National Open Court Data Standards
Equipping courts with national data standards for greater transparency, efficiency, and consistency.
Better data. Greater consistency.
Collaborating with the Conference of State Court Administrators, Joint Technology Committee, and working group partners, we've developed data standards to help courts efficiently and accurately respond to data requests. These include technical and logical standards that support the creation, sharing, and integration of court data by ensuring a clear understanding of what court data represents and how court data can be shared in a user-friendly format. NODS does not require a court to change their data but provides standards for mapping data. Courts may adopt all or some of the NODS data elements.
Key benefits
Improved data sharing
Local and state courts are better equipped to provide case-level data to researchers, policymakers, legislators, the media, and the public when standards and data governance are in place.
Increased transparency
Standards can improve your responsiveness to data requests, providing greater transparency in court operations to improve public confidence.
Fewer opportunities for error
Data made available for use by the public and court system in a consistent manner can improve public policy and reduce the possibility of misinterpretation or error.
Less strain on court resources
Standards reduce the burden on court staff in responding to data requests.
Recommended data elements by case type
Criminal
Helping courts combine data from across the criminal legal system and inform policy.
Family
Guidance on connecting related cases and responding to frequent changes in case statuses.
Domestic violence
Understanding the impact of data quality and underreporting for improved data collection.
Guardianship & conservatorship
Assisting courts with timely data collection to identify and respond to problems due to abuse, neglect, fraud, or mismanagement.
Getting started with court data standards
Adopting NODS is a smart first step toward improving transparency and efficiency in handling and disseminating data.
Our data standards at work
Learn how Arizona, Illinois, and Puerto Rico are implementing NODS.
