How to Search Todd County Court Records
MCRO is the main public access system for Todd County civil, criminal, family, probate, and traffic cases. It offers Case Search, Document Search, Hearing Search, and Judgment Search. The portal is useful for reading the register of actions, checking hearing dates, and finding public documents that have been posted online. MCRO is unofficial, so certified copies still come from Todd County Court Administration.
Start with a name search if you do not have a case number, then narrow by county location, case type, and date filed. If you already have the case number, Document Search is faster because it goes straight to the public file. Hearing Search is the best way to confirm the next courtroom event, and Judgment Search is useful when the issue is a docketed money judgment rather than the full case history.
- Open MCRO Case Search.
- Choose name, case number, citation number, or attorney search.
- Limit the search to Todd County when you want local results only.
- Review the register of actions, hearing dates, and public documents.
- Contact Court Administration at the Todd County District Court page if you need a certified copy or a file not shown online.
Source: Todd County government homepage.
The county homepage is the cleanest starting point for office routing, because it leads to Court Administration, the Sheriff, the Recorder, and the County Attorney without guessing which office owns the record.
The Todd County Court System
Todd County sits in Minnesota's Seventh Judicial District. The trial court is the Todd County District Court, which hears the county's civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, conciliation, and traffic matters. Appeals generally move to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and the Minnesota Supreme Court is the court of last resort. There is not a separate county court layer the way some states use county or justice courts.
This matters because record searches follow the court structure. A civil or family case starts with District Court, a probate matter is handled in the probate division of District Court, and a traffic or criminal file stays in the same statewide case system. That is why the court record page, docket page, criminal page, and traffic page all point back to the same Todd County court facility and the same MCRO platform.
| Court | Role | Local Access Point |
|---|---|---|
| Todd County District Court | Trial court for civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, conciliation, and traffic matters | 221 1st Ave S, Long Prairie |
| Minnesota Court of Appeals | Reviews most final trial-court decisions | Minnesota Judicial Branch appellate site |
| Minnesota Supreme Court | Highest state court | Minnesota Judicial Branch supreme court site |
Source: Minnesota court structure overview.
The state court structure page is the reason Todd County records pages point to a single district court rather than separate county-level trial courts.
Todd County Courthouse and Offices
The courthouse address is 221 First Avenue South, Long Prairie, Minnesota 56347. Court Administration is at Suite 100, the County Attorney is in Suite 400, and Todd-Wadena Community Corrections is in Suite 200 in the same building cluster. The Recorder is at 215 First Avenue South, Suite 203, and the Sheriff and Detention Center are at 115 Third Street South. That downtown layout makes it easier to route a records request to the right counter on the first try.
Todd County District Court
221 1st Ave S, Suite 100
Long Prairie, MN 56347
(320) 357-5005
Todd County Recorder
215 1st Ave S, Suite 203
Long Prairie, MN 56347
(320) 732-4428
Source: Todd County contact directory.
The contact directory is the fastest official way to separate Court Administration, the Recorder, the Sheriff, and the County Attorney when you need a local records request.
What You Can Find in Todd County Records
Court records in Todd County cover a broad mix of public files. Civil cases show motions, orders, judgments, and hearing notices. Criminal cases show charges, pleas, hearings, dispositions, and sentence details. Family and probate matters run through MCRO with public-access limits that are tighter than the civil case files. Traffic cases can be searched by citation number, and the jail roster is separate from the court record, because custody data is not the same as the filed case.
Marriage records are not court records in Minnesota. They are handled by the Recorder and the statewide MOMS system. That is a common point of confusion, so the home page keeps the county court structure, the court record system, and the marriage-record system side by side.
| Record Type | Primary Source | What It Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Civil and family cases | MCRO and Court Administration | Case events, orders, judgments, and hearings |
| Criminal and traffic cases | MCRO and Court Administration | Charges, pleas, dispositions, and sentence entries |
| Jail roster | Sheriff's Office | Current custody list and booking information |
| Marriage records | Recorder and MOMS | Marriage licenses, certificates, and statewide index records |
Source: Minnesota access-case-records landing page.
The access-records landing page explains why MCRO is the public court portal while the courthouse still matters for copies and restricted files.
What Todd County Court Records Show
Typical Todd County court records show a case number, filing date, parties, case category, hearing history, docket entries, and the final disposition or judgment. Criminal records add the charge statute, plea, sentence, and probation terms. Traffic records add citation and payment information. Probate and family files often have more remote-access limits, so some documents are visible only at the courthouse or through a certified request.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The Todd County file number, such as 77-CR, 77-CV, 77-FA, 77-PR, or 77-CO. |
| Filing Date | When the case was opened in MNCIS. |
| Parties | The plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, debtor, or attorney name tied to the case. |
| Charges / Cause | The criminal, traffic, or civil claim filed with the court. |
| Disposition | The final result, such as guilty, dismissed, settled, or closed. |
| Sentence / Judgment | The punishment, restitution, or money judgment ordered by the court. |
Source: MCRO Document Search.
