PACER credentials
PACER is a bring-your-own-credentials source. You store your own PACER login on your organization, and the caselaw_fetch_pacer tool uses it to retrieve dockets and documents on your behalf.
PACER fetches bill your PACER account directly — roughly $0.10 per page for PDFs and about $3.00 per docket. Always check the free RECAP archive first (see below) before paying for a fresh PACER pull.
Set your credentials
- Go to
/dashboard/credentials. - This is owner-only and requires a plan with bring-your-own-credentials (BYOAK) enabled — that’s Solo and Firm. Free can’t store credentials.
- Enter and save your PACER username and password.
Credentials are encrypted at rest. Once set, every caselaw_fetch_pacer call uses them automatically — you don’t pass them per request. You can also pass a username and password inline on a call to override the stored pair (both must be provided together).
Check RECAP first — it’s free
RECAP is the free archive of documents other users have already pulled from PACER. Before spending PACER money, search RECAP:
caselaw_recap_query— look up what RECAP already holds.caselaw_search_dockets,caselaw_search_opinions,caselaw_search_recap_documents— search the free corpus.
Only fall back to caselaw_fetch_pacer when the document isn’t already in RECAP.
Storing PACER credentials is one example of the BYO-credentials concept — for how that differs from plan-unlocked paid tools, see Packs & tool access.