Legal Notices by Publication (Civil and Family Cases Only)
Effective 1/2/2020
1. When would I need an Order of Notice by publication from the court?
If the person that you need to serve in your lawsuit lives outside of
Connecticut but you do not know his or her address, or the person lives in Connecticut,
but you do not know where he or she lives, you should make every effort to find out. If
your efforts to find the person�s address fail, you will need permission from the court,
called an Order of Notice, to publish notice of the lawsuit on the Legal Notices page of
the Judicial Branch�s website.
2. Is there a cost for notice by publication?
No. There is no charge for filing the motion or to publish the
notice on the Legal Notices page of the Judicial Branch website.
3. How do I get an Order of Notice by publication from the court?
For a family case, fill out a Motion for Order of
Notice in Family Cases (JD-FM-167) or a Motion for Additional Orders
of Notice in Family Cases (JD-FM-169) if you already had an order from the court for some other kind of notice, but giving
notice that way was unsuccessful.
For a civil case, fill out a Motion for Order of Notice, which may be a
Motion for First Order of Notice � Foreclosure Action (JD-CV-86) or something you create yourself. For help, contact any
Court Service Center or Law Library.
Give your motion to the clerk�s office in the court where the case is or will be filed, together with either the
Order of Notice in Family Cases (JD-FM-168) or Order of Notice in your civil case,
which may be First Order of Notice in Foreclosure Action (JD-CV-42),
First Order of Notice Upon Attachment of Estate of Nonresident (JD-CV-58),
or a motion you create yourself. For help, contact any Court Service Center or Law Library.
If the court agrees that an Order of Notice by publication is needed in your case, it will fill out the Order of Notice
form and return it to you. However, if you filed a Motion for Additional Orders of Notice, that motion will be placed on the court calendar
to be ruled on by a judge
4. What do I do when the court gives me my Order of Notice for publication?
Fill out a Cover Sheet for Order of Notice by Publication JD-CL-160 and e-mail it,
in .pdf format, along with a scanned copy of your Order of Notice by publication to: LegalNotice@jud.ct.gov.
If you are representing yourself and do not have the ability to scan and e-mail your documents, please send your Cover Sheet for Order of Notice by
Publication JD-CL-160 along with a copy of your Order of Notice by publication to:
225 Spring Street, 2nd Floor
Wethersfield, CT 06109
Attention: Legal Notice Publication
Important Note: Do NOT mail the original Order of Notice. You need to keep the original
so that you can file it with the court after your notice has been published. Mail a copy of your Order of Notice.
It is important to submit the documents for publication in plenty of time for publication to occur by the
date ordered by the court, and to fully and accurately complete the Cover Sheet.
If the documents are received after the date the court ordered publication to start, they will be sent
back to you for you to get a new publication date from the court.
If you do not completely fill out the Cover Sheet it will be sent back to you to for you to complete it
before the Order of Notice will be published.
5. Where can I see my notice during the publication period?
You can see your notice on the Judicial Branch website at http://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/LegalNoticeList.aspx for the
entire publication period. Once the publication period has ended, you will no longer be able to see it.
6. What happens after publication?
After your notice has been published for the time period ordered by the court,
an Affidavit of Publication JD-CL-161 will be sent to you. The Affidavit will be sent to you with
the Order of Notice that was published, and it will include a statement about how long the notice
was posted on the Legal Notices page of the Judicial Branch website.
7. What do I do with the Affidavit of Publication?
When you receive your Affidavit of Publication, file it with the court along with all
of your original documents as soon as possible. Once you have done that, the Order of Notice by publication
process has been completed.
8. How do I search for a name on the Legal Notices page of the Judicial Branch website?
Go to http://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/LegalNoticeList.aspx. Names are listed alphabetically
by last name and will be on this website only for the length of time ordered by the court. It is important to
note that a name would not be there either before or after the date that the court ordered notice to be posted.
9. I found my name on the Legal Notices page of the Judicial Branch website. What does that mean?
The court has ordered that notice of a lawsuit or pending motion be provided to you by
posting it on this website. The Notice can be found in the link next to your name. For further information
about the case, contact the Clerk of the Court
in the judicial district noted or any Court Service Center.
10. I did not find my name on the Legal Notices page of the Judicial Branch website. What does that mean?
This website only lists names during the publication period ordered by the court.
Before or after the date that the court orders notice to be posted, a name would not be listed. Just
because you do not see your name, it does not mean you are not being sued. It is important to note that
the names are published as written by the person suing you and could be incorrect, misspelled, or a name
you no longer use. You may be listed under the name of an estate or other entity.
In addition to the Legal Notices page, you may also use the Case Lookup tool
to see cases filed with the Judicial Branch.
11. Are there any kinds of cases where an Order of Notice by publication would not appear on the Legal Notices page of the Judicial Branch website?
Currently, this method of publication only applies to Civil and Family cases. It does not apply to matters in the Juvenile Court.
If the court orders notice in a Civil or Family case to be given by any other method, that case would not appear on the Legal Notices page of the Judicial Branch website.
Additionally, there are some Civil and Family case types that would not be included. Relief from Abuse (Restraining Order) cases and Civil Protection Order cases would not appear on the Judicial Branch website Legal Notices Page.
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