Mason County Criminal Docket Searches
Mason County criminal records sit in separate systems by court level. For a public circuit case, use WVPASS. For a magistrate case, use Magistrate Case Search, known as MCR. Ordinance matters may stay with a municipal judge or recorder instead. No single Mason-only portal covers all three levels. Search by case number when you can. That avoids mix-ups between people with common names, and it helps the clerk pull the right file fast.
- Identify whether the matter is circuit, magistrate, or municipal.
- Open WVPASS for circuit court or complete the MCR CAPTCHA for magistrate court.
- Enter the exact case number, or use first and last name in MCR.
- Compare the court, filed date, charge, setting, and disposition.
- Call or visit the correct clerk for documents and current settings.
MCR is free but caps results at 30 and shows no document images. WVPASS goes further for circuit cases. It offers public documents back to 1999, though you must register, some records are excluded, and downloads cost 25 cents per page plus a card fee.
Mason Magistrate Search Limits
The official magistrate search entry opens with a CAPTCHA. It warns that its results are not a full civil or criminal history. You can search by first and last name or by case number. A result may list the filed date. It may also show the charge, the disposition, and the documents on file. For public copies, ask the Magistrate Clerk. That office is the one to request them from.
The access gate on the official page makes one thing plain. The Mason County Magistrate Clerk, not the portal, is where a docket entry gets verified.
Criminal Dockets: What They Show
A Mason County criminal docket records procedure, not conclusions. Read any charge together with the entries that follow it. A filed allegation is not a conviction, a continuance is not a dismissal, and one count can close while another stays active.
| Case number | The court identifier, including formats such as ##-M##X-#####. |
|---|---|
| Charge | The offense alleged or resolved, read with the later disposition. |
| Setting | The date and type of arraignment, motion, plea, trial, or sentencing. |
| Motion or order | A request and the separate ruling that may follow it. |
| Disposition | The result for a charge, which may not end every count. |
| Appeal or transfer | Movement to another docket with a new identifier. |
If a status code is unclear, ask the clerk for the public order itself. The clerk cannot interpret the law or read a file over the phone, but will explain how to inspect or copy the record.
Mason Charges and Outcomes
A few terms trip up readers of a Mason County criminal docket. Knowing their plain meanings keeps the record in context.
- Charge
- An allegation, not a finding by itself.
- Bound over
- A lower-court matter moved toward the next circuit stage.
- Continuance
- A court-approved move to a later date, not an outcome.
- Nolle prosequi
- A prosecutor's decision not to pursue a charge.
- Disposition
- The result entered for a charge or case.
Check the date, the charge it covers, the linked order, and every entry that follows. That sequence matters most when several charges share one case.
Criminal Case Stages on the Docket
A felony in Mason County often starts in Magistrate Court with an initial appearance or preliminary examination, then moves up to the West Virginia Circuit Court, Fifth Judicial Circuit. Misdemeanors can stay with a magistrate throughout. Not every case hits every stage.
Docket flow: Complaint or citation › Initial review › Arraignment › Preliminary examination when required › Motions › Plea or trial › Disposition › Final order.
Each waiver, transfer, or appeal generates its own docket entry. Keep both the magistrate number and any later circuit number, because the public history may be split between MCR and WVPASS.
Mason Felony Filings in 2025
The 2025 state report shows the county's workload without revealing anyone's record. Mason Circuit Court logged 31 felony filings, 1 magistrate appeal, 12 misdemeanors, and 5 other criminal filings. That totals 49 circuit criminal filings for the year.
Those numbers count filings, not people, convictions, or open cases. Any real search still has to be tied to one court and one case number.
Mason County Criminal Docket Courts
Magistrate Court takes misdemeanors, traffic matters, warrants, bail, and preliminary felony work. Circuit Court handles felonies, some misdemeanors, and appeals from the lower courts. Local ordinance cases go to municipal court where one exists. The Mason County Circuit Clerk keeps circuit criminal files at 200 Sixth Street, Suite 9, Point Pleasant. Call 304-675-4400 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. The Magistrate Clerk sits at 200 Sixth Street and answers 304-675-6840. Public terminals are available in magistrate clerk offices. A mail request should state the case number, the exact document, and the format you want. For the full lookup path, see Mason County Docket Search. CourtPLUS e-filing serves approved filers only. It is not a public search.
Mason Traffic Rules in Context
The judiciary's magistrate criminal rules cover citations, pleas, trials, and failures to appear. That official text governs how lower-court entries are read.
The rules describe general procedure only. The Mason County criminal docket shows which steps actually occurred in a particular public case.
Access Rules for Criminal Dockets
West Virginia Code section 51-4-2 generally opens court records and authorizes clerk copies. Trial Court Rule 10.04 protects that access, subject to security, privacy, and orderly operation.
Key limit: Section 49-5-103 makes juvenile records nonpublic except for defined disclosures. WVPASS also excludes juvenile cases and sealed filings. A blank result does not prove no proceeding exists.
An online search may come up empty. You can call the clerk, visit for supervised inspection, use a magistrate public terminal, or mail a specific request. A request can also go to the custodian under West Virginia FOIA. FOIA cannot unlock a confidential file. Name the exact document and ask for a fee estimate. Confirm whether the copy must be plain or certified. Restricted access can stem from several sources. A statute, a sealing order, a protective order, an expungement, or a redaction rule can all be the cause. The limit may cover one entry or the whole case. A public docket can still show that an order was entered without revealing protected text. Access may turn on party status or court approval. Then ask the Mason clerk which motion, identification, or order is needed. Never send private identifiers through open email just to prove a tie to the case.
Mason Clerk Validation Route
An online index only gets you so far. WVPASS may not load, or MCR may return no match. The docket entry may lack a page you need. Go straight to the office that actually holds the case. Have the exact case number ready and say which court level it sits in. Ask if the file is open. Ask whether the newest setting still stands and how to request a document by name. A clerk can route that request. The clerk does not have to read you a pleading, order, or whole file over the phone. To inspect in person, you will work in a supervised area set aside for that purpose. The file stays in the office. Bring a narrow description of the case and expect reasonable rules that protect records and keep the counter moving. Looking through the file first also shows which pages are worth copying before fees pile up. A mailed request should name the case, the filing, the date range, the form you want, and a way for the office to send a fee estimate.
Mason Circuit Clerk
200 Sixth Street, Suite 9
Point Pleasant, WV 25550
304-675-4400
Weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Magistrate Clerk
200 Sixth Street
Point Pleasant, WV 25550
304-675-6840
Lower-court search help, settings, public terminals, and copies.
Both offices sit at the county seat, yet they remain separate access points. Pick the right desk. That keeps a Mason County criminal docket request with the office that actually holds the file. A request under West Virginia FOIA can be oral or written. It just needs to be reasonably specific. It still cannot get past a sealing order or any confidentiality law.