How to Search Hillsborough County Court Records
The main public tool is the New Hampshire Judicial Branch Case Access Portal. It runs on the Tyler Technologies Odyssey platform. The portal covers non-confidential Superior Court civil and criminal cases. It also covers Circuit Court District Division civil cases, small claims, name changes, and estate matters. All e-filed case types are available except guardianships and involuntary admissions under RSA 135-C. The portal asks general public users to register or sign in for case access. It is free to use. The system warns that what you see is not the official court record and should not be used for background checks.
Before searching, gather the case number from any notice, summons, hearing slip, or citation. The exact case number is the strongest search input. If you only have a name, plan to narrow by court location, case type, or date once results come back. Hillsborough County spans Manchester and Nashua, so common names will produce many false matches. The state help line is 1-855-212-1234 if a workflow stalls.
- Open the portal at odypa.nhecourt.us/portal and read the public access notice.
- Register or sign in at the upper right if the workflow asks for an account.
- Pick the search type: case number for the cleanest hit, or party name when no number is on hand.
- Filter by court location. Pick Hillsborough Superior Court Northern District for Manchester filings or Southern District for Nashua filings. Use the Find a Court locator for Circuit Court locations.
- Set a case category and a filing date range if the result list is long.
- Open the matching record. Compare names, parties, and dates before treating it as a real match.
- For certified copies, sealed files, older paper records, or family-court material, contact the clerk for the court of record.
Hillsborough County Court Records Search Fields
The Odyssey portal uses the same set of search fields for most public case categories. The exact inputs shift a bit based on the case type and the user's account role. The table lists the fields a Hillsborough County visitor will see on the public side of the portal.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case number | Text | Strongest input | Copy the format exactly as printed on the court notice. |
| Party name | Text | Optional | Use the full legal name. Result lists are heavy in Manchester and Nashua. |
| Court / location | Dropdown | Optional | Pick Hillsborough Superior Northern, Southern, or a Circuit Court division. |
| Case category | Dropdown | Optional | Civil, criminal, small claim, estate, name change. |
| Filing date range | Date | Optional | Format MM/DD/YYYY narrows broad name searches. |
| Register / Sign In | Menu | Required for many views | Account access is shown in the upper-right corner. |
| Search | Button | Yes | Submits the query. |
Party-name results in Hillsborough County tend to run long. Use the filing date and court filters to trim the list. Name-only matches should not be trusted on their own.
Types of Hillsborough County Court Records
Court records here fall into a few broad groups based on which trial court holds the file. Superior Court handles felony cases, big civil cases, jury trials, and equity matters. Circuit Court handles the rest through three divisions. The portal opens a public view into many of these, but not all.
Each record type has its own access rules. A civil judgment is treated very differently from a juvenile delinquency file. The list below maps the main record types to the courts that produce them.
- Civil records. Complaints, answers, motions, orders, judgments, and service returns from Superior Court and District Division civil dockets.
- Criminal records. Indictments, informations, pleas, trial records, sentencing orders, and post-conviction motions for felonies; arraignment and disposition entries for misdemeanors and violations.
- Family records. Divorce, parenting, child support, juvenile, and abuse/neglect cases through Family Division, with strong limits on juvenile content.
- Probate records. Estate files, wills, inventories, accountings, guardianship petitions, conservatorships, trusts, and name changes through Probate Division.
- Small claims and landlord-tenant. Lower-value civil and eviction filings handled by Circuit Court District Division.
- Traffic and motor-vehicle. District Division traffic and violation entries; DUI/DWI matters route into criminal dockets.
- Appeals. Notices of appeal, transcripts, and appellate entries flowing to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Adult civil and criminal cases are usually open. Juvenile delinquency, abuse/neglect, mental health, and adoption files are not. Arrest records and warrant records have their own custodians outside the court portal.
