How to Remove Court Records from Google

You dealt with a legal matter years ago, whether it was a criminal charge, a messy divorce, a bankruptcy filing, or a civil lawsuit that seemed to consume your entire life for months. You went through the process, handled the consequences, paid your debts to society or resolved your disputes, and moved on to build a new chapter. The problem is that the internet didn't move on with you, and every time a potential employer, business partner, landlord, or romantic interest searches your name, those court records appear prominently in the results, making it feel like the past is following you everywhere you go.

This is one of the most common problems we help people solve at The Discoverability Company. While the situation can feel completely hopeless when you're staring at page one of Google and seeing your worst moments reflected back at you, there are legitimate strategies to remove court records from Google or at least reduce their visibility significantly enough that most casual searchers will never find them.

The Five Steps to Remove Court Records from Google

1. Identify the legal record aggregators that have information about you and your case by searching your name on Google and documenting every database that appears.
2. Submit de-indexing requests to each database through their removal process, asking them to remove your pages from Google search results.
3. Explore legal remedies like expungement or sealing if you have an eligible state criminal case, which gives you legal grounds to demand removal everywhere.
4. Use Google's removal tools for outdated content or pages containing sensitive personal information that has already been removed at the source.
5. Build suppression content by creating positive web properties in your name to push any remaining negative results to page two and beyond.

The good news is that you can begin this process for free by contacting legal databases directly, and many people successfully reduce their search visibility without hiring professional help. The rest of this guide explains each strategy in detail so you can decide which approach makes sense for your situation.

Understanding What "Court Records" Actually Means

When we talk about court records appearing in search results, we're talking about a remarkably broad category that includes many different types of legal proceedings with vastly different removal options. Criminal cases are the most obvious and often the most distressing, but the category also encompasses civil lawsuits, divorce filings, child custody disputes, bankruptcy proceedings, eviction cases, small claims judgments, and even traffic violations in some jurisdictions that maintain particularly thorough online records. Each type of record has different removal pathways, and understanding which category you're dealing with is the essential first step toward addressing it effectively.

Criminal records from state courts may be eligible for expungement depending on your jurisdiction and the nature of the offense, while federal criminal cases cannot be expunged under any circumstances. Civil court cases—lawsuits, contract disputes, personal injury claims—can sometimes be sealed if they contain sensitive information, but more often your best option is de-indexing from the private databases that republish them. Divorce and family court records may be sealable in some jurisdictions, particularly when children are involved or when detailed financial information could facilitate identity theft. Bankruptcy filings are federal records that remain part of the permanent public record, though private databases may still honor de-indexing requests even though the underlying records cannot be expunged.

These records don't just live on official court websites where you might expect to find them. They get scraped and republished by legal research databases that exist to help lawyers and journalists find case law, picked up by people-search sites that aggregate public records for anyone to browse, and referenced in news articles that get indexed and cached across the web indefinitely. A single court case can appear on a dozen or more different websites, all of which show up when someone searches your name, which is why removing court records from the internet is rarely as simple as making one phone call or submitting a single removal request.

The Critical Distinction: Government vs. Private Databases

Here's something that trips up almost everyone dealing with this issue for the first time: the websites showing your court records in Google search results are usually not government websites at all. They're private companies that aggregate legal data for research purposes, and understanding this distinction is absolutely crucial because it opens up options that many people don't realize exist when a judge or court clerk tells them that their records cannot be sealed or expunged.

Sites like CourtListener (operated by Free Law Project, a nonprofit organization), Justia, UniCourt, and similar platforms exist primarily to make legal research more accessible to professionals who need it. They serve lawyers researching case law, journalists investigating stories, academics studying the legal system, and other legal professionals who need to find court documents quickly and efficiently. Their core purpose is facilitating legal research, not destroying people's reputations or making it impossible for them to move on with their lives, and this distinction matters enormously because these companies have no legal obligation to republish your records indefinitely and many of them will honor removal or de-indexing requests.

This means that even if a judge has explicitly told you they won't seal your records, or if your case isn't eligible for expungement under your state's laws, you may still be able to get your records removed from Google searches entirely. The private databases that are actually appearing in your search results may be willing to help you even when the government won't, because you're not asking them to destroy public records or interfere with the legal system. You're simply asking them to stop making those records easily discoverable through search engines, and many platforms will accommodate that request when you approach them professionally.

The Four Core Strategies for Removing Court Records

There are really only four approaches that consistently work for addressing court records in search results: expungement, sealing, de-indexing, and suppression. Most successful outcomes involve some combination of these strategies working together, and understanding which ones apply to your specific situation will save you enormous amounts of time, money, and frustration.

Expungement: Erasing the Record (State Cases Only)

Expungement is the strongest remedy available because it legally destroys court records as if the case never happened in the first place. When records are properly expunged, you can legally state that the arrest or conviction never occurred, even on job applications that ask about criminal history, and you have solid legal grounds to demand removal from any website that continues to host information about the expunged case.

