Civil Department & Family Department

Call Us: Telephone Hours: 9:00 AM. to 4:00 PM
Walk In Hours: 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM (copies until 4:20 pm)
Questions? Call: 410-222-1431

**Payments at the counter may be made by Cash, Check or Money Order only.**

You can now search cases from Circuit Court and District Court online by using the Maryland Judiciary Case Search feature.

Forms

We are pleased to announce that Domestic Relations Forms and other family law forms are now available online via the Family Services pages. For help filling out the Maryland Family Law Forms, call the Legal Forms Helpline, operated by the Women's Law Center of Maryland at 800-818-9888.

In addition, other Anne Arundel County specific forms are available at: Civil Department Forms

Family Self Help
The Family Law Help Center provides legal information and forms to assist unrepresented litigants in matters of divorce, custody/visitation, child support and name changes. The Center is funded through a grant from the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, but is staffed entirely by the Maryland Center for Legal Assistance. They can be reached at 410-260-1392.

The Family Department & Civil Department handle all cases which are not criminal or juvenile. The cases include divorce, custody, child support, name changes, complaint for visitation, petitions to modify, petitions for contempt, petitions for domestic violence, emergency custody matters, civil appeals, medical malpractice, auto negligence, administrative agency appeals, workers' compensation, District Court appeals, District Court jury demands, breach of contract, , enrolling judgments and foreign decrees, change of name, and miscellaneous petitions to accomplish very specific acts.

If you wish to file a complaint, you may refer to the Maryland Annotated Code and Maryland Rules of Procedure. The Civil Department receives the papers you prepare which can be served on the opposing party (or parties) either by the sheriff or a private process server. The summons will be returned to the party filing the case for service unless a request is made for the sheriff to serve the summons. In that case, the summons will be forwarded to the Anne Arundel County Sheriff's Office for service with your check made payable to the Sheriff for $40.00 for each summons.

An appeal is filed when a party desires a superior court to review the decision of an inferior court or administrative agency. Appeals are noted from the Circuit Court of Anne Arundel County to the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

At the time of filing of an appeal in the Circuit Court, two non-refundable fees are paid. The Court of Special Appeals’ fee is held in escrow, in a non-interest bearing account, until the record is transmitted to the Court of Special Appeals.

Pursuant to MD Rule 8-205 a Civil Appeal Pre-Hearing Information Report must be completed and sent to the Clerk of the Court of Special Appeals when an appeal is filed. The Appeals Clerk in the Civil Department provides this form, either at the time of filing or by first class mail.

If a transcript is required for the appeal, it is to be procured by the party filing the appeal. This is accomplished by notifying the Court Reporter’s Office in writing. When the transcript has been filed by the Court Reporter’s Office it becomes an official part of the record and is transmitted to the Court of Special Appeals with the original pleadings.

Please refer to the Maryland Rules of Procedure for time constraints pertaining to the above actions.

CIVIL FILES
Phone: (410) 222-1219

The Civil File Room houses and protects civil case files. Most court files are open to the public except those that have been sealed by a court order and certain documents in the file containing very specific personal information that may be sealed and not open for public inspection. The Circuit Court case number is required to request the court file. The computer-based indexes assist in locating the file number if you are unaware of it. Copies of the file are available for $0.50 per page.

Faxes are not permitted directly to the Court.