Apply for court records: criminal cases

Find out some examples of criminal court records you may apply for and what are the steps to take.

What are court records for criminal cases

Court records refer to the case files and documents for a court case.

Examples of court records for criminal cases may include:

Charges.
Notes of evidence.
Registrar's Certificate.
Statement of facts.
Transcripts.
Judgment.
Grounds of decision.

Note: If you wish to apply for court records for a civil or family case, find out how to apply.

Who can apply for court records

You may apply for specific court records in a criminal case if you fulfil at least one of the following criteria:

You are a party to the case.
You have valid reasons to apply for a copy of the court records.
- You need to justify how you are "affected" by the judgment, sentence or order made by the court as the requests for documents from criminal proceedings will be considered under Section 426 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Otherwise, your request will not be approved.
- Examples of requestors who may be treated as not being "affected" by the judgment, sentence or order include non-parties such as the media, or people who are not facing any criminal proceedings but are requesting the documents for academic purposes. (These examples are not exhaustive.)

Note: The document requested should also be restricted to what is necessary for the reasons indicated in the request to the court.

How to apply for court records (criminal cases)

How you apply for copies of court records from criminal cases depends on which court the case was filed in.

Estimated fees

The fees payable vary based on the type of court records you are applying for.

Item or service	Fee
Registrar’s Certificate ⁽¹⁾ and charges	$35, payable upon application. (This includes a fixed fee of $20 for the Registrar's Certificate and a minimum fee of $15 for charges.) An additional amount based on the number of pages for charges is payable before collection.
All other documents (including a copy of any judgment, sentence, order, deposition or other part of the record of any criminal proceedings) ⁽²⁾	$5 for each type of document requested in the application and $0.50 per page, subject to a minimum fee of $15 per document, payable upon application. An additional amount based on the number of pages provided is payable before collection.
Application for an additional copy of the record of any criminal proceedings or the grounds of decision ⁽³⁾	$0.50 for each page, subject to a minimum fee of $10 for each copy of the record of proceedings or grounds of decision, payable upon application. An additional amount based on the number of pages provided is payable before collection.

How to apply

For cases in the Integrated Case Management System

If the case is registered via the Integrated Case Management System (ICMS), log in to ICMS to apply.

Refer to the step-by-step instructions in the ICMS guide to request court records (PDF, 1194 KB). You can pay the fees online. Your application will only be processed after you have made payment.

All applications are subject to approval. You will be informed via email of the outcome of your application.

If the court approves your request, you can download the documents online through ICMS.

For cases not in the Integrated Case Management System

If the case is not registered via ICMS, follow these steps:

Download and complete the Application for Records of Criminal Proceedings for Non-ICMS Cases form (Form 26).
Submit the completed form to contact@statecourts.gov.sg or visit the State Courts Central Registry (Level 2, State Courts) during the operating hours to submit the form and pay the fees.

All applications are subject to the court's approval. You will be informed via email or phone of the outcome of your application.

If the court approves your request, the documents will be emailed to you or you can collect them from the State Courts Central Registry.

Note

Estimated fees

The fees payable vary based on the type of court records you are applying for. They include:

Item or service	Fee
A copy of the record of proceedings or grounds of decision if a Notice of Appeal is filed in relation to a judgment, sentence or order of the General Division of the High Court.	$0.50 per page, subject to a minimum fee of $10.
A copy of any other document including judgment, sentence, order or deposition.	All of the following fees apply: $5 for each type of document requested in the application, payable at the time of the application. $0.50 per page, subject to a total minimum fee of $15 for each type of document requested.

Item or service

Fee

A copy of the record of proceedings or grounds of decision if a Notice of Appeal is filed in relation to a judgment, sentence or order of the General Division of the High Court.

$0.50 per page, subject to a minimum fee of $10.

A copy of any other document including judgment, sentence, order or deposition.

All of the following fees apply:

$5 for each type of document requested in the application, payable at the time of the application.
$0.50 per page, subject to a total minimum fee of $15 for each type of document requested.

How to apply

For cases in eLitigation

If you are represented by a lawyer, your lawyer should file the request via eLitigation using the appropriate forms:

Request for Transcript of Criminal Proceedings for running case transcripts or
Other Hearing Related Request for other types of documents.

If you are not represented by a lawyer, email your request to Supcourt_Registry@supcourt.gov.sg. After ascertaining the documents you require, you will be provided with a request form to complete and submit via eLitigation as "Other Hearing Related Request". You can do so by visiting the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau in person.

All applications are subject to approval and the payment of applicable fees. You will be informed via eLitigation or email of the outcome of your application.

For cases not in eLitigation

You or your lawyer should email your request to Supcourt_Registry@supcourt.gov.sg. After ascertaining the documents you require, you will be provided with a request form to complete and submit either via email at Supcourt_Registry@supcourt.gov.sg or in person at the Legal Registry.

All applications are subject to approval and the payment of applicable fees.

Resources

Legislation associated with this topic includes the Criminal Procedure Code (Prescribed Fees) Regulations.

Refer to:

For Supreme Court: Paragraph 24 and Paragraph 157 of the Supreme Court Practice Directions.
For State Courts: Paragraph 17 and Paragraph 127 of the State Courts Practice Directions.