Coverage · Federal Courts
Federal Courts: US Coverage
Federal courts are where the most consequential legal and financial events in the US economy are recorded — publicly, in real time. When a major company files for bankruptcy, when a securities fraud case is filed, when a judgment is entered against a debtor, it happens in a federal court and it appears in PACER.
DocketLayer monitors these records continuously and makes them available to AI agents via a single paid API call. No PACER account required. No session management. No scraping. Your agent submits a case ID, pays per query, and learns whether anything has changed — and if so, what.
Live Coverage
DocketLayer launches with the highest-volume federal district and bankruptcy courts — the jurisdictions that handle the majority of significant commercial litigation and financial cases in the United States.
District Court
Southern District of New York nysd
The most prominent federal court in the US. Handles a large share of securities litigation, financial fraud, and complex commercial disputes involving major institutions.
Bankruptcy Court
District of Delaware deb
The preferred jurisdiction for major corporate bankruptcy filings. Delaware's bankruptcy court handles the largest and most complex Chapter 11 reorganizations in the country.
District Court
Northern District of California cand
Primary jurisdiction for technology and intellectual property litigation. Covers Silicon Valley and handles a large volume of patent cases and tech-related disputes.
District Court
Central District of California cacd
The largest federal district court by case volume. Covers Los Angeles and handles a broad range of civil and criminal matters including significant financial and entertainment industry cases.
District Court
Northern District of Illinois ilnd
A major commercial litigation hub covering Chicago. Handles significant financial, corporate, and securities disputes across the Midwest.
District Court
Southern District of Texas txsd
A growing jurisdiction for energy-related litigation and, increasingly, corporate bankruptcy filings. Covers Houston and handles significant commercial and regulatory matters.
Bankruptcy Court
Eastern District of New York nyeb
Covers Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and Staten Island. Handles significant bankruptcy cases for individuals and businesses in the greater New York metro area.
Bankruptcy Court
District of New Jersey njb
A major pharmaceutical and healthcare litigation hub. Handles significant bankruptcy cases and complex commercial matters for one of the most densely populated states.
Bankruptcy Court
Eastern District of California caeb
Central Valley and Sacramento metro area. Handles a meaningful share of West Coast bankruptcy filings.
Full live court list: api.docketlayer.com/v1/status
Court Code Reference
For developers building against the API, each court has a short code used in request parameters. Codes follow standard PACER naming.
| Code | Court | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
nysd | Southern District of New York | District | Full |
deb | District of Delaware | Bankruptcy | Full |
cand | Northern District of California | District | Full |
cacd | Central District of California | District | Full |
ilnd | Northern District of Illinois | District | Full |
txsd | Southern District of Texas | District | Full |
nyeb | Eastern District of New York | Bankruptcy | Full |
njb | District of New Jersey | Bankruptcy | Full |
caeb | Eastern District of California | Bankruptcy | Full |
Expansion
Federal coverage expands by case volume. All 184 federal district and bankruptcy courts running CM/ECF are on the path to full coverage, added in order of filing volume. Complete federal coverage means any case filed anywhere in the US federal system is monitorable through DocketLayer.
Appellate courts — the Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court — are part of the expansion plan and follow once district and bankruptcy coverage is complete.