Document Search is the best example of how MCRO separates a known case number from the broader name-search workflow.
Public Access Laws for Todd County Court Records
Minnesota court access starts with the Government Data Practices Act and the Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch. Those rules explain what is public, what is private, and what can be viewed remotely. They also explain why MCRO is unofficial, why some records are only visible at courthouse terminals, and why certified copies must come from Court Administration rather than a web search screen.
Key Statutes:
Minn. Stat. 13.03 - Government data are public unless a law classifies them otherwise.
Minnesota Rules of Public Access - Sets the rules for remote access, copying, and restricted case material.
Minn. Stat. 609A.03 - States the process for asking a court to seal eligible criminal records.
Source: Minnesota Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch.
The public-access rules are the legal reason remote search results can be broader for one case type and narrower for another.
Records That Are Restricted or Confidential
Not every Todd County record is visible in a public search. Juvenile delinquency files, civil commitment material, restricted family files, and sealed or expunged records can be limited by statute or by court rule. MCRO also hides some address fields and comment fields even when the case itself is public. If a record is not online, the county may still show it on a courthouse terminal or through Court Administration if the file is public but not remote-accessible.
That distinction matters for people who assume every missing result means the record does not exist. Often it only means the record is restricted, older than the remote-access window, or available only at the courthouse.
Todd County Sheriff and Jail
The Sheriff's Office is led by Sheriff Michael Allen and the jail is at 115 3rd Street South in Long Prairie. The county keeps a daily inmate roster PDF that shows current custody information, while the sheriff records office handles records requests. The jail page also routes people to NCIC for messaging and video visitation, which matters when someone is trying to confirm custody status or contact an inmate.
For the full custody record, use the Todd County inmate records page. For warrants, use the Todd County warrant records page, because a jail booking and an active warrant are related but not identical records.
Source: Todd County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff page is where Todd County publishes the department's leadership, records contact, and public-safety duties.
Marriage, Divorce, and Probate Records
Marriage records in Todd County are handled by the Recorder, not the District Court. Marriage applications go through MOMS and the Recorder's office. Divorce and probate matters are different because they stay in District Court. That is why marriage, divorce, and probate each get their own page instead of being flattened into one generic records category.
The Recorder is also the county office for marriage certificates and related vital-record questions, while probate records remain tied to the district court probate division.
- Testator
- The person who made a will.
- Executor
- The person named to carry out the will.
- Conservator
- The person appointed to manage property or finances for someone else.
Source: Todd County vital statistics and marriage license page.
The Recorder's vital-statistics page is the official path for marriage applications and certificate questions in Todd County.
Todd County Court Records Fees
Fees come from the district court fee schedule and the Recorder's office schedule. Civil first papers, probate filings, divorce filings, and certified copies all carry different amounts, so the record type matters. Court Administration handles certified court copies, while the Recorder handles marriage certificates and recorder-related copies.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Civil first paper | $320 |
| Dissolution of marriage | $400 |
| Probate first paper | $320 |
| Certified court copy | $14 |
| Marriage license | $125 |
| Certified marriage certificate | $9 |
Source: Todd County District Court fee schedule.
The fee schedule is the cleanest official source for filing costs, copy costs, and court-copy certification charges in Todd County.
How to Read Todd County Court Records
Case numbers tell you the case type and the year. CR is criminal, CV is civil, FA is family, PR is probate, CO is conciliation, and VB is used for some traffic payment cases. A record can show a charge without showing a conviction, or show a hearing without showing a final result. The docket is the activity log, while the case file is the full court record behind it.
Accuracy and Record Limits
MCRO updates quickly, but not instantly, and not every public record appears remotely. Party street addresses, many comment fields, and restricted juvenile or family material can be hidden. If you need to rely on a result for something important, verify it with the office that issued the record. That is the only way to confirm a certified copy, a recall order, or a record that is not visible in the public portal.
Note: MCRO is useful for research, but certified copies and restricted-file questions still belong with Todd County Court Administration.
Recent Todd County Court History
Governor Tim Walz appointed Heidi Hovis to the Seventh Judicial District bench in January 2026, chambered in Long Prairie. That is the most important recent local court development in the research file, and it shows up again on the June 2026 Todd County calendar. The county also continues to publish current jail and court information through official daily PDFs, which makes the public-record channels easy to verify against each other.
Source: Governor's appointment release.
The January 2026 appointment release is the best recent marker for Todd County's district-court bench.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I search Todd County court records by name?
Yes. MCRO supports name searches, and Todd County results can be narrowed to the county location. If you have the case number, search by case number instead because that is faster and more precise.
Are jail records the same as court records?
No. The jail roster is a custody record from the Sheriff's Office. The court file is the case record in MCRO and Court Administration. A person can appear in one system and not the other depending on whether the arrest has turned into a filed court case.
Where do I get a certified copy?
Certified copies come from Todd County Court Administration or the Recorder, depending on the record type. MCRO pages are unofficial and should not be printed as certified copies.