How to Search Civil Dockets
Indiana MyCase is the online starting point for a public Dubois County civil docket. Its Case, Name, and Attorney tabs search the Odyssey system. Use an exact case number when possible. For a name search, add the Dubois court, civil case type, status, or filing-date range to reduce unrelated matches.
Both Dubois trial courts can hold general civil matters. Search court codes 19C01 and 19D01 if the assignment is not known. Small claims begins in Superior Court. The clerk counter, telephone contact, and a precise mailed request provide routes when an entry or document is not online.
- Open MyCase and select Case, Name, or Attorney.
- Enter the exact identifier and narrow the court to Dubois County.
- Open the match and confirm its court code, caption, type, and status.
- Read the newest CCS rows for filings, motions, settings, and orders.
- Ask the clerk for an absent public paper or certified judgment.
Two Dubois Civil Courts
Local Rule LR19-AR1-1 gives Circuit and Superior concurrent jurisdiction over civil matters not assigned exclusively elsewhere. Circuit alone receives probate and juvenile matters. Superior alone receives small claims. Divorce, paternity, child support, and other civil litigation may require a search of both court codes.
| Local route | Court | Search code |
|---|---|---|
| Probate and juvenile | Circuit | 19C01 |
| Small claims | Superior | 19D01 |
| Other civil matters | Concurrent jurisdiction | Check both |
Assignment describes where the record is kept. It does not describe the merit or result of a claim.
What a Civil Docket Shows
A civil Chronological Case Summary, or CCS, is the dated event list for the case. It may record a complaint or petition, service, appearance, answer, motion, hearing, mediation, settlement, dismissal, judgment, and order. An event date can differ from the date the clerk entered it.
| Case header | Court code, exact number, type, caption, filing date, and status. |
|---|---|
| Parties | The public case-style display, subject to access limits. |
| Filings | Service, appearance, complaint, answer, motion, or response entries. |
| Settings | Date, time, location, and event label when public. |
| Outcome | Order, judgment, dismissal, settlement, disposition, or closure entry. |
A row is not the full pleading or judgment. Open a public document link when offered, or ask the clerk for the maintained paper.
Dubois Small Claims Office
The county's Small Claims office is a Superior Court division on the Annex main floor. The published limits allow an individual collecting a debt to use small claims up to $10,000. A business may proceed up to $6,000 without counsel or up to $10,000 with counsel.
The county lists a $97 filing fee for one defendant, $10 for each added defendant, and $28 for sheriff service. The office line is 812-481-7017. Confirm current amounts and service needs with the office before filing. A docket search can show filing and judgment events, but the office or clerk supplies the papers behind them.
The assigned manifest image comes from the county's historic archive source. View the Records Library description before the archive image.
The archive route matters when an older civil file does not appear in MyCase.
Types of Dubois Civil Cases
Dubois civil dockets span several paths. The case type and court code help distinguish a small claim from a family, probate, or general civil file. Access also varies by type, so a public header does not promise that every filed document can be opened.
- General civil litigation, including contract, tort, or property claims.
- Small claims assigned to Superior Court.
- Divorce, paternity, child support, custody, and related family matters.
- Probate matters assigned exclusively to Circuit Court.
- Juvenile matters assigned to Circuit and subject to special access limits.
Family Entries in Dubois Dockets
Family cases can create entries that do not appear in a contract or small-claims case. Local Rule LR19-FL-1 requires mediation when a custody or visitation dispute is expected to take an hour or more. Mediation is a structured effort to resolve issues. Its docket entry does not reveal the private substance of the talks.
Local Rule LR19-FL-2 also requires a parenting class before a final order in a divorce involving minor children or a case concerning children born outside marriage. Purdue Extension or an approved comparable program may be used. A compliance entry or order can therefore appear before final judgment. Read the actual order for what is required in that case.
Common mistake: A mediation, class, or setting entry is a procedural event. It is not the final judgment.
Settings and Hearings on Civil Dockets
A civil setting may appear in MyCase's CCS, Indiana CourtCal, or a filed notice or order. Read the case number, date, time, location, court, and event type together. A motion hearing, mediation, pretrial conference, and trial are different events.
A reset moves a setting. It does not dismiss the case. A continuance is a court-approved postponement. Later CCS rows and the newest signed order matter more than an old calendar result. If two sources conflict, call Circuit at 812-481-7020 or Superior at 812-481-7070 based on the case code. The current order controls.
CCS Is Not Judgment Text
The CCS tells a reader that a filing or ruling occurred. The full case file holds the text. A short row saying that judgment was entered cannot show every party, amount, condition, or deadline found in the actual judgment. The same distinction applies to motions, settlement papers, and dismissal orders.
| Need | Custodian | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Event history | Clerk or MyCase | CCS |
| Filed terms | Clerk | Pleading, order, or judgment |
| Words spoken | Court reporter | Transcript |
The Indiana request guidance directs document requests to the clerk and transcript requests to the reporter. Give the exact case and event details.
Public Access to Civil Dockets
The Indiana Rules on Access to Court Records presume public access, subject to exclusions. Family, juvenile, adoption, sealed, protected-identity, and document-level restrictions can limit a result. MyCase is a public access copy, not the certified court file.
Key Rules:
Rule 4 states the general access principle. Rule 5 excludes confidential records and protected information.
Rules 9 and 10 govern access procedure and excluded categories. The Indiana Access to Public Records Act also applies, while judiciary rules control court files.
A missing case may also reflect spelling, indexing delay, an older record, or the wrong court code. Ask the clerk about authorized access. Never attempt to bypass a seal or obtain redacted identifiers.
Older Dubois Civil Records
The courthouse Records Library holds older civil, probate, criminal, and marriage material. Its basement archive is important because electronic coverage does not reach every historic file. The county notes an 1839 fire in its records history, so gaps may reflect preservation history rather than a poor online search.
Call the Records Library at 812-481-7091 with names, an approximate year, record type, and any case number. For a current certified court record, begin with the clerk. For a historic finding, confirm what survives and what form of copy the archive can provide.
The other assigned civil images document county and state context. Indiana's electronic citation technology source shows how court data reaches Odyssey.
The technology context reinforces why the online CCS and the clerk's full file are distinct access layers.
Dubois Civil Record Fallbacks
If MyCase does not show a public paper, note the court code, case number, entry date, and document description. Call the clerk at 812-481-7035, visit the clerk counter, or mail a focused request. State guidance does not promise that every court document is online or that every electronic archive reaches the same date.
For small claims, the Annex office can clarify the local process. For a setting, contact the assigned court. For a transcript, contact the reporter. For an older file, ask the Records Library. Each channel answers a different question, which is why a complete Dubois County civil docket search does not stop at the database.
The county photograph source provides local courthouse context. View the Dubois courthouse photographs before the image.
The courthouse remains the physical route for the clerk, courts, and older record services.
Dubois Civil Filing Context
Indiana's Odyssey case-management overview explains why Indiana uses the CCS as its official trial-court event record. Attorneys and authorized filers submit through the separate Indiana Electronic Filing System. Members of the public search MyCase; they do not file a civil case through the public search form.
The assigned Odyssey image comes from that official state source.
Odyssey manages the entries, while the Dubois County Clerk receives and maintains the official trial-court record.
A Jasper parking source was also assigned to the civil manifest. Jasper's official parking rules describe when a local notice may proceed to court.
The example shows why a city notice and a county court case are separate records until a matter is filed with the court.