How to Search Cases by Name
Start with the court level. Felony, district civil, family, and juvenile matters go through the District Clerk. County Court handles misdemeanor, county civil, probate, guardianship, and mental-health cases. Its records sit with the County Clerk. Small civil claims and evictions go to the right Justice Court precinct. A city citation starts in Ballinger, Miles, or Winters Municipal Court.
- Read the citation, order, or filing and note the court, precinct, and case type.
- For County Clerk material, open LGS Official Records, select the office and record type, and enter the last name.
- Use narrow facts that belong to the case, then review all likely results instead of assuming the first match is correct.
- Open More Information or available Images. Guest mode provides index information and previews, not full purchased images.
- For district or broader participating data, try re:SearchTX and verify the match with the court of record.
- If no match appears, call the right clerk, JP, or municipal court with the name, approximate filing year, and case type.
The county FAQ lists only some LGS filters. A date-range or cause-number control may not appear for every record type. Its documented controls cover office, record type, Last Name, Search, result-page navigation, More Information, and Images.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Selector | Unspecified | Choose the county office shown by LGS. |
| Record Type | Selector | Unspecified | County materials name criminal, civil, probate, and property among available types. |
| Last Name | Text | Unspecified | The county FAQ uses “Smith” as its example. |
| Type filters | Dynamic | Varies | Controls change with the selected record type. |
Match Runnels County Cases to Clerks
Runnels County splits its records between two clerks. District Clerk Tammy Burleson's office keeps district criminal, civil, family, and juvenile filings. County Clerk Jennifer Gray Hoffpauir's office holds County Court criminal, civil, probate, and mental-health matters. Each JP and municipal clerk keeps that court's own docket. Picking the wrong office is a common reason for a zero result. Ask first, then search. The right clerk saves you a dead end.
| Case route | First contact |
|---|---|
| Felony, district civil, family, juvenile | District Clerk, (325) 365-2638 |
| County misdemeanor, civil, probate, mental health | County Clerk, (325) 365-2720 |
| Small civil claim, eviction, justice criminal | JP Precinct 1 or 2, based on venue and case |
| City citation or ordinance matter | The Ballinger, Miles, or Winters court named on the citation |
The Texas judicial directory locates a court or official by court type, county, region, court, city, or primary location. It is not a case-search database. Find the office with it. Then take your case identifiers to that office.
How to Search by Case Number
A case or cause number usually beats a name. Type it exactly as the portal requests. Keep every letter, zero, hyphen, and mark. Runnels County publishes no verified universal case-number pattern, so never substitute a made-up format for the number printed on a notice. A generic example must stay generic: CAUSE NUMBER AS PRINTED.
When an exact entry fails, check for a court prefix, a missing hyphen, or a legacy format. Also confirm the search tool covers the issuing court. LGS is a County Clerk index and image route. It does not promise District Court, JP, or municipal coverage. A written request should supply the full cause number, court, case style, approximate year, requested docket or document, date range, copy type, and return contact.
Runnels LGS Index and Image Workflow
The County Clerk links LGS for official-record searches. Searching is free. Guest access shows index information and image previews, while full images require purchase through a registered account. Per the county FAQ, court cases in the criminal, civil, probate, and property categories allow five images before a subscription is required. Subscription amounts vary by county.
A valid email verifies an account. Results offer More Information and Images. Selected images go into a cart for purchase and download. Every purchase carries a mandatory $0.30 transaction fee. Prior purchases and receipts sit under Subscriptions. A downloaded image is not a certified copy, so official certified or authenticated copies must come from the proper clerk.
Coverage matters: County materials describe property images from 1997 forward and index-only coverage for several record types from 1991 through 1996. They do not promise a live docket for every Runnels County court.
