Search Chaffee County Court Records
Chaffee County court records are searched first through the Colorado Judicial Branch Docket Search. That tool is built for docket and calendar lookup, not for downloading every pleading or order. For a Chaffee County court records search, select Chaffee County or Chaffee Combined Court, then add a non-date filter such as party name, case number, court type, attorney name, or attorney bar number. The search form requires at least one filter beyond the date range.
Copies are requested through the Colorado Judicial Branch record/document request form or through the Chaffee Combined Court Clerk of Court. Use the form for divorce decrees, complaint or information documents, disposition and sentence orders, tickets, civil judgments, probate letters, wills, trusts, and register of action records. Requests are generally answered within three business days unless the file requires more review.
- Open the Colorado Judicial Branch docket search and choose Chaffee County or Chaffee Combined Court.
- Select District Court for felony, divorce, probate, juvenile, civil, and domestic matters, or County Court for traffic, misdemeanor, small-claims, protection-order, and lower civil cases.
- Search by case number when known, using the year, case class, and sequence fields.
- Search by party or business name when the case number is unknown.
- Use the record/document request form when a certified copy, order, decree, or register of action is needed.
The Colorado Judicial Branch homepage is the source for statewide court services and public access links.
The statewide site matters because Chaffee County court records are not held in a county-built case database.
Chaffee County Court Search Fields
The Chaffee County court docket search is useful when a hearing date, case calendar, attorney calendar, or public case event must be checked before requesting copies. Location filters reduce false matches because the same party name may appear in other Colorado counties. Case classes also matter. The research file identifies CR for criminal, CV for civil, DR for domestic relations, JV for juvenile, PR for probate, T for traffic, and CW for water matters.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judicial District | Dropdown | Optional | Select 11th Judicial District for Chaffee County. |
| County | Dropdown | Optional | Select Chaffee County. |
| Courthouse | Dropdown | Optional | Includes Chaffee Combined Court. |
| Court Type | Choice | Optional | Both, County, or District. |
| Date Range | Choice | Needed for context | Options include six months, three months, one month, one week, today, or a specific date. |
| Case Number | Text and dropdown | Optional | Uses year, case class, and case sequence. |
| Party Search | Text | Optional | Individual first and last name, or business name. |
| Attorney Search | Text | Optional | Attorney name or bar number. |
Chaffee County Court System
Chaffee County is in Colorado's 11th Judicial District with Custer, Fremont, and Park counties. The Chaffee Combined Court in Salida houses District Court and County Court functions through one local state-court location. That combined setup can make the public counter look simple, but jurisdiction still matters. District Court handles felony, civil, domestic relations, juvenile, probate, and mental-health cases. County Court handles misdemeanors, county traffic, small claims, protection orders, felony complaints before transfer, and civil cases under the state county-court cap.
Municipal courts are separate from the state court docket path. Salida Municipal Court handles Salida municipal code violations and civil traffic infractions at the Touber Building. Buena Vista Municipal Court handles municipal matters and holds court monthly at the Chaffee County Public Safety Complex. Those city cases may not appear the same way as a state District Court or County Court record.
| Court | Where | Records and Cases |
|---|---|---|
| District Court | Chaffee Combined Court | Felony, civil any amount, domestic relations, probate, juvenile, and mental-health cases. |
| County Court | Chaffee Combined Court | Misdemeanor, county traffic, small claims, civil under $25,000, protection orders, and felony complaints. |
| Salida Municipal Court | Touber Building in Salida | Municipal code and city civil traffic matters. |
| Buena Vista Municipal Court | Public Safety Complex court sessions | Municipal cases, with clerk access by phone. |
Case path: Municipal or County Court matter › District Court appeal or transfer when allowed › Colorado Court of Appeals › Colorado Supreme Court in limited cases.
Visit Chaffee Combined Court
The local state-court counter is Chaffee Combined Court at 142 Crestone Avenue in Salida. It is the practical office for Chaffee County District Court and County Court records, including case files, copy requests, certifications, divorce decrees, probate papers filed in District Court, criminal case documents, and traffic or misdemeanor court files. The court page lists the main phone, fax, court email, ADA accommodation links, interpreter links, holiday links, and courthouse directions.
Chaffee Combined Court
142 Crestone Avenue
P.O. Box 279
Salida, CO 81201
719-539-2561
Clerk lunch closure: 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Chaffee County Government
104 Crestone Avenue
P.O. Box 699
Salida, CO 81201
719-539-2218
County administration, not the court-record counter.
