Sacramento Superior Court’s criminal portal lets a registered public user submit a PDF into an existing criminal case. Search for the case, open its case number, choose the correct case or subcase if the portal offers that choice, and use Submit Filing. The court’s public user guide explains the screens. Uploading a document does not, by itself, establish that the court accepted it, that another party was served, or that a deadline was met.
The court launched this criminal case system on August 10, 2026. The guide separates looking up public information from submitting a document: a person can search case information and view the criminal hearing calendar without logging in, but must log in to file into an existing case. Some case information is not available to the public. (Sacramento Superior Court criminal division; portal guide)
Find the case and the correct filing destination
Use Searches to look up the case by party name or case number. The guide says a search can use partial name or case-number information, so confirm the resulting person’s name and case number against the court papers before opening the case-number link. The public calendar can help check a hearing date and department, but a calendar listing is not a substitute for the latest order or notice in the case. (Sacramento Superior Court portal guide)
When a case has a subcase, the portal requires a choice before Submit Filing. The guide gives mental-health and appeal matters as examples of subcases. Choose the docket that matches the document and the existing proceeding; a filing meant for a subcase should not be sent to the main case merely because both appear under the same defendant. If the correct destination is unclear, have counsel check the docket and filing rules before submitting. (Sacramento Superior Court portal guide)
Prepare the PDF and review the submission
To file, create or use a Public User account, log in, open the case, select its destination, and click Submit Filing. On Add Document, fill the required fields and attach a PDF. The guide says not to change the automatically supplied File_# value. Review the document, case number, selected subcase, and filing details before proceeding. Preserve any confirmation or rejection notice and compare it with the docket afterward. The portal guide describes the submission screens; it does not dispense with document-specific rules on form, notice, service, or timing. (Sacramento Superior Court portal guide)
The page also offers a checkbox to ask the court to review a document for confidential status. Checking it is a request for review, not an order sealing the document. The court decides whether confidentiality applies, and the guide warns that most criminal documents are not confidential. Talk with counsel before uploading sensitive medical, identifying, or other protected information; do not assume the checkbox will keep an otherwise public filing from view. (Sacramento Superior Court portal guide)
Confirm what filing does and does not accomplish
Check the case and document type for any separate service requirement and keep proof of service where required. A PDF upload and notice to the opposing party are different steps. If a hearing is approaching, confirm the applicable filing deadline and the court’s acceptance rather than relying on the time you clicked Submit Filing. If the portal will not show the case or a needed subcase, use the court’s current instructions or ask the clerk about the correct filing channel; do not create a second case to solve an existing-case filing problem.
The Law Offices of David S. Chesley can review the filing, its destination, and the applicable criminal-case deadline. Call (800) 755-5174. For broader defense context, see the firm’s Sacramento criminal defense page.