Searching For a Docket

***If you want to practice, each VTADS server has a "test & training" option so you are not in the production database***

To search for a docket, you will first need to log into the appropriate VTADS server. If you are given a docket like (123-6-19 Wncr), you'll want to search by the first two letters of the four letter abbreviation at the end of the docket number. (Wncr - the county is Wn or Washington)

Ginger - Windsor (Wr), Orleans (Os), & Orange (Oe)

Nutmeg - Addison (An) & Bennington (Bn)

Parsley - Caledonia (Ca), Essex (Ex), & Windham (Wm)

Rosemary - Rutland (Rd), Washington (Wn), & Washington Civil*

Saffron -  Franklin (Fr), Grand Isle (Gi), & Lamoille (Le)

Sage - Chittenden (Cn)

*Washington Civil is separated in Rosemary, so any Civil, Small Claims, or Probate cases will need to be searched under this. Washington is the only county that is set up like this.

The last two of the four letters indicate the division of the docket (Wncr - will tell you the division is Criminal)

Cr - Criminal

Dm - Domestic

Cv - Civil

Sc - Small Claims

Jv - Juvenile

Fa - Relief from Abuse

Mh - Mental Health

Cs - Civil Suspension

Cm - Civil Misc.

Sa - Stalking/ Sexual Assault

Pr - Probate

Vtec - Environmental

So log into the VTADS server for the appropriate county, then from the menu choose the county you want by typing the letter next to the option:

Press enter, and a menu with various options will load:

And you can either scroll down to the option you want by using the arrow keys, or you can just type in the number associated with the option (ex: 7 for Juvenile dockets) and press F2 or Enter If you scroll through with the arrow keys, you can "select" the option by using F2 or Enter once you have highlighted it.

This is the screen that will pop up regardless of the division you choose:

You will automatically be highlighting the "Docket No" field, which is where you will type in your docket number. Say you are searching for docket 123-1-19 Rdcr.

**You only want to type in the 12-3-19, with the dashes, but not the 4 letters at the end of the docket number.**

Once you have typed in the numbers, press F3 to search for the docket.

If the case exists, information will populate and this info at the top of the screen is referred to as the "Header" of the docket. If there are multiple dockets, a '+' will show once you press F3 to search:

You can press F4 and F3 to scroll back and forth between the multiple dockets. (We don't want duplicate cases under the same docket number, but it does happen by docketing error)

If you don't have a specific case to look for and just want to search any case, type in a couple numbers in the beginning of the search like this:

And press F3 to search, and it will bring up all dockets in the county & division that start with the numbers you entered. Pressing Ctrl + F3 while in the docket will clear the entire search.