Search Collin County District Courts

Collin County District Courts Overview

District courts are the primary trial courts in Texas. They hear felony criminal cases, divorce and other family matters, higher-value civil suits, and similar disputes. Collin County has 15 district courts, a number that reflects how fast the area has grown. Each numbered court has its own judge and runs its own docket, though all of them sit in the same courthouse.

The courts share a home in the Russell A. Steindam Courts Building at 2100 Bloomdale Road in McKinney. The District Clerk, who keeps the case files, is in the same building. Appeals from these courts generally route to the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas, the intermediate appellate court tied to Collin County.

Felony Cases and Prosecution

District courts carry the county's felony docket. The Collin County District Attorney prosecutes those cases, and the office posts dated announcements about verdicts and sentences. Reading recent releases gives a sense of the kinds of felony matters that move through these courts, from violent crime to online solicitation cases.

The announcements also show how state and local agencies work together on serious cases. Many releases describe undercover operations, multi-agency task forces, and cross-state criminal histories.

The Collin County District Attorney's newsroom lists recent felony prosecution results.

Those releases pair with the court records side: the case files themselves stay with the District Clerk, and the newsroom adds context to what the dockets show.

List of Collin County District Courts

All 15 district courts sit at the same McKinney address but split the workload across civil, family, and felony dockets. Each one has its own judge and direct phone line. The table below lists the courts, judges, and contact numbers from the county's official district courts page.

The full list, with mission statement and local rules, sits on the county's district courts page.

District Court vs County Court at Law vs Justice Court

Texas splits trial work by case size and type. District courts take the largest and most serious matters. County courts at law handle mid-level cases, and justice of the peace courts handle small claims and minor offenses. The table below compares the three levels for Collin County.

For the county courts side of this split, see county courts at law. The dividing lines matter because they tell you which court hears a case and which clerk keeps the file.

How a Case Moves Through the Collin County System

Texas cases climb a ladder of courts. A matter usually starts in a lower court, moves up by jurisdiction or appeal, and can end at the state appellate level. Criminal and civil cases follow slightly different paths, but the appeal route is similar.

Court ladder: Justice Court › County Court at Law › District Court › Court of Appeals

Criminal flow: Arrest › Magistration › Indictment › Arraignment › Pretrial › Trial › Sentencing › Appeal

Civil flow: Petition Filed › Answer › Discovery › Mediation › Trial › Judgment › Appeal

Note: Felony cases reach district court by grand jury indictment, while many civil and family cases begin with a petition filed directly in district court.

Civil, Family, and Criminal Dockets

The 15 district courts divide the work by subject. Some courts lean toward family law, handling divorce, custody, support, and protective orders. Others carry heavy felony criminal dockets, and still others hear large civil suits. A single court can mix types, but the county spreads the load so no one docket grows too large.

Family files include divorce decrees, custody orders, and suits affecting the parent-child relationship. Felony files include indictments, plea papers, judgments, and sentences. Civil files cover petitions, motions, judgments, and post-judgment collection. The District Clerk indexes all of them so they can be searched and copied later through the District Clerk office.

How to Search District Court Records

The county's free search tools cover district court cases by name or cause number. Judicial Online Search is the one-stop tool and runs around the clock. Case Search reads all case types from one screen and updates daily at 6 p.m. A full name, a date of birth, or a cause number speeds the search. Texas calls a case number a cause number, and the clerks use that term too.

1. Open the county case information page and choose Judicial Online Search or Case Search.
2. Enter a party name, cause number, case style, or attorney name in the search box.
3. Open Advanced Filters and set Court Types to District to limit the results to district court cases.
4. Narrow further by case type, filed date range, status, or year of birth.
5. Ask the District Clerk for a certified copy when you need a court-ready document.

Felony cases are online from 1988 forward, and civil cases from 1984 forward. Older files need a written request through the District Clerk and a $5 search fee.

Appeals from District Court

A party who loses in district court can appeal. Civil and criminal appeals from Collin County district courts generally go to the Fifth Court of Appeals, the Dallas-based intermediate appellate court tied to the county. That court reviews the trial record for legal error rather than retrying the case. Most cases stop there.

From the court of appeals, civil matters can seek review at the Supreme Court of Texas, the state's highest civil court. Criminal matters can seek review at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest criminal court. Both higher courts pick which cases to hear, so not every appeal moves up. The District Clerk keeps the trial-court record that an appeal relies on.

Local Rules and Standing Orders

District courts run on local rules and standing orders in addition to state law. These set out how cases are filed, scheduled, and handled. Some orders protect sensitive information. Collin County district courts use standing orders that seal birth certificates filed in CPS cases and in suits affecting the parent-child relationship.

That sealing rule is a county-specific point worth knowing for anyone searching family files. It is one reason some family records show limited public detail even when the case itself is open.

E-Filing and Searching District Court Records

Most new civil, family, and probate cases are filed online. The state portal is eFileTexas, and Collin County accepts electronic filings through it. Self-represented filers can use Guide & File to build certain forms. To search existing district court cases, the county's free Judicial Online Search and Case Search tools cover criminal cases from 1988 and civil cases from 1984 forward.

The eFileTexas system handles statewide electronic filing. For a full walkthrough of the county search tools and result fields, see court records and the court dockets page for hearing schedules.

Specialty and Problem-Solving Courts

Several district courts run specialty programs alongside their regular dockets. These problem-solving courts focus on treatment and supervision for eligible people rather than a standard track. Entry depends on eligibility and court approval, so the rules vary by program.

• Adult Mental Health Court, listed under the 219th District Court, for eligible defendants with mental-health needs.
• Veteran Court Program, tied to the 296th District Court, for justice-involved veterans.
• Family Preservation Program, listed under the 199th District Court.
• Juvenile Programs, listed under the 417th District Court, with case details kept confidential.

The county also runs a DWI/Drug Court at the county court at law level. For that program and the lower courts, see county courts at law.

Related Collin County Resources

For dockets and case lookup, see court records and court dockets. For the office that keeps district court files, see the District Clerk page. For the lower trial courts, see county courts at law.