Knott County Circuit Court Overview
Kentucky's state court system is the Kentucky Court of Justice. Trial work is divided mainly between Circuit Court and District Court. For Knott County, Circuit Court is the primary state trial court for higher-level matters because it is the general-jurisdiction court. It hears felonies, larger civil cases, divorces, adoptions, termination of parental rights, title disputes, contested probate matters, injunctions, writs, and appeals from District Court and some administrative agencies.
Knott County is part of the 36th Judicial Circuit and the 36th Judicial District. The official Kentucky Court of Justice county page lists Judge Kim Cornett Childers for the 36th Judicial Circuit and District Judge Dennis B. Prater for the 36th Judicial District. It also identifies Lisa Bolen as Circuit Court Clerk. The court address for local trial-court work is the Knott County Judicial Center, 53 W. Main St., P.O. Box 1317, Hindman, KY 41822.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky is relevant routing context because Knott County is also within that federal district. Federal court is not the same as Knott County Circuit Court. State Circuit Court records are requested from the local Circuit Court Clerk, while federal civil, federal criminal, and federal bankruptcy records use federal clerks and PACER/CM/ECF.
The federal district reference is useful for routing, but it should not be used as a substitute for Knott County Circuit Court case access.
Knott County Circuit Court List
Knott County's local state trial-court functions share the same judicial center and Circuit Court Clerk contact. The court table below uses the official court hierarchy and local contact facts. It is not a list of separate courthouse buildings. It separates the courts by jurisdiction so a record seeker can route the matter to Circuit Court, District Court, or the clerk's office with the right expectations.
| Court / Office | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knott County Circuit Court, 36th Judicial Circuit | Primary trial court | Knott County Judicial Center, 53 W. Main St., Hindman, KY 41822 | 606-785-5021 |
| Knott County District Court, 36th Judicial District | Lower trial court | Knott County Judicial Center, 53 W. Main St., Hindman, KY 41822 | 606-785-5021 |
| Knott County Office of Circuit Court Clerk | Trial-court records office | 53 W. Main St., P.O. Box 1317, Hindman, KY 41822 | 606-785-5021 |
The official page gives fax 606-785-3994 and weekday hours of Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It also lists payment methods for court obligations: cash, cashier's check, money order, personal check with address and phone number, phone payment, and ePay where eligible. For accessibility assistance, the page says to call ahead.
Knott County Circuit Court Roles
Kentucky does not use a local county court, district clerk, and justice of the peace structure like some other states. The important split is Circuit Court versus District Court, with Family Court operating as a Circuit Court division where assigned. Local ordinance and municipal-style matters found in official sources route through District Court rather than a separate Knott municipal court.
| Point | Circuit Court | District Court | County Clerk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main role | General-jurisdiction trial court for higher-level state cases. | Limited-jurisdiction trial court for lower-level and preliminary matters. | County records office, not the court case-file custodian. |
| Civil work | Civil matters over $5,000, title disputes, injunctions, writs, and appeals. | Civil cases of $5,000 or less and small claims of $2,500 or less. | Recorded instruments, liens, deeds, and related county recordings. |
| Criminal work | Felonies, capital offenses, indictments, pleas, sentencing, and felony dispositions. | Misdemeanors, violations, traffic, arraignments, and felony probable-cause hearings. | No trial criminal case-file custody. |
| Family and probate | Divorce, adoption, termination, contested probate, and title disputes. | Probate of wills, juvenile, domestic violence, and mental-health matters. | Marriage licenses and county recordings that may relate to estates. |
| Record access | Through the Circuit Court Clerk. | Through the Circuit Court Clerk. | Through the Knott County Clerk for county-record matters. |
This distinction keeps record requests on track. A felony sentencing order, divorce decree, or contested estate order is a Circuit Court or Circuit Court division record. A traffic citation, misdemeanor case, small claim, or probate of will is usually a District Court record. A marriage license, deed, motor vehicle record, election record, or notary bond belongs with the County Clerk.
Knott County Case Flow
Case movement depends on the matter type. A felony can begin with an arrest, citation, complaint, or warrant and have preliminary handling in District Court before Circuit Court proceedings after indictment or information. A civil case in Circuit Court starts with a complaint or petition and moves through response, motions, possible mediation or discovery, trial or resolution, judgment, and appeal. A divorce or family case follows the Circuit Court or Family Court division process for petitions, responses, temporary orders, hearings, and final decrees.
Criminal flow: Arrest or citation › District Court first appearance or probable-cause hearing › indictment or information › Circuit Court arraignment › pretrial motions › plea or trial › disposition › sentencing › appeal.
Civil flow: Complaint or petition filed › summons and response › motions › discovery or mediation where used › hearing or trial › judgment › post-judgment filings › appeal.
The Knott County court record follows the case as these steps occur. Docket entries may show dates and events, but full motions, orders, judgments, transcripts, video recordings, and exhibits may require a clerk request. When a case has moved into appellate review, Kentucky appellate lookup is separate from the trial file.
The Eastern District of Kentucky Pikeville location note says matters previously assigned to Pikeville for Floyd, Knott, Letcher, and Pike counties should contact the London office.
That federal note matters only for federal cases. Knott County Circuit Court filings and records remain local Kentucky state court matters.
Knott County Circuit Court Divisions
In Knott County, Circuit Court records may involve criminal, civil, family, probate-contest, title, and appeal functions. Felony records can show indictment, information, plea, motions, bond, sentence, probation terms, restitution, fines, costs, and disposition. Civil records can show complaints, answers, summonses, motions, orders, judgments, garnishments, writs, liens, satisfactions, and appeal notices. Divorce records can include petitions, responses, financial disclosures, custody or support orders, settlement agreements, decrees, and post-decree motions.
