What if the case I'm interested in is closed or archived?

Closed cases are kept at the Clerk's Offices for a limited amount of time (generally two years) due to a lack of storage space. The closed cases are shipped to the Federal Records Center (archives) twice a year. To view a case at the Federal Records Center you need the accession, location and box number. In most cases, that information is available using the FRC case lookup section of this website, Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER), or by calling the Clerk's Office at (401) 528-4477. If you prefer to review the case at the Clerk's Office there is a $35.00 archive retrieval fee. The Federal Records Center accepts requests for copies from bankruptcy case files by mail or fax.