However, there's a critical limitation that catches many people off guard: expungement only exists at the state level for state crimes. There is no general federal expungement statute, which means that if you have a federal criminal conviction, a federal civil judgment, or a bankruptcy filing, expungement is simply not an option under current law (though there is a 501(c)(3) organization working to change that). Additionally, each state has vastly different rules about what can be expunged and under what circumstances, with some states allowing expungement of most misdemeanors after a waiting period while others are far more restrictive about eligibility.

Generally speaking, first-time offenses, minor crimes, juvenile records, and cases that were dismissed or resulted in acquittal are more likely to be eligible for expungement, but you'll need to consult with an attorney in the jurisdiction where your case was heard to understand your specific options. If you do successfully get records expunged, the work isn't over yet—you'll still need to contact every website that hosts your records and demand removal while citing the expungement order, and most sites will comply with legitimate expungement documentation even if it takes time to track down every instance.

Record Sealing: Restricting Access

Record sealing is similar to expungement but less complete in its effect, as sealed records still exist in court archives but access is restricted to law enforcement and certain government agencies rather than being available to the general public. Sealing is often available for a broader range of cases than expungement, with many states allowing sealing of arrest records when charges were never filed, cases that were dismissed, and certain older convictions after a waiting period has passed.

The advantage of sealing for search engine purposes is that it gives you legal grounds to request removal from databases and other sites that republish court records. Even if the underlying records still exist somewhere in a court archive, sites that respect sealed records will remove them from their public-facing databases when you provide documentation of the sealing order. Civil court cases and divorce records can sometimes be sealed if they contain sensitive information about children, detailed financial disclosures that could facilitate identity theft, or other information where continued public access would cause undue harm.

De-Indexing: Removing from Search Results

De-indexing means getting content removed from search engine results without necessarily removing it from the source website itself. The page still exists at its original URL and can be accessed directly by anyone who knows where to look, but it no longer appears when someone searches your name on Google or Bing, which is often sufficient for most people's practical needs since the overwhelming majority of people searching your name will never dig past the first page of results.

This strategy is especially effective for legal research databases because, as we discussed earlier, these sites exist for legal research rather than reputation destruction. Sites like CourtListener, Justia, and UniCourt often have removal or de-indexing request processes specifically because they recognize that appearing in Google search results serves a fundamentally different purpose than making case law available to legal professionals who need it for their work. Many will accommodate reasonable requests, especially when you can explain clearly that the records are causing ongoing personal or professional harm. The best part is that submitting these requests is completely free—you just need to invest the time to find every instance and follow each platform's specific process.

Suppression: Burying What You Can't Remove

Suppression is the fallback strategy when removal simply isn't possible, and it works on a straightforward principle: by creating and promoting positive, authoritative content about yourself, you push negative results down to page two, page three, and beyond where the vast majority of searchers will never look. Studies consistently show that roughly 90% of all search clicks happen on the first page of results, which means that pushing negative content to page two effectively makes it invisible to most people searching your name.

Effective suppression requires building a network of authoritative web properties in your name, typically including a personal website, an optimized LinkedIn profile, active social media accounts on major platforms, professional directory listings, published articles or blog posts, and other content that search engines will recognize as relevant and authoritative. Suppression takes time to show results, typically three to six months for meaningful movement with optimal outcomes at the twelve-month mark, but it's often the only viable option for federal records, old news articles, or content on sites that simply won't respond to removal requests.

How to Request Removal from Legal Databases

If your court records appear on legal research databases, you'll need to submit removal or de-indexing requests to each platform individually using their specific processes. Here's how to approach the most common platforms you're likely to encounter, and remember that all of these processes are free—you're just investing your time rather than money.

CourtListener

CourtListener is operated by Free Law Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making legal materials freely accessible to the public. They understand the tension between public access and individual privacy better than most, and they have a formal process for handling removal requests. Visit their contact page and submit a request explaining that you'd like your case de-indexed from search engines, being sure to include the specific URLs of the pages containing your information. They're generally responsive to reasonable requests, especially for sealed or expunged records, with typical response times of one to two weeks.

Justia

Justia maintains one of the largest databases of court opinions and legal information on the web. To request removal, visit their support page and submit a ticket explaining your situation clearly and professionally. They handle requests on a case-by-case basis and are particularly responsive when you can provide documentation of expungement or sealing, though they do consider other requests as well when the circumstances warrant.

UniCourt

UniCourt has a dedicated page for removal requests with a formal opt-out process that's more streamlined than many other platforms. They require verification of your identity before processing requests, but they're consistently one of the more responsive platforms for removal requests once you've completed their verification process.

Law360

Law360 is a legal news service that sometimes covers court cases as editorial content rather than simply aggregating database records. For content removal, contact their customer service team at customerservice@law360.com. Editorial content is generally harder to remove than database listings because it involves journalistic decisions, but they will sometimes update articles or add de-indexing tags for legitimate privacy concerns, especially if the underlying case has been sealed or expunged.