Some matters linked to Circuit Court are not open to full public view. Adoption and termination records are restricted. Family and domestic records can hide minor, address, financial, or safety details. Sealed and expunged criminal files may not appear in ordinary public search. Juvenile matters are generally District Court matters and have statutory confidentiality limits. A search result should not be treated as complete until the clerk confirms the public file and any restriction that applies.
Note: The Circuit Court Clerk keeps both Circuit Court and District Court records, but the courts do not hear the same case types.
Knott County Circuit Court Clerk
The Knott County Office of Circuit Court Clerk is the main public counter for state trial-court records. Kentucky Court of Justice states that circuit court clerks keep Circuit, District, Family, and Business Court records, receive filings, schedule juries, receive fines, and handle bond money. For Knott County, the official county page identifies Lisa Bolen as the Circuit Court Clerk and places the office in the Knott County Judicial Center.
Knott County Office of Circuit Court Clerk
Clerk: Lisa Bolen
Knott County Judicial Center
53 W. Main St., P.O. Box 1317
Hindman, KY 41822
606-785-5021
Fax 606-785-3994
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Use the clerk for file review, copies, certified records, court-date confirmation, older file location numbers, court payments, bond-related questions, and access limits. If an older case has been moved to a record facility, the clerk supplies the case and file locator numbers needed for the archive route. State Records Center requests cannot be searched only by name or Social Security number.
Knott County Circuit Court Search
Online access for Knott County Circuit Court starts with statewide Kentucky systems. The trial-court docket portal helps with court dates. KYeCourts and CourtNet may provide public case information depending on access level and terms. ePay helps with eligible payable matters. Case search requires both county of origin and case number. Citation search uses the citation year, seven-character control number, and type. Party search can use name combinations and, when allowed, birth date or other identifiers.
Online results should be read with the same limits that apply to other court records. A docket line may not show the full order. A case search may not show a sealed filing. ePay may show a payable balance but not all case documents. A conviction, dismissal, amendment, diversion, acquittal, or pending status must be read from the disposition and order fields, not just from the original charge name.
CourtListener can be useful for some federal opinions and docket material, but it is not the official custodian of Knott County Circuit Court records.
For a state trial-court file from Knott County, official copies and certifications still come from the court clerk, not a legal-search site.
District Court in Knott County
District Court remains important even though Circuit Court is the primary state trial court for higher-level Knott County matters. The Kentucky District Court jurisdiction page states that District Court handles traffic offenses, violations, misdemeanors, county and city ordinances, juvenile matters, probate of wills, arraignments, felony probable-cause hearings, small claims, lower-dollar civil cases, mental commitments, and domestic violence matters. In Knott County, District Court is part of the 36th Judicial District and uses the same clerk office contact.
Appeals from District Court go to Circuit Court. That means a lower-court record can later create a Circuit Court appeal record. A felony can also begin with District Court preliminary handling before moving to Circuit Court. For users, the key is not the building, since both courts use the same local judicial center. The key is the case type and the court level that currently has the matter.
The Eastern District of Kentucky court locations page lists federal courthouse locations and should be used only for federal cases.
State District Court records from Knott County are still Kentucky Court of Justice records handled through the local Circuit Court Clerk.
Federal Courts Near Knott County
Federal court records are separate from Knott County Circuit Court records. A federal criminal case, federal civil-rights case, federal civil action, habeas case, prisoner motion, bankruptcy case, or matter involving federal law is not filed with the Knott County Circuit Court Clerk. The federal route depends on the federal court, the division, and the case type.
Knott County is in the Eastern District of Kentucky. The federal district has offices in Lexington, Ashland, Covington, Frankfort, and London, with historical Pikeville routing notes for several eastern counties. Bankruptcy is handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Federal case documents are searched through PACER/CM/ECF, and registration or fees may apply. Federal appeals go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky is the federal bankruptcy court source for eastern Kentucky bankruptcy case routing.
Bankruptcy case access is federal access. It does not replace Knott County Circuit Court lookup for felony, divorce, civil, or contested probate matters.
The PACER CM/ECF Kentucky Eastern Bankruptcy lookup source shows federal electronic filing and case-access routing for that bankruptcy court.
PACER and CM/ECF are federal systems. State Circuit Court copies still require the Kentucky local court-record path.
Visit Knott County Circuit Court
The Knott County Judicial Center is the practical courthouse destination for state trial-court records, court appearances, copy questions, and payment issues. The building is at 53 W. Main St. in Hindman, near county offices on West Main Street. No official parking-rate source, public-transit route, or separate ADA entrance description was located, so visitors should plan for downtown Hindman parking conditions and call ahead for accessibility needs.
Knott County's rural southeastern Kentucky setting matters for court access. The county has a mountainous road network, and official local context notes severe weather and road closures as practical concerns. The 2022 flood disrupted court operations, which shows why a docket entry should be confirmed before travel when a hearing or deadline is close. Drivers coming from KY-80, KY-160, KY-550, or local roads should allow extra time for road conditions, security screening, and finding the correct clerk counter.
For the court's official local source, use the Kentucky Court of Justice Knott County page. For county-record services that are not state court case files, the Knott County Clerk is the separate office for marriage licenses, recordings, motor vehicles, elections, and notary records.