Court Records (US only)

740 million+ United States Court Cases

API Authentication

Before using the PEP trace API, you must authenticate by logging in and obtaining an access token. Include this token in the Authorization header of your request.

Court Records

he Court Records API enables a comprehensive nationwide search across hundreds of millions of United States court cases, lawsuits, and patents. This endpoint provides unparalleled coverage, including 100x more cases than Google Scholar and 10x more than PACER, the federal judiciary’s official system.

Comprehensive Court and Patent Search

• Court Records: Access federal, state, and county-level civil and criminal cases.

• U.S. Patents: Full-text search of 8.1 million patents filed between 1/1/1976 and 07/01/2022.

• Extended Results: Retrieve up to 500,000 results per query instead of the standard 2,000.

Common Case Volumes

Example keyword searches return vast volumes, such as:

• Murder: 926K cases

• Fraud: 2.1 million cases

• Burglary: 3.7 million cases

• Assault: 8.2 million cases

Required Parameters

Include these parameters in your JSON request:

Parameter	Data Type	Required	Description
key	string	Yes	Your API key.
lookupId	integer	Yes	Subscription-specific identifier. Retrieve valid IDs via /request-monitor/lookupid-list.
keyphrase	string	Yes	Search term (e.g., name, patent keyword, or case type).

Example Request

To execute the SSN trace method using cURL, use the sample request below. Replace the placeholder values as needed:

curl -X 'POST' \
  'https://irbis.espysys.com/api/developer/compliance_screening/court_records' \
  -H 'accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "key": "<Your_API_Key>",
    "lookupId": <Your_Lookup_ID>,
    "keyphrase": "Donald Trump"
  }'

Understanding the Response

After submitting a request, you’ll receive a response with a unique id to track progress:

{
  "id": 509123,
  "status": "progress",
  "message": "Results will be available soon. Use API to retrieve data."
}

Request Response Data

https://irbis.espysys.com/api/request-monitor/api-usage/{id}?key={API key}

Request to get a lookup data of a request with an id.

"id" parameter has to be passed in the path of a request - ID of a request to get lookup data for.

Example Path Variables

• id: The unique identifier for the request you wish to look up.

• API key: Your specific API key for authentication purposes.

CURL Example

curl -X 'GET' \
'https://irbis.espysys.com/api/request-monitor/api-usage/<id>?key=<API_Key>' \
-H 'accept: application/json'

Replace <id> with the request ID you are querying and <API_Key> with your actual API key.

Notes

• Lookup IDs: Your subscription plan determines available lookupId values. Use the /request-monitor/lookupid-list endpoint to list valid IDs.

• Rate Limits: Large result sets may take time to process. Poll the api-usage endpoint periodically.

Search Response Schema

{
  "criteria": "string",
  "type": "court_records",
  "status": "finished",
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "court_records"
    }
  ],
  "data": [
    {
      "case_style": {
        "plaintiff": {
          "first_name": "string",
          "middle_name": "string | null",
          "last_name": "string",
          "suffix": "string | null",
          "party_type": "string",
          "party_association": "string | null"
        },
        "defendants": [
          {
            "first_name": "string | null",
            "last_name": "string",
            "suffix": "string | null",
            "party_type": "string",
            "party_association": "string | null"
          }
        ]
      },
      "filing_date": "YYYY-MM-DD",
      "division_name": "string",
      "case_status": "string",
      "docket": [
        {
          "docket_number": "integer",
          "effective_date": "YYYY-MM-DD",
          "description": "string",
          "notes": "string [Sanitized]"
        }
      ],
      "type": "dict"
    },
    {
      "case_summary": {
        "case_no": "string",
        "style": "string [Redacted Names]",
        "case_type": "string",
        "date_filed": "YYYY-MM-DD",
        "location": "string",
        "party_information": {
          "petitioner": {
            "name": "string [Redacted]",
            "attorney": "string",
            "address": {
              "street": "string [Generic Placeholder]",
              "city": "string",
              "state": "ST",
              "zip_code": "XXXXX"
            }
          },
          "respondents": [
            {
              "name": "string [Redacted]",
              "address": {
                "street": "string [Generic Placeholder]",
                "city": "string",
                "state": "ST",
                "zip_code": "XXXXX"
              }
            }
          ]
        },
        "events_and_orders": [
          {
            "date": "YYYY-MM-DD",
            "event": "string",
            "filed_by": "string [Redacted]",
            "file_stamp": "YYYY-MM-DD"
          }
        ]
      },
      "type": "dict"
    },
    {
      "case_information": {
        "case_number": "string",
        "plaintiff": {
          "name": "string [Redacted]",
          "attorney": "string",
          "disposition": "string"
        },
        "defendant": {
          "name": "string [Redacted]",
          "attorney": "string",
          "disposition": "string"
        },
        "case_type": "string",
        "case_status": "string",
        "file_date": "YYYY-MM-DD"
      },
      "financial_information": {
        "total_financial_assessment": "number",
        "transactions": [
          {
            "date": "YYYY-MM-DD",
            "receipt_number": "RECEIPT-XXXX",
            "amount": "number"
          }
        ]
      },
      "type": "dict"
    }
  ]
}