Get a Certified Copy of a Court Order or Judgment in Punjab

To get a certified copy of a Lahore High Court order or judgment, fill in the copy form from lhc.gov.pk, hand it in at the copy counter with the fee, and track it online by Copy Petition number. District court copies are applied for in person at the copy branch of that court.

A certified copy is the version of an order that other offices accept, such as a bank, the land record office or an appeal court. We downloaded the Lahore High Court's own copy forms on 2 October 2026 and opened its online tracker, so the steps below follow what those forms ask for.

A certified copy is your legal right, at your cost

Pakistani law gives you a copy of a court record on payment of the legal fee. The officer who keeps the record must sign, date and seal it. For civil cases, the court must give parties certified copies of the judgment and decree at their own expense.

Article 87 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order 1984 says a public officer who keeps a public document must give a person with the right to inspect it "a copy of it on payment of the legal fees". The copy carries a certificate at its foot that it is a true copy, with the officer's name, title, date and seal. That certificate is what makes it "certified".

For civil suits, Order XX rule 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure, as published on the Punjab Code site, says the court "shall, at the time of pronouncement of the judgment, provide to the parties, at their expense, certified copies of the judgment and the decree." So if you were a party, ask for it on the day of judgment.

The Lahore High Court has three copy forms

The Lahore High Court publishes its copy forms on its Judicial Forms page. Pick the form that matches why you need the copy: private use, use before the Supreme Court, or the general Urdu application. Each form lets you ask for urgent or ordinary fees.

The English forms carry a short request: "Kindly supply me with certified copy/copies ... on urgent / ordinary fees." You strike out the one you do not want. The top of the form has boxes for the office to fill: the Copy Petition number, the date and the amount deposited.

The forms do not print the fee amounts. The office fills in the deposit box itself, so we give no fixed rupee figure here.

How to apply for a Lahore High Court copy

Apply at the copy counter of the seat or bench where your case was heard. Bring the case number, the names of both parties and the date of the order. Pay the deposit, keep the receipt and note your Copy Petition number.

1. Find your case number. It is on any notice, receipt or order. If you lost it, search the case on the court's site first. The court case status search works with the parties' names.
2. Download the right form. Open lhc.gov.pk, then Judicial Forms. Print the private use or Supreme Court use form.
3. Fill in the case details. Write the case number, the parties ("vs"), the decision dates, the judges and the district. List each document you want on its own line, up to four.
4. Choose urgent or ordinary. Strike out the one you do not want. Urgent is the option for a deadline.
5. Submit at the copy counter. Hand in the form at the principal seat in Lahore or at the Rawalpindi, Multan or Bahawalpur bench. Pay the amount the counter writes in. Note the Copy Petition number.
6. Track it online. Use the Certified Copy Status page, then collect the copy from the counter.

You can also apply through your lawyer, but you do not need one to ask for a copy of an order in your own case.

Track your copy on the Certified Copy Status page

The Lahore High Court runs a free tracker at data.lhc.gov.pk. Choose the location, then search by Copy Petition number or case number. It covers the principal seat and the Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur benches.

We opened the Certified Copy Status page on 2 October 2026. It loaded normally, with a location menu and two search boxes, Copy Petition # and Case #.

The court also publishes a "Time Scale" sheet that shows where a copy goes inside the office. It moves from the copy counter clerk to the branch clerk, the record room, the photocopy operator, the typist, the examiner and the stamping clerk, then back to the counter. The sheet has eleven steps, which is why a copy is rarely ready the same hour.

District court copies are applied for in person

For an order of a civil judge, family judge or sessions court in Punjab, go to the copy branch of that district court. We found no online copy application for district courts on 2 October 2026, only case search and cause lists.

The district judiciary's Case Management System at dsj.punjab.gov.pk lets you pick a district and search a case or a cause list. It has no copy request form. So bring the same details to the copy branch: case number, parties, date and the documents you need.

Family court orders are a common reason for this trip. A decree for maintenance from a Punjab family court, or an order on child custody and guardianship, is usually needed as a certified copy before another office will act on it.

Mistakes that slow your copy down

Most delays come from a wrong case number, a missing decision date or a vague request. Check the case number against an order you already hold, and name each document clearly, such as "judgment dated" or "order sheet".

• Do not ask for "everything". A long request takes longer to prepare. Ask for the judgment, the decree or a named order.
• Check the copy before you leave. Make sure each page carries the certificate and seal, and that no page is missing.
• Ignore touts at the gate. A copy comes from the counter, not from a man who says he can "get it out today".

Common questions

Can I get a certified copy of a court order online in Punjab?

Not fully. You can download the Lahore High Court copy forms and track a copy online, but you still submit the form and pay at the copy counter. We found no online application for district courts.

How much does a certified copy cost?

The forms do not print a fee. The copy counter works out the deposit and writes it on your form. The form offers two rates, urgent and ordinary.

Who can apply for a certified copy of a court order?

A party to the case or their lawyer, in the usual case. The law gives a copy to a person who has the right to inspect the record.

What is a Copy Petition number?

It is the number the Lahore High Court office gives your copy request. You use it to track the copy on data.lhc.gov.pk.

Do I need a certified copy to appeal?

Yes, in most appeals. The Lahore High Court has a separate form for copies meant for the Supreme Court, which shows how routine this is.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 2 October 2026. We downloaded the Certified Copy Form for Private Use, the Certified Copy Form for Supreme Court Use, the Urdu copy form, the Urgent Proforma and the Time Scale sheet from the Lahore High Court Judicial Forms page, and opened the Certified Copy Status page at data.lhc.gov.pk. We read Article 87 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order 1984 and Order XX rule 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure on the Punjab Code site. We opened the district Case Management Systems at dsj.punjab.gov.pk and dsjlahore.punjab.gov.pk and found no copy request feature. Copy fees are not published on the forms, so we give none. Copy rules for Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad courts were not checked for this page.