BE UNRELIABLE.  Use caution when searching and reviewing MCRO case record information, as the person you searched for could have the same name, alias, birthdate, or other identifiers as another individual.  Even if you believe your search returned the correct match, and the information appears to be about the person searched for, remember that:

a.  Two or more people can have the same name and birth date; and

b.  Defendants and case parties use aliases, including the names of others.

7.  CASE TYPES.  The case type listed in the search results and on the Register of Actions is not an indicator of the final outcome of the case.  For example, the case type may indicate a more serious offense (such as Felony) than the final Level of Sentence on the case.  To determine the outcome of a case, read the detailed information in the Register of Actions.

8.  MCRO INSTRUCTION MATERIALS.  Read the training materials and other instruction guides for more information about MCRO.  The information is linked in the “More information at” section on the MCRO application homepage and on the MCRO webpage at www.mncourts.gov/mcro.

9.  TERMS OF USE.  By accessing or using MCRO, you agree that you have read, understood, and accept the Terms and Conditions and all other application policies.  You agree to comply with the Terms and Conditions and the other policies, as well as all applicable laws, court rules, regulations and court orders.  This application and website are the property of the Minnesota Judicial Branch and are protected by copyright and other restrictions.  Any unauthorized reproduction, commercial publication, or exploitation of any text, images, or content of the application and website are strictly prohibited.  Your access to and use of this application, and the content contained therein, may be terminated at any time without notice.  By using this application, you understand and agree that the Minnesota Judicial Branch may receive and store information as described in the Privacy Policy.  You agree that use of the application may not be uninterrupted or error-free.

10.  YOU MAY NOT DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

a.  Violate any copyright and other proprietary or intellectual property rights in connection with this application;

b.  Engage in any data mining or use “bots” or similar data gathering and extraction tools or methods in connection with this application;

c.  Decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, lease, sell, distribute, or reproduce this application;

d.  Transmit, post, or otherwise make available: (i) content that is unlawful, false, inaccurate, harmful, obscene, or otherwise objectionable, including but not limited to, any content that infringes on any intellectual property or proprietary rights; (ii) viruses, Trojan horses, or other harmful programs or material; or (iii) advertising or promotional materials, “spam,” or any other form of solicitation;

e.  Misrepresent your affiliation with or impersonate any person or entity;

f.  Interfere with or disrupt this application or attempt to circumvent this application and website’s security features;

g.  Remove or modify any copyright notices, other proprietary notices, or references contained in this application;

h.  Misrepresent the content from this application or misinform others about the origin or ownership of this application;

i.  Use the application in any manner which could damage, disable, overburden, or impair MCRO, or interfere with any other party’s use of the application; and

j.  Use the application for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms and Conditions and all applicable laws, court rules, regulations, court orders and policies.

11.  UPDATES.  The Minnesota Judicial Branch may update these Terms and Conditions at any time.  You are responsible for regularly reviewing and reading the Terms and Conditions for any updates.

12.  ACCESSIBILITY.  The Minnesota Judicial Branch is committed to providing all people with equal access to the courts, and makes reasonable efforts to comply with accessibility standards and provide information in an accessible format.  If you are having accessibility issues with the MCRO application, please report the issue at https://www.mncourts.gov/Access-Case-Records/MCRO/Accessibility.aspx.  To request an accommodation, visit the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accommodations page.

13.  CONTACT INFORMATION.  Visit the Minnesota Judicial Branch website contact page to ask questions about the MCRO policies. 

Do not use MCRO if you do not agree with or understand all of the above Terms and Conditions.

Rev. August 2022