What is a CNR Number?

Every court case in India has a CNR number — a 16-character code that uniquely identifies it across the country. This guide explains what each segment of the code means and how to locate your CNR on court documents.

What is a CNR number?

CNR stands for Case Number Record. It is a 16-character alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies a case filed in a district court or high court across India. No two cases in the country share the same CNR number. Once assigned, the CNR number stays with a case for its entire life — it does not change if the case is transferred, if a new judge takes over, or if the case resumes after a long adjournment.

The code was introduced as part of a nationwide effort to standardise case tracking across courts at the district and high court level. Before the CNR system, tracking a case across transfers or bench changes was difficult — different courts maintained their own numbering. CNR numbers solved that by creating a single, stable identifier tied to the case itself rather than to any particular court or judge.

The Supreme Court of India uses a separate case numbering system and does not issue CNR numbers. Supreme Court cases are tracked by diary number (assigned at registration) and later by case number (such as SLP(Crl) No. 1234/2025 or WP(C) No. 5678/2024). See our related guide on court case status glossary for a full comparison of identifiers across court levels.

The structure of a CNR number

A CNR number has a fixed structure. Each segment carries specific information about where and when the case was filed. Understanding this structure lets you read a CNR number the same way you would read a postal PIN code — as a coded address, not a random string.

Here is the breakdown of a typical 16-character CNR number:

The exact length of each segment can vary slightly between states, but the total length of a valid CNR is always 16 characters. If the number you have is shorter or longer, it is likely a case number (such as CC No. 123/2023) rather than a CNR number. Case numbers and CNR numbers are different things — a CNR number is the system-assigned identifier, while a case number is the type-specific reference used in court proceedings.

Worked example: DLWT010028682023

Let us decode a real CNR number step by step.

So this CNR number tells us: a case filed in 2023, at establishment number 10 of the Tis Hazari court complex in West Delhi. If you enter this CNR on casestatus.in, we retrieve the current status, the next hearing date, the names of the parties, and any orders that have been passed — all from the case management system maintained by that court.

Note that the serial number portion (002868) is zero-padded. When you see a CNR number printed on a summons or cause list, the leading zeros are always present. Do not drop them when entering the number — 2868 and 002868 are treated differently by the court's case management system.

More examples across states and courts

CNR numbers follow the same pattern across all states, though the state and district codes differ. Here are a few illustrative examples:

The state codes used in CNR numbers are the standard two-letter codes used across Indian government systems — DL for Delhi, MH for Maharashtra, UP for Uttar Pradesh, KA for Karnataka, TN for Tamil Nadu, and so on. These are the same codes you see on vehicle registration plates and in postal codes.

Where to find your CNR number

The CNR number appears in several places depending on how the case was initiated and what stage it is at.

• Court summons and notices: The CNR number is printed on summons issued to parties and witnesses. Look for it near the top of the document, alongside the case number and the name of the court.
• Vakalatnama: When a lawyer files a vakalatnama (power of attorney authorising them to appear on your behalf), the CNR number is recorded on the document.
• Case filing receipt: When a case is filed, the court issues a filing receipt or acknowledgment slip. The CNR number appears on this receipt, usually printed at the top or in a dedicated field labeled "CNR".
• Cause list: The daily cause list published by a court lists all cases scheduled for hearing that day. CNR numbers appear alongside case numbers on the cause list. Many district courts publish their cause lists online.
• Order sheets and judgments: Certified copies of orders and judgments issued by the court carry the CNR number in the header section.
• Your lawyer: If you are represented by an advocate, they can look up your CNR number from their own records or from the court's case management system. This is the most reliable route if you have lost your original paperwork.

CNR numbers for high court cases

High courts in India also use CNR numbers, though the format may look slightly different from district court CNRs. The first two characters of a high court CNR typically use the state code of the state where the high court is located. For example, cases at the Allahabad High Court begin with UP, cases at the Bombay High Court begin with MH, and cases at the Madras High Court begin with TN.

High courts with multiple benches — such as the Bombay High Court (with benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Panaji) or the Allahabad High Court (with a bench at Lucknow) — use district-level codes within the CNR to identify which bench the case is filed at. A case at the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court will have a CNR starting with UPLU, while a case at the principal seat in Allahabad will have a different district code.

On casestatus.in, you can look up high court cases by entering the full CNR number directly. The system identifies the court level and routes the query to the appropriate case management system automatically.

What if you do not have the CNR number?

Not having the CNR number is common — especially for older cases filed before the CNR system was in widespread use, or for cases where you received only a handwritten note and not a printed summons. There are a few ways to find the CNR number in these situations.

• Search by case number: If you know the case type, case number, and the year of filing, you can often find the CNR number through the court's case management system. Our guide on how to find your case walks through this process.
• Search by party name: If you are a party to the case, searching by your name along with the court and year can surface the CNR. This works better for less common names; common names may return many results.
• Contact the court's filing counter: The administrative staff at the court's filing counter can look up the CNR number if you provide the case number, the names of the parties, and the approximate year of filing. This is the most reliable fallback if online searches return no results.
• Ask your advocate: If you have a lawyer on record for the case, they have access to the case management system and can retrieve the CNR number quickly. Most advocates keep a record of CNR numbers for all their active matters.

Once you have the CNR number, we recommend keeping it in a safe place — a note on your phone, a saved document, or written inside the case folder. The CNR number is the fastest and most reliable way to check a case's status at any time.

Common mistakes when using CNR numbers

A few simple errors can cause a CNR lookup to fail even when you have the correct number in hand.

• Dropping leading zeros: The serial number segment of a CNR is always zero-padded to six digits. Entering 2868 instead of 002868 will not match the case record.
• Using the case number instead of the CNR: Case numbers (such as CC No. 123/2023 or WP No. 4567/2024) are different from CNR numbers. Case numbers are shorter, court-specific, and not globally unique. Only a 16-character CNR number works for a direct lookup.
• Confusing the year: The year at the end of a CNR is the filing year, not the current year or the year of the most recent hearing. A case filed in 2018 that is still being heard in 2024 will have 2018 at the end of its CNR number.
• Adding spaces or punctuation: CNR numbers should be entered as a continuous 16-character string. Some documents print them with a hyphen or a space for readability — remove these before entering the number.

Why the CNR number matters

India has more than three crore cases pending across its courts at any given time. Tracking a specific case in this volume without a stable identifier is extremely difficult. The CNR number is the only identifier that remains constant regardless of which judge is hearing the case, whether the case has been transferred to another bench, or how many times the hearing has been adjourned.

For litigants — particularly those without a lawyer — the CNR number is the single most important piece of information to keep track of. With a CNR number and a service like casestatus.in, you can check the status of your case, see upcoming hearing dates, and read any orders that have been passed, at any time of day without visiting the court.

For advocates managing a large number of matters, CNR numbers enable systematic case tracking across multiple clients and courts. Our court case status glossary explains the full set of identifiers used across court levels, including diary numbers and case numbers for the Supreme Court, which does not use CNR numbers.