Search Rice County Court Records
Rice County uses Minnesota Court Records Online, usually called MCRO, for many public District Court case records. MCRO is the statewide access point for Rice County civil, criminal, family, probate, judgment, hearing, and citation searches. It is free, but the Minnesota Judicial Branch says MCRO records are not certified official copies. For certified documents, older records that are not online, or questions about a public terminal search, contact Rice County Court Administration at the courthouse.
The local court page for Rice County District Court ties court records to the Faribault courthouse and also links to calendars, courthouse history, and contact information. The county's own Court Administration page says the office processes Civil, Family/Probate, Criminal/Traffic, Juvenile, and Conciliation cases and manages court records, calendars, fines, fees, restitution, and court-ordered trusts.
- Open MCRO Case Search and accept the terms if prompted.
- Pick the tab that fits the information you have: name, case number, citation number, or attorney.
- Use Additional Search Options, select specific court locations, and choose Rice from the county list.
- Open a result to read case details, register-of-actions entries, hearings, and public documents where remote access permits them.
- Call Court Administration at 507-497-7134 when a certified copy, courthouse terminal record, or older file is needed.
The Minnesota Judicial Branch access page describes MCRO, courthouse terminals, appellate records, and the difference between remote and courthouse access. The search path matters in Rice County because there is no separate county court, justice court, or municipal court found for ordinary local case files.
The official Rice County District Court page shows the local court contact point used for Rice County Court records.
That court page is the local anchor for District Court address, phone, calendar, and courthouse history details used throughout Rice County court record searches.
Rice County Case Search Fields
MCRO search fields are more precise than a broad web search. A name search can return many people, so the Rice County filter, date-of-birth field, date-filed range, case status, and case category all help narrow results. MCRO also warns that name searches may miss or confuse records because people share names, use aliases, or have similar birth dates.
| Field | Type | Use in Rice County |
|---|---|---|
| Search tab | Tab | Name, case number, citation number, or attorney search. |
| Name type | Radio | Person or business for party searches. |
| Last, first, middle | Text | Exact names or wildcard after two characters. |
| Date of birth | Date | Optional but useful for common names. |
| Case category | Checkbox | Civil, Criminal, Family, or Probate or Mental Health. |
| Court locations | County list | Select Rice under specific county court locations. |
| Case status | Radio | All, Active, or Inactive. |
MCRO Case Search is the broadest starting point for Rice County case records.
The Rice County filter is important because MCRO searches can cover all Minnesota District Court locations unless the county is narrowed.
Rice County District Court System
Rice County is part of Minnesota's Third Judicial District. The district covers eleven southeast Minnesota counties, but proceedings are held in each county's District Court. For Rice County, the trial-court venue is the courthouse in Faribault. District Court has original jurisdiction over civil, family, probate, juvenile, criminal, traffic, and conciliation matters filed in the county.
Minnesota's court structure is simple for local records work: Rice County District Court is the trial court, the Minnesota Court of Appeals handles most appeals, and the Minnesota Supreme Court is the state's highest court. Federal cases are separate and are searched through federal court systems, not MCRO.
| Court or Office | Role | Rice County Record Use |
|---|---|---|
| Rice County District Court | Trial court | Civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, traffic, and conciliation case files. |
| Rice County Court Administration | Records office | Certified copies, local file questions, calendars, fines, fees, and public counter service. |
| Minnesota Court of Appeals | Intermediate appeal court | Appeals from District Court unless a special route applies. |
| U.S. District Court for Minnesota | Federal trial court | Federal criminal, civil, prisoner, Social Security, and other federal records. |
Case flow: Rice County District Court > Minnesota Court of Appeals > Minnesota Supreme Court, with federal matters handled through the District of Minnesota and Eighth Circuit instead.
Rice County Court Record Types
Rice County Court records are grouped by the District Court case type and by the office that holds the related record. Court Administration handles the court file, while the Sheriff's Office handles jail, warrant, incident, and custody channels. The Recorder's Office handles marriage records and other vital-statistic or land-record work.
- Civil and conciliation records: lawsuits, judgments, evictions, name changes, liens, and small-claims matters.
- Criminal court records: complaints, charges, pleas, hearings, warrants, dispositions, sentences, fines, probation, and restitution.
- Family records: divorce, custody, parenting time, paternity, and support files, with remote document limits.
- Probate records: estates, wills, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships, and mental-health-related court matters.
- Traffic records: citations, petty offenses, fine payment, court appearances, and failure-to-appear events.
The Minnesota Judicial Branch access page summarizes the online and courthouse paths for these District Court records.
Statewide access rules explain why a Rice County search may show a case index while withholding some documents from remote viewing.
