How to find a case by its citation (free case lookup for US case law)
By LegiMatch Research Team · Published October 17, 2026 · 3 min read
Short answer: a US case citation is an address - volume, reporter abbreviation and first page (for example 925 F.3d 200 is volume 925 of the Federal Reporter, Third Series, page 200). To look it up, enter the citation in a legal research database or a free source such as Google Scholar or a court website. To check many case references at once - for example from a brief or an AI answer - paste the text into a citation checker such as LegiMatch's free citation checker, which shows which citations match real court opinions.
How to read a case citation
Gowdy v. Marine Spill Response Corp., 925 F.3d 200, 204 (5th Cir. 2019)
| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Gowdy v. Marine Spill Response Corp. | Case name (the parties) |
| 925 | Volume of the reporter |
| F.3d | Reporter - here the Federal Reporter, Third Series |
| 200 | First page of the opinion |
| 204 | Pin cite - the page with the specific point |
| (5th Cir. 2019) | Court and year |
Common reporters: U.S. and S. Ct. (US Supreme Court), F., F.2d, F.3d, F.4th (federal courts of appeals), F. Supp. (federal district courts), and regional reporters for state courts such as N.E.2d, S.W.3d, P.3d, So. 3d and A.3d. See how US case law and citations are organized.
Where to look up a case
| Source | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Westlaw, Lexis+, Bloomberg Law | Subscription | Everything, with a citator |
| LegiMatch | From $99/month; free trial; free citation checker | Looking up and checking citations, finding cases with similar facts |
| Google Scholar (case law) | Free | Quick lookups of published opinions |
| Court websites | Free | Recent opinions from that court |
| Your state bar's research benefit | Often free for members | Everyday lookups |
See free and low-cost sources of US case law for more.
When a citation doesn't resolve
- Check for typos - a transposed volume or page number is the most common cause.
- Check the reporter abbreviation - "F.3d" vs "F. Supp. 3d" vs "F. App'x" are different series.
- Try the parallel citation - many state decisions are published in more than one reporter.
- Search by party name and year instead of the citation.
- Consider that it may not exist. AI tools can invent realistic-looking citations. If you can't find the case in any reliable source, don't cite it. See AI-invented case citations and sanctions.
Looking up many case references at once
Checking a brief or an AI-drafted memo one citation at a time is slow. Paste the whole text into LegiMatch's free citation checker - no sign-up - to see which citations match real opinions, with links. For a full pre-filing review (case names, pin cites, quotations and later treatment, plus a table of authorities) use LegiMatch Brief Check.
Frequently asked questions
How do I look up a case by citation number?
Enter the full citation - volume, reporter and page, such as "925 F.3d 200" - into a legal research database, Google Scholar's case law search, or a citation checker. The citation points to the first page of the opinion in that reporter volume.
What does "F.3d" mean in a case citation?
The Federal Reporter, Third Series, which publishes decisions of the US courts of appeals from 1993 to 2021. Later decisions appear in F.4th.
Can I look up a case citation for free?
Yes. Google Scholar, court websites and many state bar research benefits are free. LegiMatch's citation checker is free with no sign-up and checks many citations at once.
Why can't I find a case citation anywhere?
It may contain a typo, use the wrong reporter, be unpublished, or not exist at all - AI tools sometimes invent citations. If no reliable source has it, don't rely on it.
What is a pin cite?
The specific page within an opinion that supports your point, written after the first page - in "925 F.3d 200, 204", page 204 is the pin cite.
This article is general information about legal research, not legal advice. Verify every authority before relying on it.
All articlesMore from the blog
- Can AI find a case from its facts alone? A published test of similar-case searchWe rewrote 80 real court decisions in plain words, removed every name and citation, and measured how often LegiMatch Case Match finds the exact original among 4.7 million U.S. court decisions - with the method, so anyone can repeat it.
- Cases you may have missed - finding authority your brief doesn't citeAfter LegiMatch checks your brief, one click runs a fact-based search on the brief itself and lists strong matching decisions you haven't cited - how it works, what it costs and how to use the results.
- How accurate is LegiMatch Brief Check? A blind test on real court documentsOur blind test of the brief checker, with a detection rate for each kind of citation mistake - wrong court, year, pin cite, case name, quotation, invented case, wrong volume, swapped citations and statutes - plus how often it wrongly flags correct citations, measured on real court decisions and U.S. Supreme Court briefs nobody had used before.