> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.docketlayer.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Court codes

> How DocketLayer identifies courts, and how to find the court code you need.

DocketLayer uses short court codes to identify courts. Pass the appropriate code in the `court_code` field of your API requests.

The authoritative, real-time coverage list is always available free of charge:

```bash theme={null}
curl https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/status
```

## US federal courts

Federal court codes follow PACER conventions. Examples:

| Code    | Court                               |
| ------- | ----------------------------------- |
| `nysd`  | Southern District of New York       |
| `deb`   | District of Delaware                |
| `cand`  | Northern District of California     |
| `cacd`  | Central District of California      |
| `ilnd`  | Northern District of Illinois       |
| `txsd`  | Southern District of Texas          |
| `nyeb`  | Eastern District of New York        |
| `njb`   | District of New Jersey Bankruptcy   |
| `ca2`   | US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit |
| `ca9`   | US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit  |
| `uscfc` | Court of Federal Claims             |
| `cit`   | Court of International Trade        |

All 94 district courts, 94 bankruptcy courts, and all 13 circuit courts of appeals are covered. The full list is in `/v2/status`.

**PACER code exceptions** — some courts use a DocketLayer code that differs from their native PACER subdomain. The authoritative mapping is in `/v2/status` under each court's `court_code` and `notes` fields.

## US state courts

State court codes are short, lowercase, alphanumeric identifiers. All 50 states are covered. Examples:

| Code          | Court                                   |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| `nyscef`      | New York State Courts Electronic Filing |
| `fl_circ`     | Florida Circuit Courts                  |
| `ca_superior` | California Superior Courts              |
| `tx_district` | Texas District Courts                   |

**Note on Texas:** All 37 Texas state courts carry `coverage: "planned"` status pending commercial access approval from the Texas Office of Court Administration. They appear in `/v2/status` but return 422 on docket queries until the agreement is in place.

The full list of state court codes is in `/v2/status`.

## Canadian courts

| Code     | Court                               |
| -------- | ----------------------------------- |
| `fct`    | Federal Court of Canada             |
| `fca`    | Federal Court of Appeal             |
| `tcc`    | Tax Court of Canada                 |
| `bc_sc`  | Supreme Court of British Columbia   |
| `on_scj` | Superior Court of Justice (Ontario) |
| `qc_cs`  | Cour supérieure du Québec           |
| `ab_kb`  | Court of King's Bench of Alberta    |

All 3 Canadian federal courts and 22 provincial/territorial superior courts are covered. The full list is in `/v2/status`.

## Finding a court code

Before querying, confirm the court you need is covered and note its exact code:

```bash theme={null}
curl -s https://api.docketlayer.ai/v2/status | jq '.courts[] | select(.name | test("Delaware"; "i")) | {code: .court_code, name: .name, coverage: .coverage}'
```

A court with `"coverage": "full"` is fully supported. A court with `"coverage": "partial"` is reachable but may have known gaps. Querying a court with `"coverage": "planned"` returns 422.

## Case ID format

Each court's expected case ID format is documented in `/v2/status` under `case_id_format.pattern` and `case_id_format.example`. See the [case ID format guide](/guides/case-id-format) for the US federal format convention.