Beware of scam texts and emails claiming to be from the Ministry of Justice. We do not send payment links in texts or emails. If you are unsure whether a message is genuine, contact our call centre on 0800 4 FINES (0800 434 637) or 0800 COURTS (0800 268 787) before clicking any links or making a payment. Read more about identifying scams.
The information detailed in this section applies generally to all courts. However, the Family Court, the Māori Land Court, Environment Court and Coroners Court have additional or special provisions regarding access to court information, which are in section 7. Some Tribunals and Authorities also have special access rules; please contact the Media Team for more information.
The laws and rules around access to records held by a court attempt to balance the principle of open justice and the public’s right to know, against the principle of individual privacy.
The registrar will provide access to court information where legislation allows. Where legislation does not allow all substantive decisions on requests for access to documents will be made by a judge, rather than by a registrar, unless a judge first considers the request and decides that it is appropriate for the request to be referred to a registrar for determination.
Access to court documents may be subject to the payment of a fee.