About the New Britain Clerk of the Superior Court
Connecticut does not have a New Britain county clerk or district clerk comparable to county clerk systems in states where one elected county official keeps broad court, land, and public records. The court-record clerk for New Britain Superior Court records is the clerk's office of the New Britain Judicial District at 20 Franklin Square. The official Judicial Branch directions page lists the Chief Clerk's Office phone as 860-515-5180 and fax as 860-515-5185.
The clerk channel matters when a user needs certified copies, case-file access, older records not shown online, files restricted from public lookup, or help identifying which court location holds the record. Online lookup is useful for many civil, family, housing, small-claims, criminal, and motor-vehicle searches, but it does not replace the clerk for copies or complete file access.
New Britain Judicial District
Office: Chief Clerk's Office
20 Franklin Square
New Britain, CT 06051
860-515-5180
Fax 860-515-5185
Hours 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; doors open at 8:30 a.m.
What the New Britain Court Clerk Does
The Superior Court clerk is the practical record custodian for New Britain court cases in the Judicial Branch. The clerk does not issue New Britain marriage licenses, keep local police reports, or administer probate files. For Superior Court matters, the clerk helps with filings, docket and case-file access, certified copies, records that do not appear online, and questions about public access limits.
- Receives and maintains Superior Court filings for the New Britain Judicial District where the case belongs there.
- Helps requesters locate civil, family, criminal, motor-vehicle, housing, juvenile, and other court files by docket number or party information.
- Processes copy and certification requests when the file is available to the requester.
- Directs users to Judicial Branch forms, e-filing, case lookup, court events, daily dockets, and related court services.
- Applies access rules for sealed, erased, juvenile, youthful offender, family, victim, and other restricted records.
New Britain Clerk Office Distinctions
The most important clerk distinction in New Britain is ownership. The Clerk of the Superior Court handles Superior Court case records. The New Britain Town and City Clerk at City Hall handles vital records, marriage licenses, land records, local licensing, elections, and municipal records. Berlin Probate Court has its own probate clerk function for estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, children's matters, and mental-health commitments. New Britain Police Department handles police incident reports, accident reports, local record checks, and records tied to investigations.
| Office | Records handled | Contact anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Clerk of the Superior Court | Civil, family, housing, small claims, criminal, motor vehicle, divorce, and court-copy requests | 20 Franklin Square; 860-515-5180 |
| New Britain Town and City Clerk | Marriage licenses, certified marriage certificates, vital records, land records, local licenses, elections, municipal records | City Hall Room 109; 860-826-3345, 860-826-3347, 860-826-3349 |
| Berlin Probate Court clerk | Probate files for Berlin and New Britain, including estates and conservatorships | One Liberty Square; 860-826-2696 |
| New Britain Police Records Bureau | Police reports, accident reports, local record checks, releasable investigation records | 10 Chestnut Street; 860-826-3190 |
| City FOIA channel | City-held public records outside standard court or police-release channels | newbritainct.gov/foia |
How to Request a New Britain Certified Copy
A certified copy proves that the copy was issued from the official court file. Certified court copies may be needed for appeals, enforcement, licensing, background review, benefits, name changes, immigration, or personal legal records. Because the research did not locate a New Britain court-source fee amount, requesters should confirm current copy and certification costs with the clerk or Judicial Branch fee schedule before sending payment.
- Identify the record owner first: Superior Court, Town Clerk, Probate Court, Police Department, or city FOIA channel.
- For Superior Court records, search the online Judicial Branch portals for the docket number, case location, party names, and case type.
- Call the Chief Clerk's Office at 860-515-5180 if the document is not online, the file is older, or certification is needed.
- Provide the docket number, party names, document title, filing date if known, and number of copies requested.
- Ask whether the copy can be picked up, mailed, or requested by written submission, and confirm the fee before sending payment.
New Britain Court Records Request Fields
The research did not identify a single New Britain Superior Court copy-request form, so the safest request format is a complete written description that lets the clerk locate the file. A court-copy request should be narrower than a public-records request to the city because the Judicial Branch, the Town Clerk, probate, police records, and city FOIA are separate channels.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Docket number | Best if available | Use civil/family docket lookup or criminal docket lookup before contacting the clerk. |
| Party names | Yes | Include all known names and spellings used in the case. |
| Court location | Yes | Use New Britain Judicial District, GA 15 at New Britain, or New Britain Housing when known. |
| Case type | Yes | Examples include civil, family, divorce, criminal, motor vehicle, housing, or small claims. |
| Document type | Yes | Identify judgment, order, complaint, motion, disposition, transcript, or full file if permitted. |
| Certification needed | Yes | Say whether a plain copy or certified copy is required. |
| Return method | Yes | Ask whether pickup, mail, or another clerk-approved method is available. |
New Britain Clerk Fees and Known Local Fees
For Superior Court certified copies, the research records a fee gap rather than a verified local amount. That means the page should not invent a per-page or certification fee. The known amounts in the research belong mostly to the Town Clerk and New Britain Police Records Bureau, which are useful because requesters often confuse those offices with the court clerk.
| Record or service | Amount or instruction |
|---|---|
| Superior Court certified copies | Confirm with Judicial Branch fee schedule or Chief Clerk's Office |
| Town Clerk certified marriage certificate | $20 |
| Town Clerk birth certificate long form | $20 |
| Town Clerk death certificate certified copy | $20 |
| New Britain Police local record check | $15 cash only |
| Police report, including accidents | $0.50 per page, cash only |
| Certified police report | $5 cash only |
| CD with police photos | $10 cash only |
| Probate filing and copy fees | Use Connecticut Probate fees page or calculator |
New Britain Court Clerk Forms
Judicial Branch forms, not the city website, are the main form channel for Superior Court matters. The research identifies the Judicial Branch webforms page as a source for family, civil, criminal, housing, juvenile, and appellate forms. Divorce filings use Judicial Branch family and divorce forms. Civil, family, housing, and small-claims case lookup uses the civil inquiry portal, while criminal and motor-vehicle records use the separate criminal lookup channels.
- Judicial Branch webforms for family, civil, criminal, housing, juvenile, and appellate forms.
- Superior Court civil, family, housing, and small-claims lookup for party, docket, attorney, property, event, and foreclosure searches.
- Criminal and motor-vehicle case lookup for pending cases, convictions, daily dockets, and warrant-related lookup links.
- New Britain Town Clerk vital records for marriage certificates and other city vital-record requests.
Mail, Online, and In-Person New Britain Clerk Access
The access-channel sweep for clerk records is broader than one database. Start online with the statewide Judicial Branch case lookup portals. If the search result gives enough public information, use the docket number and case location to ask the clerk for the specific document. If the record does not appear online, contact the clerk because the file may be older, sealed, erased, restricted, or held in a court location that requires direct help.
In person, use New Britain Judicial District at 20 Franklin Square for Superior Court records. The courthouse is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with doors opening at 8:30 a.m. Public parking is available at the municipal garage on Badalato Drive, and juror parking is in the public garage attached to the courthouse with access on Badalato Drive. Wheelchair access is through the front door. For a general New Britain court-record search path, the court records page separates online portals, clerk requests, police records, probate, and Town Clerk records.