Search Faribault County Court Records
Minnesota Court Records Online, usually called MCRO, is the main public portal for Faribault County District Court case information. MCRO covers Minnesota district trial courts and offers separate searches for cases, documents, hearings, and docketed money judgments. It is free for public records that can be shown online, but it is not the official certified record. Certified copies, exemplified copies, and formal judgment search results must come from Faribault County Court Administration.
The Faribault County District Court official page identifies the local court office and links users to the county calendar, copy request tools, fees, and court resources. The MCRO Case Search image below shows the statewide search starting point used for Faribault County Court records.
Use Faribault as the county filter when the search tool allows it. That step matters in Minnesota because a statewide name search can pull cases from many counties with similar names.
- Open MCRO and read the terms before using the search tools.
- Choose name, case number, citation number, attorney name, or attorney bar number.
- Select Faribault County when narrowing a statewide search.
- Use a case number for pending criminal, traffic, or petty cases when known.
- Open the case details or Register of Actions for public docket entries.
- Use Document Search only when a case number is known and the document is public online.
- Request certified or exemplified copies from Court Administration when an official copy is needed.
Faribault County Search Fields
MCRO gives several routes into the same Faribault County Court record set. A party name can work for many civil and closed criminal matters. A citation number is better for a payable traffic or petty matter. A case number is the most precise route and is often the only reliable way to locate a pending criminal, traffic, or petty misdemeanor case that has not yet resulted in a conviction.
| Field | Use | Faribault County Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Person or business search | Use with county filter to avoid statewide false matches. |
| Case Number | Direct case lookup | Examples include 22-CR-26-383, 22-PR-26-332, and 22-CV-26-327. |
| Citation Number | Traffic and petty cases | Best for ticket payment or citation lookup. |
| Attorney | Name or bar number | Useful when a party name is uncertain. |
| County | Search narrowing | Select Faribault for local district court cases. |
The MCRO overview page describes Case Search, Document Search, Hearing Search, and Judgment Search as separate access paths. The overview image below helps place those tools in one system.
Remote access is narrower than courthouse terminal access. When a public record does not appear online, Court Administration or a public terminal at a Minnesota district courthouse may still be the right path.
Faribault County Judicial System
Faribault County is in Minnesota's Fifth Judicial District. Minnesota does not use separate county courts at law, justice courts, or municipal courts for Faribault County trial records. Civil, family, probate, juvenile, criminal, and traffic filings are District Court matters. Appeals from final District Court decisions usually go to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, with further review in the Minnesota Supreme Court when allowed.
The local trial court is Faribault County District Court at the courthouse in Blue Earth. The Fifth Judicial District is an administrative district for 15 southwest Minnesota counties. It manages court operations, judges, and administration, but cases are heard in the county where they are filed.
Case flow: District Court › Minnesota Court of Appeals › Minnesota Supreme Court.
| Court or Office | Role | Faribault County Record Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Faribault County District Court | Trial court of general jurisdiction | Maintains civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, and traffic case files. |
| Court Administration | Local court office | Handles case questions, certified copies, calendars, and copy requests. |
| Fifth Judicial District | Administrative district | Supports 15 southwest Minnesota district courts. |
| Minnesota Court of Appeals | Intermediate appellate court | Reviews final trial court and agency decisions. |
| Minnesota Supreme Court | Highest state court | Handles selected review and statewide judicial administration. |
Faribault County Court Location
The Faribault County Courthouse is the main local court building. Court Administration is located there, and the official District Court page lists Court Administrator Tammy Bauman, court phone (507) 526-6273, fax 507-618-5869, and business hours Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The county government mailing address is 415 N Main Street, P.O. Box 130, Blue Earth, MN 56013.
The official Faribault County District Court page is the source for the courthouse contact details shown here.
The court page also notes that on-street parking is available. No official garage rate, courthouse parking fee, or local security-screening rule was found in the research materials.
Faribault County Courthouse
415 North Main Street
Blue Earth, MN 56013
(507) 526-6273
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
County Government Mailing Address
415 N Main Street, P.O. Box 130
Blue Earth, MN 56013
507-526-6225
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Faribault County Sheriff's Office
320 Dr H Russ Street
Blue Earth, MN 56013
507-526-5148
Law Enforcement Center, separate from the courthouse.
