If you have ever searched for a case on the eCourts portal, you have seen a 16 character alphanumeric code called the CNR. Short for Case Number Record, the CNR is the permanent, unique identifier for every case filed in the Indian judicial system. It is portable across transfers, survives re-numbering, and is the single most reliable key to pull up a case anywhere in the country. This guide decodes what each character means, how to read a CNR at a glance, and how to use it on eCourtsIndia to save hours of search time.
What is a CNR and why it matters
A CNR (Case Number Record) is the permanent 16 character alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies every case filed in India’s District and High Courts. Assigned at the moment of filing, it never changes through transfers or re-numbering, which makes it the single most reliable way to look up a case anywhere in the country.
Before the eCourts project standardised case records, every court used its own numbering. A civil suit at Tis Hazari had a format different from a sessions case in Bengaluru. When a case moved on transfer, it often got a new number, orphaning the old history. The CNR fixed this. It is assigned at the moment of filing, stays with the case through its life, and is accepted across all court websites that feed into the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG, the government’s central database of case status and orders at njdg.ecourts.gov.in).
If you know the CNR, you can look up the case, download orders, check the next hearing date, and see the advocate on record without needing to know the court, case type, or year. It is the closest thing Indian litigation has to a universal case ID.
The 16 character structure, character by character
| Positions | Field | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | State code | Two letter state / UT code (letters) | DL for Delhi |
| 3 to 4 | District / court-complex code | Two letter code for the district or court complex (letters) | ST for Saket, a Delhi court complex |
| 5 to 6 | Establishment code | Two digit code for the court establishment (digits) | 01 for the establishment |
| 7 to 12 | Sequence number | Six digit running serial within that establishment | 001234 |
| 13 to 16 | Year of institution | Four digit calendar year the case was filed | 2024 |
Put together, a valid CNR looks like DLST010012342024. Reading left to right you can immediately tell this is a Delhi case (DL state), at the Saket court complex (ST), establishment 01, with sequence number 001234, filed in the year 2024.
State codes used in CNR positions 1 to 2
| Code | State / UT | Code | State / UT |
|---|---|---|---|
| AP | Andhra Pradesh | MN | Manipur |
| AR | Arunachal Pradesh | ML | Meghalaya |
| AS | Assam | MZ | Mizoram |
| BR | Bihar | NL | Nagaland |
| CG | Chhattisgarh | OR | Odisha |
| GA | Goa | PB | Punjab |
| GJ | Gujarat | RJ | Rajasthan |
| HR | Haryana | SK | Sikkim |
| HP | Himachal Pradesh | TN | Tamil Nadu |
| JH | Jharkhand | TS | Telangana |
| KA | Karnataka | TR | Tripura |
| KL | Kerala | UP | Uttar Pradesh |
| MP | Madhya Pradesh | UK | Uttarakhand |
| MH | Maharashtra | WB | West Bengal |
| AN | Andaman & Nicobar | DL | Delhi |
| CH | Chandigarh | JK | Jammu & Kashmir |
| DN | DNH & Daman & Diu | LA | Ladakh |
| LD | Lakshadweep | PY | Puducherry |
This table is a snapshot of the two letter codes in common use. The authoritative live set of court codes, case types and statuses is published in the eCourtsIndia API documentation (programmatic access via https://webapi.ecourtsindia.com/api/partner/enums) and is updated as new courts and tribunals are onboarded, including newer additions such as the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), whose codes are being added to the pickers.
Reading the district / establishment code
Positions 3 and 4 identify the district or court complex, and a large city often has several. In Delhi alone you will see TH (Tis Hazari), ST (Saket), KK (Karkardooma), RC (Rohini), DW (Dwarka), and PL (Patiala House). Mumbai has BY for the City Civil Court, ES for Esplanade, and MZ for Mazgaon. Positions 5 and 6 then narrow it down to the specific establishment within that complex, written as two digits such as 01. So once you have read the first six characters of a CNR, you already know the exact court where the case lives.