DocketBird and CaseMine

DocketBird provides access to federal court records and has a "Request Removal" button directly on their case pages, making the submission process relatively simple compared to other platforms. CaseMine can be contacted through their website's contact page with a request that includes specific URLs and any legal documentation supporting your case.

The Template for Removal Requests

When contacting websites to request removal, being professional, specific, and concise gets significantly better results than being emotional, vague, or demanding. Here's a template that has proven effective across many different platforms:

Using Google's Removal Tools

Google has several free tools that can help with court record removal, though their effectiveness depends heavily on your specific situation and whether you've already addressed the content at its source.

The Remove Outdated Content tool is useful after you've successfully gotten content removed from a source website but it's still appearing in Google search results due to caching. This tool prompts Google to recrawl the page and update its index to reflect that the content is gone, but it only works if the content has actually been removed or substantially changed at the source, as Google will verify before processing the request.

Google has also significantly expanded its policies around removing personal information from search results in recent years. While they won't remove court records simply because they're embarrassing or inconvenient, they may remove results that contain sensitive personally identifiable information like social security numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, or other data that could facilitate identity theft or financial fraud. If your court records expose this type of sensitive data in the search result snippets, you may have grounds for removal through Google's personal information policies. For a comprehensive guide to this process, see our article on removing personally identifiable information from search engines.

If you have a court order requiring removal of specific content, or documentation of expungement or sealing, you can submit a legal removal request to Google directly, which tends to be processed more quickly and reliably than other types of removal requests.

Background Check Companies vs. Legal Databases

People often confuse legal research databases with background check companies, but they're fundamentally different types of businesses operating under completely different regulatory frameworks. Companies like Checkr, GoodHire, Sterling, and similar services are regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which means they can only provide reports to employers, landlords, and other entities with a legitimate permissible purpose—they absolutely do not make your records publicly searchable on Google for anyone to find.

The sites showing your court records in Google searches are typically legal research databases like those mentioned throughout this article, or people-search sites that aggregate public records from various sources. Background check companies operate in a completely separate space with much stricter regulations about who can access reports and how the information can be used. If an employer runs a formal background check on you through one of these services, that's an entirely different issue from what shows up when someone casually Googles your name.

Finding All Instances of Your Court Records

Before you can begin submitting removal requests, you need to know exactly where your records appear across the web. Use site-specific searches in Google to systematically find content on each major platform by searching for phrases like "site:courtlistener.com [your name]" and repeating the process for Justia, UniCourt, and other legal databases. Don't forget to search news sites and general web results for your name combined with relevant case details like case numbers, court names, or dates.

Keep a detailed spreadsheet tracking each URL where your records appear, the platform name, the date you submitted a removal request, any confirmation or reference numbers you receive, and the ultimate outcome. This systematic approach ensures nothing falls through the cracks during what can become a lengthy process, and it helps you track progress over time so you can follow up appropriately with platforms that haven't responded.

When Professional Help Makes Sense

Many people can successfully reduce their court record visibility through the DIY methods described in this guide, but there are situations where professional reputation management makes sense. If you're dealing with records on dozens of different websites, if the records appear alongside news coverage that complicates the picture, if you've already tried DIY approaches without success, or if you simply don't have the time to manage an ongoing removal and suppression campaign, working with professionals can accelerate results and ensure nothing gets missed.

The key is understanding what you're paying for when you hire help. Legitimate reputation management firms will be transparent about their methods, realistic about what's achievable, and clear about timelines. Be wary of anyone who guarantees complete removal of all court records from the internet—that's rarely possible, and anyone promising it is likely overselling what they can deliver.

Setting Realistic Expectations

We believe strongly in being honest about what's actually possible rather than making promises we can't keep. Complete removal of court records from every corner of the internet is rarely achievable, and some content will likely always exist somewhere if someone is determined enough to find it. News articles are protected by the First Amendment and legitimate news organizations rarely remove accurate reporting. Official court websites may never remove public records regardless of how much time has passed. Government press releases from Justice.gov, SEC.gov, and FBI.gov are particularly entrenched and require specialized suppression strategies. Some databases simply don't respond to removal requests no matter how professionally you approach them.

But here's what is usually achievable with persistence and the right strategy: you can significantly reduce the visibility of court records in search results so that casual searchers won't find them. You can often de-index content from major legal databases that currently dominate your search results. You can build positive content that occupies the first page of search results and pushes negative content to page two and beyond. You can reach a point where a typical Google search of your name by an employer, landlord, or potential date doesn't immediately surface your legal history.

That outcome is enough for most people to move forward with their lives, pursue new opportunities without constant anxiety, and stop feeling like their past is permanently defining their future. The goal isn't achieving perfection or erasing history entirely. The goal is getting to a place where your search results accurately reflect who you are today, not who you were during the most difficult chapter of your past.

Frequently Asked Questions