What Rice County Records Show
A Rice County District Court record can show the case number, filing date, court location, case category, parties, attorneys, hearings, register-of-actions entries, orders, judgments, and public documents. Criminal records can include charges, degree, offense date, plea, disposition, sentence, probation terms, fines, fees, restitution, and warrants when those fields are public.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| 66-CR | Rice County criminal case prefix. |
| 66-VB | Violations Bureau, traffic, or petty offense case prefix. |
| 66-PR | Probate, guardianship, conservatorship, trust, or related probate matter. |
| 66-FA | Family case prefix. |
| 66-JV | Juvenile case prefix, with stronger public-access limits. |
| Register of Actions | Chronological list of filings, hearings, orders, and court events. |
Calendar entries can show the party name, courtroom, date, time, judicial officer, hearing type, connection type, and case number. Examples from Rice County calendar records include arraignment, first appearance, plea hearing, pretrial, settlement conference, omnibus hearing, jury trial, probate hearing, account hearing, and probation violation hearing.
Rice County Public Access Rules
Minnesota treats court access and county-agency data as related but separate subjects. District Court records are governed mainly by Judicial Branch public-access rules. Sheriff reports, county office data, and other executive-branch records are handled under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act when the office holding the data is outside the court system.
Key Rules:
Minn. Stat. Chapter 13 presumes government data are public unless a law makes them not public.
Rule 2 presumes Judicial Branch records are open unless a rule, statute, order, or access limit applies.
Rule 4 identifies case records that are inaccessible to the public.
Rule 8 governs inspection, copying, bulk distribution, remote access, and internet limits.
MCRO Document Search is useful when a Rice County case number is known and public documents are available online.
Remote document access is narrower than courthouse access, so the absence of an online document does not always mean the public court file lacks it.
Restricted Rice County Records
Some Rice County records are public only in part, available only at the courthouse, or closed to the public. MCRO excludes Domestic Abuse/OFP and Harassment Restraining Order case types from internet display. CHIPS and certain juvenile delinquency records are not available remotely. Civil commitment documents are also blocked from remote viewing, though limited calendar or index information may be public depending on the rule and technical access.
Rule 8 remote-access limits also exclude Social Security numbers, employer identification numbers, financial account numbers, many street addresses and phone numbers, and identifying information for jurors, witnesses, and victims of criminal or delinquent acts. Sealed and expunged records are restricted by statute or order. A Rice County expungement petition generally starts with the exact case number and the Minnesota Chapter 609A process unless the record qualifies for automatic expungement.
Note: For a sealed, expunged, juvenile, adoption, or civil-commitment file, call Court Administration before assuming public access is available.
Rice County Sheriff and Jail
The Rice County Sheriff's Office is at the Public Safety Center, 50 East View Drive, Faribault. Sheriff Jesse Thomas is listed as sheriff, with Joe Yetzer as chief deputy. The sheriff provides countywide law enforcement, operates the jail, supports courthouse security, handles prisoner transport, and manages emergency-management and public-safety functions. The main non-emergency dispatch number is 507-334-4391, and general weekday information is 507-332-6000 or 866-727-5299.
The Rice County Jail is a 76-bed facility that opened in November 2024 at the Public Safety Center. The jail phone is 507-332-6021, and the public roster is officially linked from the county jail page. For current custody details, the roster and jail phone are the direct access channels. For case outcome, charge disposition, or sentencing, use the District Court case record.
The Rice County Sheriff's Office page identifies the public-safety functions tied to jail, warrants, records requests, and law-enforcement contact.
The sheriff channel is separate from District Court, which is why jail custody and criminal case records need different searches.
The county jail page links to the roster, visiting hours, communications, deposits, and warrant resources.
That jail source supports the inmate roster details, visiting windows, and custody contact information used for Rice County inmate searches.
Rice County Marriage and Probate
Marriage records are not District Court case files in Rice County. The Rice County Recorder handles marriage records, vital-statistic records, document recording, notary filings, wedding-officiant filings, and related Recorder work. The Recorder's Office is in the Government Services Building at 320 Third St. NW in Faribault, not at the District Court counter.
Rice County marriage records date from 1856 to present for applicants who applied in Rice County. Certified marriage copies cost $9 and may be requested through the Recorder. Divorce decrees are District Court family records, so certified divorce copies come from Court Administration in the county where the divorce was granted. Probate, guardianship, conservatorship, and trust matters are handled by the Probate Division of District Court.
- Personal representative
- The person appointed by court order to manage estate tasks.
- Testator
- A person who made a will.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will.
- Conservatorship
- A court case about managing a protected person's property or finances.
The Rice County Recorder's Office page is the correct local source for marriage and vital-record custody.
