How to Find a Case by CNR Number
CNR search: how to find a case by its 16-digit CNR number on the eCourts portal, how to get your CNR if you do not have it, and how to track the case after that.
How-To · CNR Case Status · Last verified 6 October 2026
To check a case status by CNR, open the eCourts services portal (services.ecourts.gov.in), choose the CNR Number search, type the 16-character CNR, enter the CAPTCHA and submit. You can also track the case in Claw: create a free account and search by party name or case number across every bench, with hearing and order alerts. The steps, the methods table and the status terms are below.
- Official portal: services.ecourts.gov.in, CNR Number search. Free to use.
- CNR length: 16 characters. No spaces or hyphens.
- Covers: district and subordinate courts on eCourts. High Courts and the Supreme Court have their own systems.
- Other ways in: case number, party name, advocate name, filing number.
- Track in Claw: free account, party name or case number, 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with hearing and order alerts.
- Last verified: 6 October 2026.
01Step-by-step: find a case by CNR on eCourts
The official source is the eCourts services portal, run by the eCourts project of the Supreme Court e-Committee and the National Informatics Centre. It covers district and subordinate courts. This page is the how-to layer on top of it. For what a CNR is and what its letters and digits mean, see what a CNR number is.
- Open the portal. Go to services.ecourts.gov.in. You do not need to pick a state or district first when you search by CNR.
- Choose CNR Number. On the case status page, pick the CNR Number search. The layout changes from time to time, but this option is always listed next to the other case status searches.
- Type the 16-character CNR. Enter it exactly as printed on your order, notice or receipt. No spaces, no hyphens. Use capital letters.
- Enter the CAPTCHA. If it is unclear, refresh it for a new one.
- Click Search. The case history page opens.
- Read the result. You will see the court name, case type and number, parties, current status, next hearing date and links to orders that the court has uploaded.
- Save it. The portal does not email you a record, so save or print the page before you close it.
Scope
CNR search works for district and subordinate courts on eCourts. High Courts and the Supreme Court use their own case status systems and do not use a CNR in the same way.
02All ways to check status (methods table)
CNR is the fastest method, but you can also reach the same case by other details. Here is each method side by side.
| Method | What you need | Where to enter it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search by CNR (16-digit) | The full 16-character CNR | eCourts services portal, CNR Number search, or the eCourts Services mobile app | Fastest and exact. One CNR gives one case. No court selection needed. |
| Find your CNR first | Any order, notice, summons, case slip or court receipt for the case | Printed on the document. If missing, use the case number search below, and the CNR shows on the result | See the section below on how to find your CNR. |
| Case number | State, district, court complex, case type, number and year | eCourts portal, Case Status, Case Number | Use when the CNR is not with you. |
| Party name | Name of a party and the year, plus state, district and court complex | eCourts portal, Case Status, Party Name | Returns a list. Narrow it by year and status. |
| Advocate name or filing number | Advocate name or the filing number | eCourts portal, Case Status | Useful for lawyers tracking their own matters. |
| Party name or case number in Claw | Party name or case number, across every bench | Claw (free account needed) | One search across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with hearing and order alerts. |
03How to find your CNR number
If you do not have the CNR, you can usually get it without visiting the court.
- Check your papers. The CNR is printed on court orders, judgments, summons, notices, case slips and the e-filing receipt. Look near the top of the first page, next to the case number.
- Ask your advocate. The advocate on record has it from the filing receipt.
- Search by case number or party name. On the eCourts portal, search the case by case number, filing number or party name. The case history page that opens shows the CNR near the top. Note it down for next time.
- Use the mobile app. The eCourts Services app lets you search the same way and save the case under My Cases.
- Ask the court registry. If nothing works, the registry or the court website for that complex can confirm it against the case number.
A newly filed case gets its CNR when the filing is registered, so use the filing receipt for fresh matters.
