A practical guide to finding ADJ cases, hearing information, participants, recent events, liens, and legacy case numbers in California's public EAMS tools.
California's Electronic Adjudication Management System, or EAMS, is the case-management system used by the Division of Workers' Compensation and the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. For medical providers and billing teams, the public EAMS search is useful when a workers' compensation account has reached the point where case status, participants, a hearing, or lien activity matters to recovery.
The public search is not a billing portal and it does not show the full case file. It is a public-information tool for adjudication cases. Used correctly, it can help a provider confirm the ADJ number, identify active case participants, review hearing information, check selected recent case events, and find lien information without guessing.
Use the official DWC public information case search. The live tool requires requester information and is protected by reCAPTCHA. |
Current DWC EAMS public search entry page. The live page asks for requester identity, email, and a reason for the search.
What EAMS is and what the public search is for
EAMS is the California DWC's electronic case-management system for workers' compensation adjudication. The public search gives limited access to information about active and archived disputed workers' compensation cases. It is especially useful when a medical provider needs to verify case information before a filing, lien-related follow-up, or revenue-recovery action.
The DWC describes the public search as a tool for accessing workers' compensation court information. Open the official EAMS public information search rather than relying on a third-party case-search page.
Before you search, know the limits of the public tool
The public EAMS search is intentionally limited. The DWC does not expose injured workers' residence addresses or Social Security numbers, and the public search does not provide actual case documents. It also focuses on Adjudication Unit cases, which use the ADJ prefix.
The DWC states that the search data is refreshed nightly rather than in real time. That means a filing or case event from today may not appear immediately. The public search can also time out after 15 minutes of inactivity.
The public EAMS search is useful for case facts and status, but it is not a substitute for the complete case file or legal analysis.
How to perform an EAMS case search
The exact screen sequence can change, but the current public tool begins with requester information before allowing access to case-search functions. The following process keeps the search focused and reduces false matches.
A practical EAMS public-search workflow for medical providers, billing teams, lien claimants, and other authorized users.
1. Open the official DWC public search
Start from the DWC EAMS page or the direct public information case-search page. The public tool is separate from the external EAMS login used by registered electronic filers.
If the public search is unavailable, the DWC recommends trying again later and, for browser problems, using a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. DWC added reCAPTCHA to the public search in late 2024 to reduce bot traffic.
2. Complete the requester information screen
The current public page requires the requester's first name, last name, email address, and reason for the search. A Uniform Assigned Name, or UAN, can also be entered when applicable. The page explains that requesters must identify themselves, state why they are searching, and use the information only for purposes allowed by law.
The DWC also states that it retains one year of requester records for this search function. Treat the system as a regulated public-record tool, not an anonymous lookup service.
3. Search by ADJ case number when you have it
If you already have the EAMS case number, searching with the ADJ number is usually the most precise route. EAMS adjudication numbers use the ADJ prefix followed by digits. Keeping the ADJ number attached to the provider's case record makes later hearings, liens, and case-status checks much easier.
If the only number you have is an older WCAB legacy number, do not try to force it into the public case-search field. California maintains a separate EAMS and legacy case number lookup tool that converts between older venue-based numbers and ADJ numbers.
Example: a legacy case number such as OAK0123456 can have a corresponding EAMS number such as ADJ1234567. Use the DWC legacy case-number lookup when you need the matching number.
4. Search by injured worker name when the case number is unknown
The DWC's EAMS filing guide recommends the public information search because it can locate cases by injured worker name and show the cases in which that worker is listed. Name searches are useful when a billing team inherited an older account, received incomplete claim information, or needs to confirm which ADJ case matches the date of injury.
Be careful with common names, spelling variations, and multiple dates of injury. Match the result against information already in the provider's record, especially the employer, date of injury, case location, and known case participants. Do not assume the first name match is the correct case.
5. Read the case result as a collection of separate signals
A case result can contain several categories of public information. Each answers a different operational question.
EAMS result | What it helps you confirm |
Case information | ADJ number, date of injury, assigned judge, archive indicator, injured worker name, employer, and case venue. |
Hearing information | Future hearing date and time, hearing type, hearing location, hearing judge, and companion-case information when applicable. |
Body part | The body part and description recorded for the case. |
Active case participants | Current participant names, roles, and addresses, except the injured worker's residence address. |
Case events | Selected significant events, generally from the most recent six months, plus certain opening and closing events. |
What medical providers should verify in EAMS
A provider does not need every EAMS field for every account. The useful information depends on why the account is being researched.
