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Overview

GET /v1/case is the primary DocketLayer endpoint. Submit a case ID and court code, pay $0.99 in USDC via x402, and receive structured docket data with change detection built in. Base URL: https://api.docketlayer.com Price: $0.99 USDC per successful query

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Request

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Parameters

FieldTypeRequiredDescription
case_idstringYesFederal case number — e.g. 1:24-cv-01234
court_codestringYesCourt identifier — e.g. nysd, deb, cand
last_checkedstringYesISO 8601 timestamp of your last query for this case
document_typesarrayNoFilter by filing type — e.g. ["order", "judgment"]
callback_urlstringNoWebhook URL for async delivery

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Example request

result = client.get(
    "https://api.docketlayer.com/v1/case",
    json={
        "case_id": "1:24-cv-01234",
        "court_code": "nysd",
        "last_checked": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"
    }
).json()

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Response

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When changed is true

{
  "case_id": "1:24-cv-01234",
  "court_code": "nysd",
  "queried_at": "2026-04-12T01:00:00Z",
  "changed": true,
  "new_filings": [
    {
      "filing_id": "nysd-2024-01234-0042",
      "filing_type": "order",
      "filed_at": "2026-04-11T14:23:00Z",
      "filed_by": "Judge Sarah Johnson",
      "description": "Order granting motion to dismiss",
      "document_url": "https://ecf.nysd.uscourts.gov/doc1/...",
      "document_access": "pacer_auth_required"
    }
  ],
  "query_cost": 0.99,
  "coverage_status": "full"
}

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When changed is false

{
  "case_id": "1:24-cv-01234",
  "court_code": "nysd",
  "queried_at": "2026-04-12T01:00:00Z",
  "changed": false,
  "new_filings": [],
  "query_cost": 0.99,
  "coverage_status": "full"
}

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Response fields

FieldTypeDescription
case_idstringThe case identifier you submitted
court_codestringThe court identifier you submitted
queried_atstringISO 8601 timestamp of this query — use as last_checked in your next call
changedbooleanWhether any new filings were detected since last_checked
new_filingsarrayFiling objects — empty array if changed is false
query_costnumberAlways 0.99
coverage_statusstringfull or partial for this court

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Filing object fields

FieldTypeDescription
filing_idstringUnique filing identifier
filing_typestringType of filing — order, motion, judgment, notice, etc.
filed_atstringISO 8601 timestamp of filing
filed_bystringFiling party or judge name
descriptionstringDocket entry description text
document_urlstringDirect link to the document in PACER
document_accessstringAlways pacer_auth_required — PACER credentials required to retrieve the document

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Notes

last_checked management — Store the queried_at value from each response and use it as last_checked in your next call. This ensures you never miss a filing between queries. Document access — Document URLs link directly to PACER. Retrieving the document requires valid PACER credentials on your side. DocketLayer provides the link — document access is the caller’s responsibility. Filtering — Use document_types to reduce response size for agents that only need to act on specific filing types. Available types include: order, motion, judgment, notice, stipulation, complaint, answer, brief.