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To follow a federal lawsuit, find the court and case number, then review the official docket through PACER. For updates, check whether that court offers a free RSS feed; PACER does not provide one universal email alert for every public observer. CourtListener’s RECAP archive and alerts can help you spot activity, but confirm important filings on the official court docket.
Find the federal court and case
Federal cases are maintained by the court where they were filed. If you know the court, use the PACER Court CM/ECF Lookup to reach its case-search system. If you do not know the court, start with the PACER Case Locator, which searches across federal courts.
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- Create or sign in to a PACER account. PACER registration is required to access federal court records online. Records are generally available at any time, subject to system availability. See PACER account registration.
- Search by case number when possible. If you do not have it, search by a party name in the likely court. When the court is uncertain, use the national Case Locator. PACER says a court’s own case information is updated immediately, while the Case Locator is updated daily, so a very recent filing may not yet appear in the nationwide index.
- Open the docket report. The docket is the court’s chronological record of filings and case events. Review the entries and open a linked document when available. A docket entry without a document link may require you to request the document from the clerk’s office. PACER’s user manual describes the search and docket process.
If you still cannot locate a case, PACER advises contacting the court where you think it was filed.
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Which docket alerts can you get?
| Option | Coverage and timing | Cost and access | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court’s PACER/CM/ECF docket | Official court record; court-specific information is described by PACER as updated immediately. | Fees may apply to searches and documents. | Confirming docket entries and reading available source filings. |
| Court RSS feed | Available only at courts that offer it; not all courts do. | Free feed; linked reports or documents may require PACER sign-in. | Passive notifications of new docket activity. |
| CourtListener/RECAP | Alerts and archive depend on material collected by RECAP; not guaranteed to capture every filing instantly. | The cited service pages describe free research and alert access; features or limits can change. | Supplemental discovery and alerts, followed by official-docket verification. |
Check for a court RSS feed
Look up the filing court in the Court CM/ECF Lookup and see whether it offers RSS. PACER says participating courts provide free feeds with summaries of new docket events and links. A link can still lead to content that requires PACER login. See PACER’s RSS case-alert FAQ.
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Distinguish public alerts from party notices
CM/ECF email notices are not the same as a general public subscription. PACER describes notices sent to registered participants when documents are filed; qualifying party recipients can receive one free look at the linked document within 15 days. Merely having a PACER account does not mean a public observer will receive those notices. Details are in the PACER filing-fee FAQ.
Some courts have their own additional notification services. For example, the Fourth Circuit offers a “Notice for Cases of Interest” utility for registered public interested parties. That is a court-specific option, not a feature available everywhere; check the filing court’s site. See the Fourth Circuit notice page.
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Use RECAP as a supplement
CourtListener offers searchable RECAP materials and docket alerts. RECAP is an archive populated from PACER materials that have been collected, so it is useful for discovery but is not a guarantee of complete, immediate coverage. Treat an alert as a prompt to check the official docket, especially when a filing could affect a deadline. CourtListener explains the archive through its RECAP page and describes alerts in its alerts help page.
What PACER access may cost
On its pricing page accessed in 2026, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts lists a charge of $0.10 per page for covered searches, reports and documents, with a $3.00 cap per document for items such as docket reports. Search fees are based on pages generated, including a search with no matches; some report types and transcripts have no maximum. Users are billed quarterly only when prior-quarter charges exceed $30; charges of $30 or less are waived. Check the official PACER pricing page for current terms.
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PACER lists exceptions and free access in certain circumstances, including court opinions, courthouse access, certain notices to parties, and court-approved fee exemptions. To limit charges, search by case number where possible and use docket-report filters to narrow results. PACER’s pricing page also announced a temporary fee increase effective January 1, 2027, so check the posted schedule if accessing records on or after that date.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Use alerts as monitoring, not proof
A court feed, participant email notice, or third-party alert is a way to learn that activity may have occurred; it is not a substitute for checking the official docket. Confirm the entry and document in the filing court’s system before relying on a notification, particularly when timing matters. Docket monitoring does not provide legal advice or represent a party in a case.
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