- ADJ number when the provider needs a stable court-case identifier.
- Date of injury to make sure the result matches the treatment episode in the billing record.
- Employer and active participants when the billing team is confirming who is connected to the adjudicated case.
- Hearing information when a lien or other case issue is moving toward a WCAB proceeding.
- Recent case events when the provider needs context about what has happened recently.
- Lien status when the provider or assignee is tracking a filed lien.
The search result should be treated as one source of case information. It should be reconciled with the provider's own billing record, claim number, payer information, Explanation of Review, correspondence, and any documents received from the parties.
How EAMS lien search works
The public EAMS system also includes a lien search. According to the DWC, the minimum search criteria is one of three items: a case reference number, a lien reservation number, or the lien claimant. Search results are limited to 200 by default but can be increased to 1,000, with additional filters available for injury periods, lien filing dates, hearing dates, and lien-fee payment dates.
The lien search can return the lien claimant name, EAMS case number, lien reservation number, lien fee status, and DWC proceeding status. For a medical provider, that makes the lien search more useful than a generic case search when the specific question is whether a lien exists and how it is recorded.
What to do when EAMS returns no case
A no-result screen does not automatically mean there is no workers' compensation claim. The public search covers adjudication cases. A claim can exist before an Application for Adjudication creates an ADJ case, and the public data is not real time.
Before concluding that a case does not exist, check the spelling, date of injury, known case number, and whether the number is an older WCAB legacy number. If the case is expected to exist because of a recent filing, allow for the DWC's nightly data refresh. If the provider is preparing an EAMS filing, verify names and UANs against the current DWC records before submitting.
The difference between EAMS case search and the claims administrator directory
EAMS answers a court-case question. A claims administrator or payer directory answers a billing-routing question. They often intersect, but they should not be treated as the same tool.
If the billing team mainly needs the correct claims administrator, payer identity, or routing information before submitting a bill, start with the provider's claim record and a reliable claims administrator directory. Use EAMS when the adjudicated case itself matters, such as confirming an ADJ number, reviewing participants, checking hearing information, or following lien activity.
Billgenix keeps case, payer, billing, collection, and California workers' comp workflow information connected so billing teams do not have to rebuild the case context every time an account moves into follow-up. Explore California Workers' Comp compliance workflows
Common EAMS search mistakes
- Using a third-party search page when the official DWC tool is available.
- Treating a no-result search as proof that no workers' compensation claim exists.
- Confusing an older WCAB legacy number with an ADJ number.
- Assuming EAMS data is real time even though DWC says the public data is refreshed nightly.
- Expecting the public search to provide actual filed documents.
- Using public case information for a purpose that is not permitted by law.
- Failing to reconcile a name match with the date of injury, employer, venue, and other case facts.
Frequently asked questions about EAMS case search
What does ADJ mean in an EAMS case number?
ADJ identifies an adjudication case in EAMS. These are workers' compensation court cases handled through the DWC and WCAB process.
Can I search EAMS without an ADJ number?
Yes. The DWC's filing guide explains that the public information case search can also be used to locate cases by injured worker name. When you do not have the ADJ number, use the known case details to avoid matching the wrong person.
Does EAMS show case documents?
No. The DWC states that actual documents are not available through the public information search. The public tool shows limited case information, not the full case file.
How current is EAMS public-search data?
The DWC says the public-search data is refreshed nightly and is therefore about one day behind rather than real time.
Can EAMS be used to search liens?
Yes. The public system includes lien-search functions with fields for case reference number, lien reservation number, lien claimant, and additional filters.
What if I only have an old WCAB case number?
Use the separate DWC EAMS and legacy case number lookup tool to find the corresponding ADJ number.
Use EAMS as a case-verification tool, not a substitute for the billing record
EAMS is most valuable when a billing or recovery team has a specific case question. It can confirm court-case identifiers, participants, hearing information, selected events, and lien data. It cannot replace the provider's own billing history, payer responses, supporting documentation, or legal review.
For medical providers, the best workflow is to capture the EAMS information that actually affects the account and keep it connected to the claim, bill, EOR, follow-up history, and next action. That turns a public case search into useful operational context instead of another disconnected lookup.