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Find Case Law

caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Free plan WebAPI
Visit caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Spec score 7.8 #12 of 31 in Legal Research Software

What it is

Find Case Law is a free web and API service for published court judgments and tribunal decisions. Coverage includes England and Wales, plus UK-wide cases from the Supreme Court and Privy Council. Users can search judgment text and details such as court name or neutral citation, then filter by date, court or tribunal, party, or judge. Results can be downloaded as PDFs, printed, saved, or shared through links to individual judgments. Reading, downloading, quoting, research, and commercial use are free under the Open Justice Licence, with no account required for those uses. Computational analysis requires a separate licence. Judgments come directly from courts and tribunals, and the service describes itself as the official public source for what it publishes. The collection is not comprehensive: most magistrates’ court decisions and cases restricted from publication are excluded. Find Case Law is provided by The National Archives with justice-sector partners and offers technical and general support.

Spec sheet

Purpose
Find Case Law provides free access to court judgments and tribunal decisions from England and Wales, plus UK-wide cases from the Supreme Court and Privy Council.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Audience
The service provides guidance for legal professionals, students, researchers, journalists, self-represented people, and members of the public.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
API
The service can be accessed through its website or the Find Case Law API.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Support
The team handles technical problems, questions about judgments, error reports, and general enquiries, and says it aims to respond promptly.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Founded
2022Read 19 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Coverage limits
The service is not a comprehensive record of every case and excludes most magistrates’ court decisions and cases barred from publication by restrictions or other legal constraints.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Downloads
Users can download judgments as PDFs, print them, save them, and share links to specific judgments.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Legal advice
Find Case Law does not provide legal advice, interpretation, or support.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Licensing
Most uses, including reading, downloading, quoting, research, and commercial use, are free under the Open Justice Licence; computational analysis requires a separate licence.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Partners
The National Archives provides Find Case Law in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, and the Judicial Office.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Registration
No registration or account is required for the described free uses of judgments.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Search
Users can search judgment full text and details such as court name and neutral citation, then filter by date, court or tribunal, party name, or judge name.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Search limits
Search does not recognise Boolean operators, match similar words, or correct spelling mistakes.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Security and privacy
The National Archives is the data processor for publication, while the court that decided a case is the data controller for the judgment content.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Source and authority
Judgments are provided directly by courts and tribunals, and the service describes itself as the official public source for the judgments it publishes.Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Plans and prices

Find Case Law Free Free access to judgments · computational analysis requires a separate licence Read 11 Oct 2026 · caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Every Find Case Law plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free access costs nothing
  • Searches full judgment text and metadata
  • Filters by court, date, party, or judge
  • Offers PDF downloads and API access
  • No registration required for listed uses

Limits

  • Coverage is not a complete case record
  • Computational analysis needs a separate licence
  • Boolean operators are not recognised
  • Does not provide legal advice

Who it suits

It suits legal professionals, students, researchers, journalists, self-represented people, and members of the public seeking published UK judgments. It does not provide legal advice or interpretation.

Verdict

Find Case Law offers broad public access to searchable published judgments with downloadable documents and an API. Users should confirm that needed cases are within its publication coverage and licensing terms.

Where Specifiction places it

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