Guide · Colombia
How to search a case by name in the CPNU and in TYBA
Colombia's unified case search (CPNU) doesn't search by national ID: it searches by name or company name. TYBA does accept a document number. This guide shows both paths and what each one returns.
Open the CPNUTwo portals, two different criteria
The Consulta de Procesos Nacional Unificada (CPNU) is the Judiciary's central search tool. It searches by filing number — covered in this site's other Colombian guide — and also by the name or company name of the claimant or the defendant. What it does not do, and it's the most common confusion, is search by national ID (cédula): that field does not exist in its name-search form.
TYBA — the system many lawyers still call Justicia XXI Web — is another Rama Judicial application, with three tabs: «Proceso», «Ciudadano» and «Predio». The «Ciudadano» tab takes a document type and number, or first and last names, or a company name, and that is where a national ID works as a search criterion.
The two tools coexist because they cover different circuits and different moments of the judicial modernisation: neither has replaced the other yet, so a firm searching for a party by their national ID needs to know which one to open.
What field each portal asks for
Knowing what a form accepts before opening it avoids an empty search caused by asking a portal for a field it doesn't process.
CPNU: name · TYBA: document
CPNU — name or company name
You type the full name (an individual) or the company name (a legal entity) and pick the type. There is no national ID or tax ID field.
TYBA — Citizen tab
You pick the document type (national ID card, NIT tax number, passport, among others) and type the number; the same tab also takes first and last names or a company name. It returns the cases where that person is a party.
TYBA — Process tab
It is for when you already know the court: you pick the department, city, corporation, specialty and court, and type the case code, with no name or document.
Neither asks for a username or password. TYBA’s public lookup is, however, protected by a reCAPTCHA.
How to search in each one
The shortest path depends on what you have: a name or company name, or a document number.
Pick the portal for the data you have
With a name or company name, the CPNU. With a document number, TYBA.
Open the search form
On the CPNU: the "Consulta de Procesos" tab, then "Nombre o razón social". On TYBA: the "Ciudadano" tab.
Fill in the exact criterion
On the CPNU, the person type (individual or legal entity) and the name as it appears on the case. On TYBA, the document type and number, with no dots or dashes.
Review the list of matches
Both portals return a list, not a single case: a common name can bring back dozens of rows to filter by court or date.
Watch it without repeating the search every week
Custodio checks the CPNU every day for the filing number you already identified and flags a new docket entry, with nobody opening the form again. With each one, the AI updates the matter status and proposes the deadline that runs; it drafts the reply when you ask.
Create your free accountWhat the search returns
Neither portal hands over the whole case file: they return the case's summary and the list of recorded docket entries.
- The 23-digit filing number of every case that matches the name or the document.
- The court and the department where it's filed.
- Whether the case is flagged as private (the CPNU marks it; its content is not shown).
- The date of the last recorded docket entry, when the portal has one.
What neither one does
Before writing off a zero-result search, these limits are worth knowing.
- The CPNU does not search by national ID or tax ID: if the only data you have is a document number, TYBA is the one to open.
- A name search that exceeds a thousand records in the CPNU is refused — the portal answers «Hay más de mil registros» and asks you to narrow it — instead of returning the rows.
- TYBA only shows what the courts that work in that system record: finding nothing there does not prove the case does not exist.
- No result includes the content of the case file's documents: reading them requires being a party or an attorney of record with access to the digital file.
Once the filing number is identified by name or by document, daily follow-up no longer depends on repeating this search.
Frequently asked questions about the name search
Why won't the CPNU let me search by national ID?
Because the CPNU's name/company-name form does not index the document number, only the name. Searching by national ID requires TYBA's Citizen tab.
Does TYBA cover the whole country?
Not necessarily: TYBA shows what the courts that work in that system record. If TYBA finds nothing, it is worth repeating the search by name in the CPNU.
Can anyone search for anyone by their national ID?
The form is public and doesn't ask why you're searching, but it only returns judicial cases where that ID appears as a party; it doesn't expose contact details or the content of the documents.
How often are the results updated?
Each court feeds the information directly, so the frequency depends on the individual court; there's no single published cycle.
Searching by name today doesn't skip doing it again next week
Custodio Legal checks the CPNU every day for every filing number in your caseload and flags a new docket entry, with the source right next to it. The AI turns each update into matter status, deadline and draft, and answers questions about your documents. Create your free account, no card required.