Faribault County Court Record Types
Faribault County Court records vary by case type, but they share the same District Court base. Civil cases may include complaints, answers, motions, affidavits, orders, judgments, and satisfactions. Criminal case files may show complaints, charges, warrants or summonses, plea entries, hearing notices, sentencing, probation violations, and disposition data. Family cases include divorce, custody, support, paternity, parenting time, orders for protection, and harassment matters, though some remote access is restricted.
Probate matters are not in a separate local probate court. They are filed in the Probate Division of District Court and can include estates, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships, and will-related filings. Traffic and petty misdemeanor matters are District Court records too, with payable citations often routed through the Minnesota Court Payment Center.
- Civil records: lawsuits, judgments, conciliation cases, evictions, and related filings.
- Criminal records: complaints, charges, hearings, plea or trial outcomes, sentencing, and probation actions.
- Family records: divorce, custody, child support, paternity, and protection-order matters.
- Probate records: estate, trust, guardianship, conservatorship, and will filings.
- Traffic records: citations, payable offenses, petty matters, hearings, and dispositions.
What Faribault Court Records Show
A Faribault County Court record may show the case number, court, case type, filing date, parties, party roles, hearing dates, hearing type, judicial officer, courtroom, Register of Actions, judgment details, and public documents. Calendar examples include case numbers such as 22-CR-26-383 for criminal, 22-PR-26-332 for probate, 22-FA-26-299 for family, 22-CV-26-327 for civil, and 22-VB-26-160 for violations bureau or traffic-style matters.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | Unique District Court identifier with county, case type, year, and sequence elements. |
| Case Type | Criminal, probate, family, juvenile, civil, violations bureau, or another District Court category. |
| Parties | Names and roles such as plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, decedent, attorney, or personal representative. |
| Hearings | Date, time, courtroom, judicial officer, and hearing type. |
| Register of Actions | Chronological docket entries showing filings and court events. |
| Disposition | Final or current outcome, such as dismissal, judgment, plea, conviction, sentence, or order. |
Faribault Court Access Rules
Faribault County Court records are governed by Minnesota court access rules and the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. MCRO provides many public records online, but remote access is not the same as full courthouse access. The State Law Library explains that district courthouse public terminals may provide access to records not available online. Court Administration remains the source for official certified copies.
Key Minnesota access rules:
Minn. Stat. 13.03 sets the general right to inspect and copy public government data.
Rule 4 of the Rules of Public Access addresses accessibility to case records in the Judicial Branch.
Minn. Stat. 13.82 governs many law-enforcement data categories, including arrest and request-for-service data.
Minn. Stat. 260B.171 restricts many juvenile delinquency records.
MCRO also states that pending criminal, traffic, and petty misdemeanor matters with no conviction may not return by defendant-name search. Search by case number when possible.
Restricted Faribault Court Records
Some Faribault County Court records are public at the courthouse but not shown remotely. Others are confidential, sealed, or expunged. MCRO terms identify Child Protection and certain juvenile delinquency case types as unavailable through MCRO, and the research notes that Domestic Abuse and Harassment case documents are not displayed on the internet because of federal VAWA restrictions. Party street addresses and comment fields are also excluded from MCRO remote access, though some criminal sentencing condition comments may display.
Sealed and expunged records require careful handling. Minnesota's expungement chapter, cannabis expungement changes, and Clean Slate Act notices affect public criminal history and court visibility in different ways. A record absent from online search is not proof that no record exists.
Note: For legal use, confirm restricted-record status with Court Administration before relying on online search results.
Faribault Court Copy Fees
Faribault County Court copy costs use the statewide Minnesota District Court fee table unless a fee has been waived. Uncertified online document downloads through MCRO have no charge where the document is remotely available. Certified and exemplified copies come from Court Administration and carry the court seal, signatures, or validation needed for many official uses.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Uncertified copy of court document | $0 |
| Certified copy of civil or criminal instrument | $14 |
| Exemplified and uncertified copy | $14 |
| Exemplified and certified copy | $28 |
| Civil first paper filed | $310 |
| Dissolution of marriage filing | $390 |
| Probate, trust, guardianship, or conservatorship first paper filed | $310 |
Faribault Sheriff and Jail Records
The Faribault County Sheriff's Office is at the Law Enforcement Center, not inside the courthouse. The sheriff page lists Sheriff Scott Adams, the main office number 507-526-5148, a public jail roster link, an active warrant list link, a tips form, civil fingerprinting information, forms, fees, and online payments. The county provides a practical entrance note for the Law Enforcement Center: enter between Farmer's Daughters Kitchen and the Shell Gas Station on Giant Drive.