Keeping the Recorder and Court Administration separate helps avoid sending marriage-copy requests to the District Court counter.
Rice County Traffic Records
Rice County traffic cases are handled in District Court and through the statewide Court Payment Center and Minnesota Court Web Payment system. Traffic records are court records about citations, charges, fine payment, pleas, dispositions, warrants, and failure-to-appear events. They are not the same as a Minnesota DVS driver record, which shows driving-history and license-status information.
Traffic citation searches can use MCRO by citation number, case number, or name, though pending traffic or petty cases without conviction may not show by defendant name. The Minnesota Judicial Branch says it may take up to seven days after a citation is received before the Court Payment Center can assist or the ticket can be paid online. Paying a citation is treated as a guilty plea and waiver of trial rights.
Rice County Court Fees
Rice County Court record costs follow Minnesota District Court fee schedules and local case-type totals. MCRO viewing is free, but certified copies, filings, and some searches require payment through Court Administration or the applicable state office. Checks for court fees generally go to the District Court Administrator.
| Item | Official fee or note |
|---|---|
| Uncertified copy, printout, scan, or screen print | $0 on the state fee page. |
| Certified copy from civil or criminal proceeding | $14. |
| Exemplified and certified copy | $28. |
| Certified judgment search, each name | $5. |
| Criminal expungement filing | $310. |
| Conciliation first paper filed | $65 base. |
| Probate first paper | $325 Rice County schedule total. |
Rice County Treatment Courts
Rice County Treatment Court is a local problem-solving court for non-violent offenders with a substance-use-disorder diagnosis. The county describes the program as a coordinated court model involving a judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, law enforcement, probation, social services, and treatment providers. The program opened July 3, 2014, and its length is 18 months to two years depending on participant progress.
Rice County also announced on June 22, 2026 that Mental Health Court was preparing to launch the following month as Minnesota's sixth. The county tied the program to justice-involved residents with serious mental health needs. The stated model includes a District Court judge, supervision, treatment, curfews, regular court sessions, and a professional team drawn from court, corrections, county, prosecution, defense, law-enforcement, and mental-health roles.
Rice County's Mental Health Court announcement describes the launch timing and program team.
The Mental Health Court source is a county-specific update, so it belongs in Rice County court context rather than a generic treatment-court description.
Visit Rice County Court
Rice County District Court is in the Rice County Courthouse at 218 Third St. NW, Faribault, MN 55021. Court Administration is on the first floor. Business hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Public parking is available in the lot on the west side of the courthouse and on surrounding streets.
Rice County Court Administration
218 Third St. NW
Faribault, MN 55021
507-497-7134
8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday
Rice County Sheriff's Office
50 East View Drive
Faribault, MN 55021
507-334-4391
Weekday information: 507-332-6000
Rice County Recorder
320 Third St. NW
Faribault, MN 55021
1-507-332-6114
Marriage and vital records
Rice County Court History
Rice County has a source-backed record-preservation story. Official courthouse history says the county's first formal courthouse was built in 1874 after court had been held in varied locations. Fire-proof wings were added in 1924, and those wings saved court records when the original building burned in 1931. The Brunswick Hotel then served as the courthouse until the current courthouse was completed in 1934.
The current courthouse was designed by Nairne W. Fisher, built by Maurice Schmacher, and made with Faribault stone. The official history notes Moderne and Classical lines, Art Deco interior details, a terrazzo map of Rice County, and a top-floor courtroom with walnut walls and furnishings. It also notes that the Younger brothers were tried in Rice County in 1876 after the Northfield Bank robbery.
Rice County Court FAQ
Where do I search Rice County court cases?
Use MCRO Case Search for most public Minnesota District Court case records. Select Rice County as the court location when narrowing results. For certified copies, older files, or documents not available remotely, contact Rice County Court Administration.
Are MCRO records certified?
No. MCRO is a public access system, but the Judicial Branch says MCRO records and search results are not certified official records. Certified copies must come from local Court Administration.
Where are Rice County marriage records?
Marriage records are held by the Rice County Recorder, not District Court. The Recorder handles marriage licenses and certified marriage copies for applications made in Rice County.
Where is the Rice County jail roster?
The jail roster is linked from the county jail page and uses a name filter for current detainees. For court outcomes or sentencing, search the District Court case record separately.
Can I check Rice County warrants online?
Rice County publishes an active warrant PDF through official county channels. Verify status with the Sheriff's Office or Court Administration before relying on the PDF, since warrant status can change.
Does Rice County have a separate municipal court?
No separate county court, justice court, or municipal court was located for Rice County court records in the research. Ordinary local court cases route through District Court.