Custer County, CO Courts and Public Records

The Custer Combined Court in Westcliffe houses the county court and the district court for Custer County. The county court handles misdemeanors, traffic, infractions, small claims, and civil cases, while the district court handles felonies, civil, domestic relations, juvenile, mental health, and probate matters.

Have the person's full name, the case number if you know it, and approximate dates ready before you search. Custer County court records are held by the Custer Combined Court in Westcliffe.

The district and county courts for Custer County together reported 426 filings in FY 2024, compared with 473 in FY 2023. Terminations are the court's reported dispositions, and each class is shown by court.

The largest change was in County Court traffic, which moved from 132 in FY 2023 to 56 in FY 2024 (-57.6%).

This table covers the five most recent fiscal years for Custer County. Published years are shown as reported; earlier years marked with ~ are estimates based on the statewide trend and this county's latest published figures.

Combined filings fell 8.2% from 464 in FY 2021 to 426 in FY 2024, and the four-year direction is the only multi-year trend available. The largest annual change was in FY2024, when filings were -9.9% against the prior year. The FY 2024 change of -47 filings came mainly from County Court traffic (-76) and County Court infractions (-56).

The largest single category is County Court civil at 96 filings in FY 2024, 36.9% of that court's filings.

The fastest-growing category was District Court juvenile at +140.0%, and the fastest-falling was County Court traffic at -57.6%.

Custer County accounted for 0.02% of the 1,715,971 combined district and county filings reported statewide in FY 2024.

Combined filings per 1,000 residents were 76.7 in Custer County, compared with 288.0 statewide, and combined filings changed -9.9% against a statewide change of +9.9%. The county's district criminal share is 5.4 points lower than the state's, so its district caseload is less criminal than Colorado overall. The statewide dispositions figure marked with ~ is an estimate based on the statewide filings figure.

These figures are Colorado statewide totals as reported to the FBI, not counts for Custer County. Agency reporting may be incomplete, and county crime counts are not available here. Statewide violent and property crimes combined fell 14.6% from 2024 to 2025. In 2025, reporting agencies covered about 99.1% of Colorado's population, so year-over-year changes can partly reflect which agencies reported.

Rates use the Colorado 2025 population of 6,012,561. County-level rates are not published, so this section does not compare Custer County with the state.

Custer County has 1 court location, the Custer Combined Court in Westcliffe. Check your notice or ticket for the assigned courthouse before you go.

Most local cases are heard at the Custer Combined Court in Westcliffe, but the court that hears a case depends on the charge or claim.

Yes, most Custer County court records are public, with exceptions set by Chief Justice Directive 05-01 and state law.

Public records

Court records are open to the public unless a court rule, statute, or court order restricts them. Records you can request include case files held by the court handling the matter.

Restricted or confidential records

Sealed records are visible only to judges, court staff, and authorized staff, and outside parties need a court order. Juvenile delinquency, mental health, guardianship, and truancy cases are not public, and juvenile records are governed by the Children's Code.

Online access

Colorado has no statewide public case search on coloradojudicial.gov. Vendors Background Information Services and LexisNexis Colorado Courts Record Search charge fees and show a register of actions only, not copies of documents or the official record.

In-person access

Visit the Custer Combined Court at 205 S. 6th St., PO Box 60, Westcliffe, CO 81252 to ask about records, or submit the online records request form.

Fees

The Judicial Branch states that fees vary by court and form and that vendor services charge fees. Ask the court about fees before you request copies.

Colorado has no statewide public case search on the Judicial Branch website, so online lookups come from commercial vendors and written requests use the official form.

1. Identify the case type, such as civil, domestic, felony, misdemeanor, or traffic.
2. Search by name on a vendor such as cocourts.com or bisi.com, and expect fees.
3. Note the case number from the results, since vendor data is not the official record.
4. Review the register of actions for case status and dates.
5. Use the online records request form for documents, or contact the court handling the case.

Payments for Custer County court matters can be made online through the Colorado Judicial Payment System or in person at the Custer Combined Court, and payment plans may be available.

1. Online: Pay fees, fines, and restitution through the Colorado Judicial Payment System. Choose the county, then enter the case or ticket number or name. Find the current link on the county court page. Accepted payment types vary by court.
2. In person: Pay at the Custer Combined Court, 205 S. 6th St., PO Box 60, Westcliffe, CO 81252. Confirm accepted payment types with the court before you go.
3. Payment plans: Ask the court whether a payment plan is available for your case, since availability varies by county.

Parking tickets are handled by the city that issued them, not by the county court.