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Criminal Court Record Searches Now Easier With New CIPRS System at Courthouses

North Carolina citizens can now easily search court records at the courthouse with the launch of the new Criminal and Infraction Public Records Search (CIPRS). The application delivers a modern, intuitive, and user-friendly experience to access public records.

“CIPRS replaces a decades-old green screen system,” said Judge Marion Warren, director of the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts. “I am pleased to provide the public with a modern interface to this criminal justice information system.”

Providing systems such as CIPRS is part of a larger initiative to modernize court technology systems statewide. It was designed with the public in mind and is available to everyone on public access terminals in county courthouses. CIPRS provides the public with a search experience consistent with what they’re used to in other browser-based tools. It provides summary and in-depth case information in easy to read screens and reports. Users can email case reports at no cost.

“This new and modern system is getting great use and acceptance by the numerous stakeholders who have used it,” said Forsyth County Clerk of Superior Court Susan Frye, who also sponsored the technology development work of this system. “Providing information systems that are easy to use helps us to better serve the public.”

The system has been implemented in all 100 counties throughout the state as of March 2016. Currently, more than 47 million records are in the system (roughly 42.7 million criminal cases and 4.5 million infraction cases). Other records are added daily as they are processed. Criminal and infraction cases cover infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies. Cases range from minor traffic violations to serious crimes, with details like warrants for arrest, orders for arrest, citations, criminal summonses, and magistrate orders. Use of the legacy system was primarily by professionals in the media and legal fields, with common uses being criminal background checks, checking on the status of court cases, or historical research. With CIPRS’ user-friendly interface, users and uses of the system will greatly expand and diversify.

More information

CIPRS fact sheet

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About N.C. Judicial Branch


The Judicial Branch is an equal and distinctively separate branch and core function of government. More than 6,000 Judicial Branch employees statewide administer justice in courthouses in North Carolina’s 100 counties. The Judicial Branch budget for FY 2015 – 2016 is $484.9M, 92% of which is used to pay salaries and the remaining 8% is used for operations. The Judicial Branch receives only 2.23% of the overall State budget. More than 54% of the Judicial Branch’s appropriation is equivalent to revenues collected by the courts through imposed fines and fees that are deposited in the State General Fund.

About N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts


The N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) is the administrative agency for the N.C. Judicial Branch, providing administrative services to help the North Carolina court system operate more efficiently and effectively, taking into account each courthouse’s diverse needs, caseloads, and available resources.