St. Mary's County Civil Court Records
St. Mary's County civil court records are maintained by the Circuit Court Clerk in Leonardtown and are open to the public through the Maryland Judiciary Case Search portal and in person at the courthouse. If you need to look up a civil case, find a judgment, or get copies of court documents filed in Southern Maryland's St. Mary's County, this guide explains the search tools available and how the process works at the local clerk's office.
St. Mary's County Overview
Finding Civil Court Records in St. Mary's County
St. Mary's County sits at the southern tip of Maryland's western shore, bordered by the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. Its circuit court handles civil cases for the county, and the records are accessible through Maryland Judiciary Case Search. That free statewide portal covers all 24 Maryland jurisdictions and lets you search by name or case number.
Civil records for St. Mary's County in the online system start from July 1, 1997. Criminal records begin on March 6, 2000. If a case was filed before those dates, it won't appear in Case Search. For older records, you would need to contact the clerk's office directly or check with the Maryland State Archives.
The default search mode on Case Search requires an exact name match. Try entering the last name followed by a percent sign (%) if you want partial matches. The system updates nightly, so a case filed yesterday may not show until the next day. Case summaries in the results show the filing date, case type, party names, and disposition. The actual documents are not available online. You need to visit or contact the clerk's office to get copies.
Note: Case Search provides summaries only. The Leonardtown clerk's office handles requests for full documents and certified copies.
The St. Mary's County clerk's office listing on the Maryland Courts directory has current contact information, hours, and links to relevant court resources for the county.
That page is the best place to confirm hours before making a trip to Leonardtown, since holiday schedules and court closures are reflected there.
St. Mary's County Circuit Court: Address and Hours
The Circuit Court for St. Mary's County is at 41605 Courthouse Drive, Leonardtown, MD 20650. The main phone number for the clerk's office is 301-475-4565. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The courthouse is closed on state and federal holidays.
Leonardtown is a small town, and the courthouse is the main government hub for the county. Parking is generally available near the courthouse. If you are coming from further away in Southern Maryland, it may be worth calling ahead to confirm the specific documents you need are ready before making the drive.
St. Mary's County does not have a separate city with its own court. All civil filings for the county go through the Leonardtown courthouse regardless of where in the county the parties are located.
Getting Copies of St. Mary's County Civil Court Records
To get paper copies of civil court records from St. Mary's County, you can visit the clerk's office in person during business hours or submit a written request by mail. Either way, you need to provide the case number or the names of the parties along with the approximate filing year to help staff locate the correct case.
The standard copy fee is $0.50 per page. Certified copies cost $5.00 per document plus the per-page copy fee. Certified copies carry an official court seal and are typically required when you need to present records to another court, a government agency, or an attorney in another jurisdiction. Exemplification copies, which carry an additional level of authentication, cost $10.00 plus copy fees.
If mailing a request, include your full name, return address, phone number, the case details, the specific documents you want, and your payment. Money orders are the safest option for mail payments since personal checks are not always accepted at Maryland courts. Allow at least one to two weeks for a mailed request to be processed and returned.
For those who need help navigating the process without an attorney, the Maryland Courts Self-Help Center has guides on how to request court records and what to expect. This is especially useful if you are dealing with a family case or a small civil matter and want to understand the process before contacting the clerk.
Other Civil Records Resources for St. Mary's County
Civil court records are just one type of public document you might need in St. Mary's County. Land records, including deeds, mortgages, and liens, are recorded separately and available through MDLandRec.net. These records often matter in civil disputes involving property.
Maryland's electronic filing system, MDEC, handles some case filings digitally. Information about how that system works is on the MDEC page. Not all St. Mary's County cases use electronic filing, but the clerk's office can tell you if a specific case is part of the MDEC system.
For historical civil records that predate the 1997 online start date, the Maryland State Archives holds court records going back centuries for many counties. You can search the guide online or call (410) 260-6400 to ask what St. Mary's County records they hold.
Some records are off-limits to the public in all Maryland counties. These include adoption files, juvenile records, mental health evaluations, income tax returns used in family support cases, and any records a judge has sealed. Since 2024, Failure to Pay Rent cases with no possession judgment are automatically shielded statewide.