What a Case Search Shows
A Runnels County case lookup can return a result row, an index entry, an image option, or a time-ordered register. These are not interchangeable. An index confirms a matching entry is cataloged. A docket or register lists case events. A document image shows a filing or order, while a certified copy adds the clerk's formal certification.
| Case Number | The court's identifying cause number; use the exact printed form. |
|---|---|
| Style or Parties | The case caption or names displayed within public-access limits. |
| Case Type | The category, which helps confirm the proper court and clerk. |
| Filed Date | The filing date, not necessarily the next hearing date. |
| Status | An open, closed, disposed, or other state that must be read with later events. |
| Events | Filings, notices, settings, orders, and disposition in date order when available. |
Runnels County offers no live general docket that works without identifiers. Treat these fields as a reading framework, not a claim that every Runnels portal displays each one. Codes also vary by court. Read the full event description when it is available.
Runnels Citation and Notice Searches
The Texas public citations and notices search is a separate official route. It exposes text, name, cause number, court or county, and status fields. Controls include Search, Clear Filters, and New Search. Results can show name, cause number, court or county, status, and an action. Use a few words, or try a suffix wildcard such as joh*.
This search does not replace a complete traffic or municipal register. A citation belongs to the court named on it. Runnels County also warns that the County Clerk's online criminal payment link handles misdemeanor cases. It does not handle tickets or citations. Use the state search to locate a notice. Then contact the issuing JP or municipal court. Ask for the current docket, court date, and record-copy route.
County vs Statewide Case Search
Runnels County case searches have two broad online layers. Neither one is universal. LGS focuses on County Clerk records and images. re:SearchTX is built for participating Texas district and county data, including dynamic case, filing, and hearing searches. The live statewide interface sometimes shows an access error. Confirm its exact current fields before relying on them.
| re:SearchTX | Runnels County LGS |
|---|---|
| Statewide participating district and county data | Runnels County Clerk index and available images |
| Useful when the local court is known but its separate portal is unclear | Useful for covered County Clerk criminal, civil, probate, and property records |
| OCA says criminal records are excluded from document collection | Guest index and preview access; account and payment for full images |
| Verify every result with the court of record | Contact the clerk for complete or certified records |
eFileTexas works differently. It handles filings for attorneys and parties rather than public docket lookups. The District Clerk runs a case-management system called LGS, though the county page posts no separate public-search link for that office.
A Missing Runnels Result Proves Little
A zero result can mean you searched the wrong clerk. It can also mean the case sits in a JP or municipal system. It may fall outside the posted LGS date coverage. It may have never been integrated into re:SearchTX, or it may be archived, sealed, or expunged. The name may also have been entered under a different form. Texas has no single search covering every trial case. Start over with the court and cause number printed on the original paper. Then call the right office. The District Clerk, County Clerk, JP, or city court can all check directly. JP Precinct 1 answers at (325) 365-2137, and JP Precinct 2 at (325) 754-4270. Ballinger posts a municipal court line at (325) 365-5437. Miles lists its municipal court staff through City Hall. Winters publishes City Hall contact only and offers no public municipal docket page. When a case gives you a date, confirm it. Check it through the Runnels County court dates process before you rely on it.
Restricted Cases and Access Rules
Some case types stay partly or fully closed. Juvenile, adoption, protected family, and child-protection material may be withheld or limited. Sealed or expunged matters may show only a restricted label, a bare number, or no searchable detail at all. Personal identifiers can be redacted from public filings too. Even so, a general docket event can stay visible. The document beneath it may stay closed to public view.
According to OCA's open-records policy, ordinary adjudicative case records fall under court-record law and rules. They are not under the executive-branch procedures of the Texas Public Information Act. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a governs sealing of covered court records. Rule 21c requires redaction of specified sensitive data. The Texas Family Code layers on confidentiality protections for juvenile and related material. So ask the proper clerk what public part can be supplied. Ask also what order or proof of authority restricted access would demand. An empty online search never proves a case did not exist.
Verify Runnels County Case Results
Before you trust a lookup, match at least three points. Court, cause number, and case type or filing date should all line up. Read the latest docket event in context. A filing date is not a court date. A document preview is not the full docket. If the matter affects a current deadline or appearance, ask the court to confirm it.
The clerk can walk you through copy options and office procedure. The County Clerk fee sheet lists $1 per plain page. It charges $5 per certified document plus page charges, and $10 per authenticated document plus page charges. A ten-year name search costs $5. Those are County Clerk fees, though, so do not assume they govern District Clerk records. Ask for current cost and payment instructions before sending any funds.