The Chaffee Combined Court page shows the courthouse contact details and public access links.
The court location is the main in-person route when online docket details are not enough.
Request Chaffee County Court Copies
The court request form is the copy channel for many Chaffee County court records. It asks for requester contact information, mailing address, case number if known, case type, filing year, Chaffee County as the record location, party names, date of birth if useful, and the document category. The form includes family, criminal, civil, probate, and other document choices, plus a checkbox for certified or exemplified copies.
The Colorado court record/document request form is the official copy request source for Chaffee County court records.
The trial-court page is useful when the search must stay within Chaffee County and the 11th Judicial District.
| Copy Item | Amount or Rule |
|---|---|
| Copy per page | $0.25, with a $15 maximum for parties and their attorneys. |
| Transcript of Judgment | $25.00. |
| Certificate of Satisfaction | $20.00. |
| Certified or exemplified copy | $20.00 per document. |
| Name search | $5.00. |
| Research or redaction | $30.00 per hour after the first hour, in 15-minute increments. |
Chaffee County Court Record Types
Chaffee County court records include civil complaints, answers, motions, orders, judgments, protection-order documents, criminal complaints or informations, plea and sentence papers, traffic tickets, family and divorce filings, juvenile matters, mental-health matters, and probate filings. The source office depends on case type. District Court is the right court for divorce, felony, probate, juvenile, mental-health, and higher civil matters. County Court is the right court for lower civil, small-claims, misdemeanor, traffic, protection-order, and preliminary felony complaint matters.
- Civil records: complaints, answers, motions, judgments, transcript of judgment, and satisfaction of judgment.
- Criminal records: complaint or information, register of action, minute orders, disposition, sentence, bond, and hearing records.
- Family records: divorce decree, parenting plan, separation agreement, support order, and petitions.
- Probate records: letters, will, trust, application, petition, closing, claims, and date-of-death references.
- Traffic records: ticket, case number, charge, court date, plea, disposition, fine, costs, and payment status.
Chaffee County Public Access Laws
Colorado court-system public records are governed by court access rules, not only by ordinary county open-records practice. The Colorado Judicial Branch access guide states that court-system public records are open at reasonable times under Chief Justice Directive 05-01 and P.A.I.R.R., subject to legal limits. County administrative records use Colorado Open Records Act procedures. Law-enforcement records use the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act. Driver records have separate privacy limits under Colorado law and the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act.
Key access rules: CJD 05-01 and P.A.I.R.R. cover court-system public records; CORA covers many state and local records; C.R.S. 24-72-301 et seq. covers criminal-justice records held by law enforcement; DPPA and C.R.S. 24-72-204(7) restrict driver-record personal information.
Ask the custodian that holds the record. Chaffee Combined Court handles court copies. Chaffee County NextRequest handles many county administrative records. The County Clerk and Recorder handles recorded documents and marriage licenses. The Sheriff's Records Division handles sheriff reports, local criminal-history summaries, sex-offender registration records, and related law-enforcement files.
Restricted Chaffee County Court Records
Not every Chaffee County court record is public. Juvenile, adoption, mental-health, sealed, suppressed, victim-related, protected-address, financial, and medical information can be restricted or redacted. The court request form warns that suppressed cases, juvenile and probate records, and documents with confidential or protected information may require a U.S. government-issued photo ID. Some records may still be withheld even when a person can identify the case number.
- Sealed record
- A file hidden from normal public access by law or court order.
- Redaction
- Removal or masking of protected details before a record is released.
- Register of Action
- A brief case history that may show events, charges, sentences, or minute orders.
For criminal sealing, CBI says a signed court order must reach CBI before its records can be updated. The Chaffee court record may be needed first to confirm the final disposition.
Chaffee County Sheriff Records
Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich leads the Sheriff's Office at 641 West 3rd Street in Salida. The Sheriff's Records Division handles law-enforcement reports, citations, records for Chaffee County Sheriff's Office and certain Salida Police Department matters, district-attorney case files, sex-offender registration records, criminal-history records, statistical reports, and concealed handgun permitting records. Those files are not the same as District Court case records.
The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office page is the official law-enforcement starting point.
The sheriff's office is the route for sheriff reports and custody questions, while filed charges and court outcomes are handled by court or statewide systems.
The jail does not publish a full official roster in the located research. Staff will confirm only custody and bond status, regardless of relationship. Bond payments may use exact cash in the lobby or AllPaid online, and the jail page notes a 3.5% AllPaid service fee. For more custody detail, use Chaffee County inmate records.
