How to Use the eCourts Services Portal in India: A Complete Guide (2026)

How-To Guide · eCourts

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

You have a case in a district court or a High Court, and you need to know when the next hearing is, what the last order said, or whether the matter has been listed at all. The official answer sits on the eCourts Services portal, but the menus, the court selection and the CAPTCHA confuse many first-time users. The eCourts Services portal (services.ecourts.gov.in) and its mobile app let you check case status, cause lists and orders for district courts and High Courts across India. You can search by CNR, case number, party name, advocate, filing number or FIR number. This guide shows each main search step by step, and explains what eCourts covers and what it does not. Last verified: October 2026.

The short answer

What it is: the official portal and app for case status, cause lists and orders in district courts and High Courts.
Fastest search: the 16-character CNR number. No court selection needed.
Other searches: case number, party name, advocate, filing number and FIR number.
Not covered: the Supreme Court and tribunals have their own portals.
Cost: free to use for case status checks.

01Why the portal confuses people

The eCourts Services portal is the official public window into the Indian court system, yet many people struggle with it on their first visit. The reasons are practical, not technical.

Too many search options

The portal offers several ways to search. If you pick the wrong one, or you do not have the right detail, you get no result and cannot tell why. A CNR search is the easiest. A party name search needs the right court and the right year.

You must know the court first

Most searches need you to choose the state, district, court complex and court. If you do not know where the case is filed, you may search the wrong place and see nothing. The result looks like the case does not exist, when it is only in another court.

CAPTCHA and session timeouts

Every search asks for a CAPTCHA. If the page sits idle, the session can expire and the search fails. This is a common reason for an error that looks like a missing case.

Most failed eCourts searches are not missing cases. They are the wrong court, the wrong year, or an expired CAPTCHA.

02What eCourts covers and does not cover

The eCourts Services portal covers district and subordinate courts and High Courts, but it does not cover every forum in India. Knowing this saves you a lot of wasted searching.

What it covers

District and subordinate courts: civil and criminal matters across the country, searched through the main Services portal.
High Courts: case status and orders through the High Courts services section, at hcservices.ecourts.gov.in.

What it does not cover

The Supreme Court: it has its own official site. Check case status on sci.gov.in.
Tribunals: bodies such as the NCLT, NCLAT, NCDRC, ITAT and others run their own portals and case status pages. You must check each one separately.

So eCourts is the national system for district courts and High Courts, not a single search for every Indian court and tribunal. If your matter sits in a tribunal or the Supreme Court, start on that forum’s own site.

Need only a case status check across forums?

See what court case status means in India and the best court record check APIs in India if you need to check records at scale.

03Before you start

A few details ready in advance make every search faster. Keep these at hand before you open the portal.

The CNR number, if you have it. It is printed on the case summary, the order copy or the filing receipt.
Case type, number and year, for example the registration number on a notice.
The court: state, district and court complex.
Party names, spelled as they may appear in court records.

You can use the portal in a browser or through the eCourts Services app on Android and iOS. Both are free to use for case status checks.

04How to search by CNR number

A CNR search is the fastest and most accurate way to find a case, because the CNR is a unique 16-character number given to each case in the eCourts system.

Open services.ecourts.gov.in or the eCourts Services app.
Choose CNR Number from the search menu.
Type the 16-character CNR without spaces or hyphens. Letters and numbers both count.
Type the CAPTCHA exactly as shown.
Click Search. The case summary opens with current status and history.

You do not need to pick a state or court for a CNR search, because the number already identifies the court. The first characters of a CNR point to the state and district.

On the case page you can see the case type, filing and registration numbers, the first and next hearing dates, the court and judge, the parties and their advocates, the acts and sections, and the full history of hearings. Orders and judgments are listed at the bottom where available.

05How to search by case number

Use a case number search when you have the case type, number and year but no CNR. This search needs the correct court, so it takes a few more steps.

Open the portal or app and choose Case Status, then Case Number.
Select the state and the district.
Select the court complex. Some districts have several, so pick the one where the case was filed.
Select the case type, such as a civil suit, criminal case or bail application.
Enter the case number and the year.
Type the CAPTCHA and click Go.
Click View next to the case to open it.

