Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER
PACER is a U.S. federal Judiciary service operated by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts that provides registered users electronic access to over 1 billion federal court documents via a self-serve web platform with usage-based per-page fees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersSan Antonio, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER does
PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) is an electronic public access service operated by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on behalf of the federal Judiciary. The service provides registered users with instantaneous access to more than 1 billion documents filed at all U.S. federal courts, including district, bankruptcy, and appellate courts. Users can search for cases by specific court or via a nationwide index using the PACER Case Locator, retrieve court opinions, and — for filers — submit case documents electronically through the CM/ECF (Case Management/Electronic Case Files) system. The platform also supports non-internet-based retrieval via phone access through the PACER Service Center, which fields calls between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday and email support at [email protected].
The platform is built as a web-based electronic court records management system. Key technical components include the PACER Case Locator (a nationwide index search tool that returns listings of court locations and case numbers where a party appears in federal litigation), CM/ECF system integration for electronic filing, and a Court Opinions database. Supporting features include Group Billing (allowing organizations to consolidate multiple PACER accounts under a single billing arrangement), multi-factor authentication, password-standards enforcement, and developer resources for integration work. The input discloses no public API, SDK, or MCP endpoint, and no AI/ML capabilities — the system operates as a traditional search-and-retrieval interface over the federal court document corpus.
PACER generates revenue exclusively through usage-based document access fees at $0.10 per page, with a $3.00 cap per document or case-specific report (docket report, creditor listing, claims register). HTML-formatted information is billed at 4,320 bytes per page; PDFs are billed at actual page count. Approximately 75% of users do not pay a fee in any given quarter due to a $30 quarterly waiver threshold. The service serves two primary customer segments: (1) attorneys and legal professionals who file and retrieve case documents, and (2) general public and legal researchers who search for case information. Non-attorney filers (bankruptcy petition preparers, pro se litigants) represent a secondary segment. Distribution is entirely self-serve through the pacer.uscourts.gov website, with phone and email support via the PACER Service Center. A temporary fee increase is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2027.
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER
- Legal name
- Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)
- Website
- https://pacer.gov
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- PACER is a U.S. federal Judiciary service operated by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts that provides registered users electronic access to over 1 billion federal court documents via a self-serve web platform with usage-based per-page fees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Court Records Access
- NAICS
- Courts (92211), Courts (922110)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Judicial Courts & Court Administration (BPAIAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Court Services & Operations (Clerks, Records, Jury, Interpreters) (BPAIAFAH)
Keywords
Where Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Antonio
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Document Access Fees: PACER charges $0.10 per page for accessing case information, documents, and reports. The fee applies to each search result page and each document accessed. HTML-formatted information uses a byte-based calculation (4,320 bytes = 1 billable page), while PDF documents are charged at actual page count. A $3.00 cap applies per document and per case-specific report. Fees are waived quarterly for charges $30 or less.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Quarterly | Standard per-page pricing with volume cap |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels2 records
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PACER provides electronic public access to federal court records across all U.S. federal courts, enabling registered users to search case information, retrieve dockets and documents, file cases electronically via CM/ECF, and access published court opinions. The service exposes more than 1 billion documents via a web-based platform and is operated by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on behalf of the federal Judiciary.
Product overview
PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) is a unified government service providing electronic public access to over 1 billion federal court documents across all U.S. federal courts. The service consists of PACER Case Search (for searching and retrieving case records), PACER Case Locator (for nationwide party-based case discovery), CM/ECF (Case Management/Electronic Case Files) for electronic filing, and various account types including Case Search Only, Attorney Filers, and Non-attorney Filers. Additional offerings include Court Opinions search, Phone Access, and Group Billing for consolidated account management.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- PACER Case Locator: Nationwide index search tool for federal court cases
Products and services
- PACER Case Search
Quantifiable outcome
- Access to over 1 billion documents filed at all federal courts
Companies that use Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- LexisNexis (CourtLink / Lex Machina): Legal research incumbent with Lex Machina for litigation analytics and CourtLink for docket retrieval. Sources data from PACER and competes for the same legal-research workflow but offers broader content (case law, statutes, secondary sources) on top of PACER-derived records.
- Thomson Reuters (Westlaw / Westlaw Edge): Dominant legal research platform that aggregates federal and state court dockets and integrates them into a broader legal research suite. Competes for legal-research spend from the same attorney and institutional user base, leveraging PACER-sourced data alongside proprietary content.
- Bloomberg Law: Legal research platform that includes federal and state docket coverage as part of an integrated practice-oriented suite. Competes for institutional legal research spend and overlaps with PACER as a downstream consumer and repackager of federal court data.
Emerging players
- Courtnewsdesk / Courthouse News: Court news and records reporting service that monitors federal dockets (sourced in part from PACER) and distributes coverage to legal professionals and journalists. Comparable as a downstream information layer built on top of PACER's underlying dataset.
- Tyler Technologies (Odyssey): Provider of Odyssey case management and e-filing software used by many state courts and a growing number of federal courts. Operates in the adjacent court technology stack that PACER/CM/ECF sits atop, making it a peer in the federal court electronic records ecosystem.
- Trellis / Trellis Research: Court records data and analytics provider focused on state and federal case data, including dockets and litigation analytics. Competes for the same legal-research dollars and overlaps in the federal docket retrieval workflow that PACER dominates.
Direct peers
- Free Law Project (CourtListener): Nonprofit that operates CourtListener and the RECAP browser extension, providing free public access to a substantial share of federal court records that originate in PACER. It is the closest functional competitor for public access to federal court documents and the primary pressure point on PACER's free-access narrative.
- UniCourt: Commercial court records aggregation platform that pulls data from federal and state court systems (including PACER) and repackages it for legal tech, litigation analytics, and business development use cases. Comparable as a commercial court-data access layer competing for the same heavy-usage legal professional segment.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER
What does Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER do?
PACER provides electronic public access to federal court records across all U.S. federal courts, enabling registered users to search case information, retrieve dockets and documents, file cases electronically via CM/ECF, and access published court opinions. The service exposes more than 1 billion documents via a web-based platform and is operated by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on behalf of the federal Judiciary.
Is Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER a public or private company?
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER founded?
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER based?
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER is headquartered in San Antonio, United States, in the North America region.
How does Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER make money?
One revenue line is on record: document Access Fees.
Who are Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are LexisNexis (CourtLink / Lex Machina), Thomson Reuters (Westlaw / Westlaw Edge) and Bloomberg Law. Emerging players are Courtnewsdesk / Courthouse News, Tyler Technologies (Odyssey) and Trellis / Trellis Research. Direct peers are Free Law Project (CourtListener) and UniCourt.
Does Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER have an API?
No public API is recorded for Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER.
What industry is Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER in?
Public Access to Court Electronic Records - PACER's product category is Court Records Access. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIAFAA, Judicial Courts & Court Administration, with a secondary code of BPAIAFAH, Court Services & Operations (Clerks, Records, Jury, Interpreters). Its NAICS code is 92211 and its SIC code is 7370.