Chaffee County Clerk Records
The Chaffee County Clerk and Recorder is separate from the Clerk of Court. County Clerk and Recorder Lori Mitchell's office handles recorded land documents, marriage licenses, elections, motor vehicle services, liquor licenses, and other non-court county clerk functions. The Salida office is at 104 Crestone Avenue, and the Buena Vista office is at 112 Linderman Avenue. Both offices are posted as Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with Friday closed.
The Chaffee County Clerk and Recorder page links the current recording system and office details.
The Clerk and Recorder is the correct office for recorded documents and marriage-license records, not criminal case files.
The recording system moved to the Chaffee County recorded-document search portal in September 2024. The county notes that the Landmark system does not work in Safari on Apple products and advises Microsoft Edge for County Digital Archives.
Chaffee County Public Requests
The Chaffee County NextRequest portal is the official county public-record request channel for many county records. It is not a substitute for the Clerk of Court's record/document request form, the Clerk and Recorder's recorded-document portal, or the Sheriff's Records Division. Its value is routing. If the record is held by a county department rather than the state court, NextRequest can be the right public-record path.
Chaffee County NextRequest has Make Request and Search options for county public records.
The portal helps separate county administrative records from court files, sheriff files, and recorded documents.
Marriage Divorce Probate Records
Marriage records are handled by the Chaffee County Clerk and Recorder, while divorce case files and decrees are District Court domestic-relations records. Chaffee County Public Health states that marriage and divorce records are available through the Clerk and Recorder at 104 Crestone Avenue, by phone at 719-539-4004, or through the document search portal, but the research distinguishes recorded or routed copies from District Court divorce files. Probate matters are filed in District Court at Chaffee Combined Court, not at a separate probate courthouse.
Colorado marriage licenses are valid for 35 days under C.R.S. 14-2-107 and related county-clerk guidance. Probate requests use the court request form's probate category for letters, will, trust, application, petition, closing, claims, and date of death. Probate records may require government-issued photo ID if protected information is involved.
Warrants and Traffic Records
No official Chaffee County active warrant list or warrant search portal was located in the research. Warrant questions may involve Chaffee Combined Court, the Sheriff's Office, Salida Municipal Court, Buena Vista Municipal Court, or another jurisdiction. For bench warrants tied to missed court, start with the court that issued the case. For custody or general warrant questions, the Sheriff's Office non-emergency line is the local law-enforcement contact.
Traffic records split by issuing authority. Chaffee County Court traffic matters use the Colorado Judicial docket and payment systems. Salida Municipal Court has a Tyler payment and search portal. Buena Vista Municipal Court publishes a monthly court setting and direct clerk phone, but no official online municipal case database was located. DMV driving records are separate from court traffic files.
Chaffee County Record Context
Chaffee County describes itself as a high desert valley county of about 20,000 residents in the upper Arkansas River area, with the Sawatch Range above Buena Vista, Salida, and Poncha Springs. The county covers about 1,015 square miles and is about 83 percent public land. That geography matters for court access. Visitors may be driving from rural mountain areas, recreation sites, or another municipality, and court offices do not all share the same hours.
The Chaffee County government homepage provides local county context and countywide public service links.
County government records, court records, sheriff records, and recorded documents are related, but they are not held in one office.
Chaffee County Court FAQ
Where do Chaffee County court records start?
Most Chaffee County court record searches start with the Colorado Judicial Branch docket search. For copies, use the Colorado court record/document request form or contact Chaffee Combined Court.
Is there a Chaffee County jail roster?
No official online jail roster was located in the research. The jail page says staff will only confirm custody and bond status, and no more information will be disclosed regardless of relationship.
Who keeps Chaffee County marriage records?
The Chaffee County Clerk and Recorder handles marriage licenses and recorded documents. Divorce decrees and domestic-relations case files are District Court records.
Can Chaffee County warrant records be searched online?
No official public active-warrant database was located. Check the issuing court, the Sheriff's Office, or the relevant municipal court instead of relying on unofficial warrant pages.
Are Salida traffic tickets in the state court search?
Salida municipal civil traffic cases use the Salida Municipal Court and its Tyler payment/search portal. County Court traffic cases use Colorado Judicial systems.
Which office handles sheriff reports?
The Sheriff's Records Division handles Chaffee County Sheriff's Office reports and related law-enforcement records. Court filings and dispositions come from the court or statewide systems.