If you see no result, check the year first. A new case may carry a filing number before it gets a registration number, so also try the Filing Number search with the same details.

06How to search by party name

A party name search helps when you know who is in the case but not the number. It returns every case in the chosen court that matches the name and year.

Open the portal or app and choose Case Status, then Party Name.
Select the state, district and court complex.
Enter the party name. A short partial name often works, but use at least a few letters.
Enter the year of registration.
Choose Pending, Disposed or Both.
Type the CAPTCHA and click Go.
Pick the right case from the list and click View.

Names are often spelled in different ways in court records. If a full name finds nothing, try only the surname, drop initials, or try a common spelling variant. Searching is limited to one court complex at a time, so repeat the search if the case may sit elsewhere.

07Other searches, cause lists and orders

Beyond the three main searches, the portal has other useful tools for day-to-day court work.

Advocate name or bar code: lists the cases an advocate is appearing in within a court.
Filing number: finds a case that is filed but not yet registered.
FIR number: finds criminal cases by police station, FIR number and year.
Cause list: shows the matters listed before a court on a given date, so you can see if and when your case is heard.
Court orders: lets you open and download orders and judgments where the court has uploaded them.

Download only what you need, and remember that a downloaded order from the portal is for information. For a certified copy you still apply to the court in the usual way.

08Common problems and fixes

Record not found: check the court complex, the year and the case type. Try the CNR if you can find it.
Invalid CAPTCHA: refresh the CAPTCHA, type it again, and do not leave the page idle for long.
Old data: the portal shows what the court has entered. Some courts update late, so confirm important dates with the court or your clerk.
Site is slow or down: try again later, or use the app, which sometimes responds better.
Tribunal or Supreme Court case: eCourts will not show it. Use the forum’s own portal.

Information on the portal is a convenience. It does not replace the court record, so always verify a hearing date before you travel or file anything that depends on it.

09Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

The eCourts portal is free and official, and for a single check it is often enough. It gets harder when you handle many matters, because each search is manual, covers one court complex at a time, and stops at district courts and High Courts. Claw helps when you need more than a one-off lookup. Create a free Claw account to search eCourts data plus tribunals and the Supreme Court in one place, with alerts. A free account is required. Claw has a free plan for individual advocates, and paid plans for teams and enterprises. For programmatic access to court data at scale, see legal due diligence with an API.

10Sources and further reading

The official sources used in this guide. Details were last verified in October 2026.

eCourts Services portal: services.ecourts.gov.in
High Courts services: hcservices.ecourts.gov.in
eCourts Services mobile app: available for Android and iOS from the official app stores.
eCourts project: ecourts.gov.in
Supreme Court of India: sci.gov.in
Claw: clawlaw.in

11Frequently asked questions

What is eCourts?

eCourts is India’s national programme that puts court records online. Its Services portal (services.ecourts.gov.in) and app let the public check case status, cause lists and orders for district courts and High Courts. It is run as part of the eCourts Mission Mode Project.

How do I check case status on eCourts?

Open services.ecourts.gov.in or the eCourts Services app and choose a search type. For a CNR search, enter the 16-character CNR and the CAPTCHA. For a case number or party name search, pick the state, district and court complex first, then enter the details and the CAPTCHA.

What is a CNR number?

A CNR is the Case Number Record, a unique 16-character alphanumeric number given to each case in the eCourts system. You find it on the case summary or the order copy. It is the quickest way to look up a case, because it does not need state or court selection.

Is the eCourts portal free?

Yes, checking case status on the eCourts Services portal and app is free for the public. Getting certified copies of orders from a court may involve a court fee, which varies by court.

Does eCourts cover tribunals and the Supreme Court?

No. eCourts covers district courts and High Courts. The Supreme Court and tribunals such as the NCLT, NCLAT, NCDRC and ITAT use their own portals, so you must check each separately.

Can I get alerts on eCourts case updates?

The portal is mainly a lookup tool, so you check cases yourself. Tools like Claw let you create a free account, track cases across eCourts data, tribunals and the Supreme Court in one place, and receive alerts.