The Faribault County Sheriff's Office page is the source for jail roster and active warrant links.
Sheriff records are not the same as court files. Jail custody, active warrants, civil process, law-enforcement data requests, and sheriff fees route through the sheriff. Filed charges, hearings, dispositions, and sentencing route through District Court.
Faribault Marriage and Probate
The Faribault County Recorder is separate from Court Administration. The Recorder handles marriage licenses, marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates, real estate records, notary registration, tax liens, and several historical record functions. Kelly Hendrickson is listed as County Recorder and Registrar of Titles. The office is in the courthouse middle level at 415 N Main Street, with mailing address P.O. Box 130, Blue Earth, MN 56013, phone 507-526-6252, and weekday hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Faribault County Recorder page shows the Recorder's custody role for marriage and vital records.
Divorce records are different. A divorce or dissolution case is a District Court family record, searched through MCRO and certified through Court Administration. Probate matters are also District Court filings, under the Probate Division of District Court, even though genealogy and vital-record research may also involve the Recorder.
- Decedent
- The person whose estate is involved in a probate case.
- Personal representative
- The person appointed to manage an estate.
- Conservatorship
- A court case about managing property or finances for someone who needs help.
Faribault Treatment Court Access
Specialty court services for Faribault County are regional. Southern Prairie Treatment Court serves Faribault, Martin, and Jackson counties through adult drug court and DWI court tracks. The treatment court overview also identifies statewide treatment-court types such as drug, DWI, family dependency, juvenile drug, mental health, and veterans courts. These programs do not replace the District Court case file, but they can affect hearings, supervision, review dates, and case outcomes.
Probation also has a local role in court-connected supervision. The research places Faribault County probation at 125 W 2nd Street in Blue Earth, adjacent to the County Attorney's Office, with adult gross misdemeanor, misdemeanor, and juvenile supervision functions.
Faribault County Court History
Faribault County's courthouse history gives local context to court records kept in Blue Earth. Early court cases were held in a private residence parlor before a permanent courthouse existed. The Wakefield family sold a full city block to the county for $1.50 in the mid-1860s on the condition that a courthouse be built there. A brick courthouse opened in 1872, but a county-seat dispute continued for nearly 30 years as some northern residents sought a vote to move the seat to Wells.
The Minnesota Judicial Branch courthouse history describes the 1892 courthouse, its materials, and its later additions.
The current courthouse was built on the same site after the 1872 building was razed. Its official history mentions Kasota quarry stone, Blue Earth River sand, red brick, rusticated limestone, clay tile, terra cotta, granite columns, Syrian arches, golden oak woodwork, etched-glass office names, stained-glass transoms, and a seven-story tower. The courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
Faribault County Official Site
Some record paths start outside the court system. The official county site carries county office links, news, quick links, payment links, maps, and department pages. It also points to the Recorder, Sheriff's Office, jail roster, active warrant list, vital records, and legal or court resources. Use it when the needed record is not a District Court case file.
The Faribault County official site image below shows the local government source that connects the court-adjacent offices.
Recent county items in the research include 2026 election information, April 2026 special election results about whether the Recorder should become appointed rather than elected, and a transportation sales and use tax starting April 1, 2026. Those items matter because county offices and record custody can change over time.
Faribault Court Records FAQ
Where are Faribault County Court records filed?
State trial court cases are filed in Faribault County District Court. Minnesota uses a unified District Court system, so local civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, traffic, and petty matters are not split into county, justice, or municipal courts.
Can MCRO results be used as certified records?
No. MCRO says its information and search results are not certified by the Minnesota Judicial Branch. Certified or exemplified copies must be requested from Court Administration.
Why does a pending criminal or traffic case not appear by name?
MCRO warns that pending criminal, traffic, and petty misdemeanor cases with no conviction may not return by defendant-name search. A case number or citation number is more reliable for those matters.
Who handles Faribault County marriage records?
The Faribault County Recorder handles marriage licenses and marriage certificates. Divorce records are District Court family case records, not Recorder records.
Are active warrants court records or sheriff records?
Both offices may be relevant. The Sheriff's Office links an active warrant list, while the underlying bench warrant or failure-to-appear issue may connect to a District Court case.