Sequence number and year
The six digit sequence number is reset on 1 January each year and counts up for every case filed at that establishment during the year. A CNR ending in 2024 at positions 13 to 16 means the case was instituted in 2024, regardless of the cause of action date. If the case is transferred to another court later, the CNR does not change. The year remains the year of original institution.
How to find your CNR
- Check the filing receipt issued by the court registry at the time of institution. The CNR is printed on it.
- Look at any court order or daily order sheet. The CNR appears in the header.
- Search by party name or advocate name on the eCourtsIndia case search. The CNR is displayed in the result row.
- Ask your advocate. They always have the CNR in the vakalatnama file.
Using the CNR on eCourtsIndia
The fastest way to pull up a case is to plug the CNR into the direct lookup path: https://ecourtsindia.com/cnr/{your_16_character_code}. You get a case page with the full case history, hearing dates, parties, advocates, and orders or judgments. For High Court and District Court records, the case page now also captures richer structured fields as those records migrate to the latest data schema, such as the e-filing number and date, filing type, litigant type, and case-type conversion details, alongside structured party lists and hearing-history entries (these appear on the case page; they are not yet search filters). From the case page you can read the order text, get an AI summary, and download the true-copy order or judgment PDF where the court publishes it digitally. AI summaries and downloads are credit-metered (Free plan ₹50 a month of credits, Pro ₹500 a month).
To keep watching a case for updates, add it to a client in your eCourtsIndia dashboard and switch on alerts. You then get Email and WhatsApp notifications, near real time, whenever an order, hearing date, or status changes (opt-in and credit-metered). There is no SMS or app push channel, and NCLT or NCLAT cases cannot be tracked this way.
If you are managing a portfolio of cases, the CNR is the best key to store in your system. Party names change on consolidation and filing numbers change on transfer, but the CNR stays stable for the life of the case.
Common CNR mistakes
- Mixing up the digit zero with the letter O. CNRs use both, so check carefully. The state and district code sections use letters only; the establishment code, sequence number and year use digits only.
- Copying only the first 14 characters. The CNR must be the full 16 characters to resolve.
- Confusing CNR with Filing Number. Filing number is internal to the establishment and year, and is part of the CNR but not a substitute.
- Using uppercase versus lowercase. CNRs are always treated as uppercase. Any lowercase input is normalised before validation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the CNR the same as the case number?
No. The case number like CS 234 of 2024 shows case type and year, while the CNR is a machine friendly 16 character unique ID. Both point to the same case, but only the CNR is guaranteed unique across India. You can look up either on eCourtsIndia case search.
Does the CNR change if a case is transferred?
No. The CNR stays with the case for its entire life. Only the receiving court internal number changes. This stability is one of the main reasons the CNR was introduced, and it makes the CNR the best key to look up or monitor a case on eCourtsIndia.
What does each part of the 16 character CNR mean?
Positions 1 to 2 are the state code, 3 to 4 the district or court-complex code, 5 to 6 the establishment code, 7 to 12 a six digit sequence, and 13 to 16 the year of filing. So DLST010012342024 is a 2024 case at the Saket complex in Delhi. See more on the India courts directory.
Do all courts issue a CNR?
All District Courts, High Courts, and most integrated tribunals issue CNRs. The Supreme Court identifies cases primarily by its Diary Number rather than a district-style CNR, and NCLT or NCLAT use CP or CA numbers instead. To confirm which court a case sits in, run the first six characters through eCourtsIndia.
How do I find my CNR number?
Your CNR is printed on the filing receipt and on the header of every court order. You can also search by party name or advocate on the eCourtsIndia case search and read it from the result row, or simply ask your advocate.
What do I do if the CNR does not resolve?
Double check for digit and letter confusion (zero vs O, one vs I), then confirm you have the full 16 characters. If it still fails, the case may not have been indexed yet. Fresh filings can take a day or so to appear.
Related reading on blogs.ecourtsindia.com: the India courts directory for the big picture, the machine readable anchor for the full code tables, plus the case status dictionary, case type encyclopedia, and bench types explained.