04What the status fields mean
The result page uses a few short terms. This is what each means in plain words.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending | The case is still open. A final order has not been passed. |
| Disposed | The case is closed. The court has passed a final order or judgment, or the matter ended in another way (withdrawn, settled, dismissed). |
| Listed | The case is on the court list for a given date and is due to be called on that day. |
| For orders | Arguments are done or a point is to be decided, and the court will pronounce an order on the listed date. |
| Reserved | Hearing is finished and the judge has kept the judgment for a later date. The date may not be fixed yet. |
| Next hearing date | The date the case is next due before the court. It can change if the court is on leave or the matter is adjourned. |
05Next hearing date and cause list
The next date on the case history page is the first thing most people need. To see whether the case will actually be called, check the daily cause list for that court on the same portal (Cause List option) for the hearing date. A case on the list is not guaranteed to be reached on the day, so check again the evening before and on the morning of the hearing.
Status updates depend on the court staff uploading the data after each hearing, so there can be a gap of a day or more. [VERIFY: the portal does not publish a fixed refresh time]
06When the CNR does not work
- Typo. The number must be exactly 16 characters. Watch for zero and the letter O, and for one and the letter I.
- Not a district court case. A High Court, tribunal or Supreme Court case will not show here. Use that forum's own system, or search it in Claw.
- Very new case. A fresh filing can take a day or more to show. Try again later.
- Old or not yet computerised. Search by case number or party name at the court, or ask the registry.
- Portal down or CAPTCHA wrong. Refresh the CAPTCHA, retry later, or use the mobile app.
Teams that watch many matters across levels will find manual lookups slow. For options in that space, see alternatives to Provakil, and how legal teams use case search.
07Check it in one step with Claw
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
The eCourts portal is free and is the official record for a CNR lookup. Claw sits above it. Create a free Claw account and search by party name or case number across every bench, with hearing and order alerts. Sign up is free, and an account is needed to run the search.
- One search across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, so you do not need to know the court first.
- Hearing and order alerts, so you are not rechecking the portal every day.
- AI judgement search over 30 crore plus judgments, with verified court-ready citations in under 5 seconds.
Use eCourts when you hold the CNR and want the official page. Use Claw when you want to track a case over time, or search by name across courts.
08Frequently asked questions
How do I find a case by its CNR number?
Open services.ecourts.gov.in, choose the CNR Number search, type the 16-character CNR with no spaces, enter the CAPTCHA and click Search. The case history page shows status, next hearing date, parties and orders.
Which is the official portal for CNR search?
The eCourts services portal at services.ecourts.gov.in. The eCourts Services mobile app, from the same project, offers the same search.
Is CNR search free?
Yes, the eCourts portal is free. In Claw, you need a free account to search and track cases. Sign up is free.
How do I get my CNR number?
Look on your court order, notice, summons, case slip or filing receipt, or ask your advocate. If you do not have it, search the case by case number or party name on eCourts. The case history page shows the CNR.
Can I check a case by party name instead of CNR?
Yes. On eCourts, pick the state, district and court complex, then search by party name. In Claw, create a free account and search by party name across every bench.
Can I check by case number?
Yes. On eCourts use the Case Number search with the case type, number and year. The result shows the CNR. Claw also lets you search by case number once you sign up free.
Can I check by diary number?
Diary numbers are used mainly by the Supreme Court and some tribunals, not by district courts on eCourts. A district court case is searched by CNR, case number, filing number or party name.
How often is the status updated?
It depends on the court uploading data after each hearing, so it can lag by a day or more. Check the cause list close to the hearing date. Claw sends hearing and order alerts so you do not have to keep checking.
Why does my CNR return no result?
Usually a typo in the 16 characters. Otherwise the case may be in a High Court or tribunal, may be very new, or may be from a court not yet on eCourts. Try the case number or party name search.
Does a CNR work for High Court or Supreme Court cases?
Not on the eCourts district court search. High Courts and the Supreme Court have their own case status systems. You can search those in Claw by party name or case number.