What Hillsborough County Court Records Show
A public case page on the portal shows a short profile of the matter. The depth depends on the case type, the user's account role, and the rules on that file. A typical view lists the case number, the court, the type of case, party names, the date filed, the status, and a docket of events. Documents may be linked, but download access is not promised on every screen.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The court's unique tag for the case. Format varies by court and case type. |
| Court Location | Superior Court Northern District, Southern District, or a Circuit Court division. |
| Case Category | Civil, criminal, small claim, estate, family, name change, or violation. |
| Party Names | Plaintiff and defendant in civil; State and defendant in criminal; petitioner and respondent in family or probate. |
| Attorneys | Names of attorneys of record where parties are represented. |
| Filing Date | Date the case was opened with the clerk. |
| Status | Open, pending, closed, disposed, sealed, or transferred. |
| Docket / Events | Hearings, motions, orders, notices, and dispositions in date order. |
| Hearings | Date, time, courtroom, hearing type, and judge or marital master. |
| Financials | Filing fees, fines, costs, restitution, and bail or bond entries where public. |
| Disposition | The outcome of the case or of each charge. |
| Redactions | Social Security numbers, account numbers, minor names, and protected addresses are usually withheld. |
Some lines on the docket may be terse. A common one reads as a motion filed, an order entered, a hearing set, or a default noted. The full Hillsborough County court dockets page covers how to read each line and what the codes mean.
Public Access Framework for Hillsborough County Court Records
New Hampshire's general open-records law is the Right-to-Know Law, RSA 91-A. It governs records and meetings of state and local public bodies. It creates a strong presumption of access unless an exemption applies. Court records, though, are not pure RSA 91-A material. The courts run on their own access rules, court orders, and statutes that protect specific case types. The portal sits on top of that framework and only shows what the Judicial Branch has cleared for public view.
The New Hampshire Right-to-Know Law has a public link to the full text. Reading the chapter helps explain why some county offices answer requests fast while a court file may need a separate path.
The full chapter text on the state legislature site sets out the public's right of access and the limited reasons an agency can decline. Visit RSA 91-A on the General Court site to read the statute that drives most non-court public records requests.
RSA 91-A is the default for executive and local government records. Court files use the Judicial Branch's own access rules and the Case Access Portal.
Note: The Case Access Portal warns that orders may post before the clerk completes processing and should not be relied on until the clerk's notice has issued.
Two other statutes shape what shows up in a Hillsborough County court records search. Criminal-history sharing by the state police is governed by RSA 106-B:14. That is why a portal search is not the same thing as a real criminal background check. The Supreme Court and judicial-branch framework lives in RSA 490, which sets the structure that runs all of the state's trial-court records.
Records That Are Sealed or Confidential in Hillsborough County
A number of case types are kept out of public view by statute or court rule. The Case Access Portal does not list these in name searches and a clerk will not hand them out at the counter. The most common restricted groups in Hillsborough County are juvenile delinquency files, child-protection cases, adoption files, mental health proceedings, certain guardianships, and protective-order details that include victim safety information.
New Hampshire uses the word "annulment" for clearing eligible criminal records. Most other states call this "expungement." The controlling statute is RSA 651:5. Eligibility depends on the offense type, the disposition, completion of the sentence, payment of fines or restitution, and the wait time after the case ended. A petition goes to the court that handled the original case. The prosecutor and law-enforcement agencies may weigh in. If a court grants the petition, public access changes, but the record is not destroyed. Some government, court, and sentencing uses still allow access. Felony convictions, domestic violence cases, sex offenses, and immigration matters often call for a lawyer.
To view a sealed file or to ask why a case does not show up on the portal, contact the clerk for the court where the case was filed. Counter staff will not unseal a record on the spot. The path is a written motion to the assigned judge, with notice to other parties. Older paper files may also live in archives and may take days to retrieve.
In-Person Court Record Requests
For certified copies, sealed-case questions, and missing or pre-electronic records, the clerk's office is the right stop. The Northern District Superior Court in Manchester handles Superior Court files for the northern part of the county. The Southern District in Nashua handles the southern part. Bring a photo ID, the case number, and a way to pay copy fees. Most clerks accept cash and check; card payment may not be on offer at every counter. Plan time for screening at the courthouse entrance. The statewide help line is 1-855-212-1234 if you need to confirm a record is on file before driving over.
Hillsborough Superior Court Northern District
300 Chestnut Street
Manchester, NH 03101
1-855-212-1234
Public hours posted by the Judicial Branch
The Southern District clerk in Nashua sits at 30 Spring Street and uses the same statewide phone line. Circuit Court District, Family, and Probate Division locations are listed on the Judicial Branch court locator. Use that page before visiting because some Circuit Court matters are heard at smaller court locations rather than at the main Superior courthouses.