Search Knott County Court Records
Knott County does not run a stand-alone county court records database. Trial court data is part of the Kentucky Court of Justice system, while the official custodian for local Circuit Court and District Court files is the Knott County Office of Circuit Court Clerk. The Kentucky Court of Justice court-record request page states that court case records are requested from the clerk of the court that heard the case, not from the Administrative Office of the Courts as a file custodian.
Use the Kentucky trial-court docket portal when the need is a court date or a recent setting. Use KYeCourts guest access or the Find a Case route for public case information when access is available. Use Kentucky ePay when the task is to locate a payable citation, fine, or cost. For certified copies, complete files, older files, sealed-file questions, and clerk-certified information, call or visit Lisa Bolen's office at the Knott County Judicial Center.
The practical search sequence is simple:
- Start with the docket portal for hearing dates, then choose the Knott County court setting when the portal provides that option.
- Use KYeCourts or Find a Case for public case lookup by party, case number, citation, or business name.
- Use ePay only for eligible payment searches, since it is not a full court-file copy system.
- Write down the case number, court level, party names, citation data, and event dates shown online.
- Contact the Circuit Court Clerk for copies, certified records, older case location numbers, or any result that affects a court date, bond, warrant, or legal deadline.
For a broad overview of scheduling entries before asking for the full file, the Knott County court dockets page explains how docket information differs from the case record itself.
Knott County Court Records Fields
The official eCourts help material describes several search modes. A party search can use a name combination and, for some access levels, date of birth or other identifiers. A case search is narrower because it requires both the Knott County case number and the county of origin. Citation search is tied to the citation year, control number, and type. Business search requires the business name and county of origin, and the help notes that business search logic starts with the entered name rather than running an exact full-text search.
| Search Mode | Field Label | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Last Name and First Name | Conditional | Used together, sometimes with birth date for a more exact result. |
| Party | Birth Date | Conditional | Used in listed name and date combinations. |
| Party | County and Event Range | Conditional | Used together for event-based party searching. |
| Case | County of Origin | Yes | Case search requires the county where the case began. |
| Case | Case Number | Yes | Statewide case-number searching is not available for this mode. |
| Citation | Year | Yes | ePay help says the year must be four characters. |
| Citation | Control Number | Yes | ePay help says the control number must be seven characters. |
| Citation | Type | Yes | Visible options are numeric types 0 through 9. |
| Business | Business Name and County | Yes | Business name is paired with county of origin. |
A search field does not prove that every document is viewable online. It only identifies the route used to locate public case data. The clerk remains the source for copies of pleadings, orders, judgments, transcripts, and older records not exposed through the public interface.
Knott County Court Record Types
Knott County court records come from both levels of Kentucky trial court. Circuit Court is the general-jurisdiction trial court. It handles felonies, larger civil cases, divorces, adoptions, termination of parental rights, title disputes, contested probate, injunctions, writs, and appeals from District Court or administrative agencies. District Court handles traffic, misdemeanors, violations, county and city ordinances, juvenile matters, small claims, lower-dollar civil cases, probate of wills, felony preliminary matters, mental-health proceedings, and domestic violence matters.
The same Circuit Court Clerk's office keeps local case records for both court levels. That is why a Knott County court records request for a felony file, a misdemeanor file, a traffic case, a probate-of-will matter, a civil judgment, or a divorce decree can start at the same public counter even though the cases may belong to different courts.
- Civil records can include complaints, answers, summonses, motions, orders, judgments, writs, garnishments, liens, and appeal notices.
- Criminal records can include citations, complaints, indictments, bond orders, arraignments, pleas, motions, judgments, sentences, fines, costs, and probation terms.
- Family and divorce records can include petitions, decrees, custody orders, support orders, settlement agreements, and post-decree motions, with privacy limits for sensitive material.
- Probate records can include wills, petitions, fiduciary appointments, inventories, creditor claims, accountings, settlements, and contested estate pleadings.
- Traffic records can include citation details, court dates, pleas, fines, costs, dispositions, payment entries, and failure-to-appear events.
The statewide circuit court clerks overview explains that circuit court clerks maintain trial court records and perform duties such as receiving filings, scheduling juries, receiving fines, and handling bond money.
That statewide clerk role matters in Knott County because the Circuit Court Clerk is the access point for both Circuit Court and District Court case files.
What Knott County Court Records Show
A court case record is more than a docket line. Kentucky Court of Justice research identifies common record material such as criminal citations, pleadings, motions, orders, evidence, reports, dockets, video recordings, and transcripts. Public online results usually show a smaller field set than a complete file. A full record request may be needed for the document that proves what the court ordered.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The unique court identifier, required with county of origin for case-number search. |
| County of Origin | The county where the case was filed, such as Knott County for local cases. |
| Court | Circuit Court, District Court, or another division if applicable. |
| Case Type | Civil, criminal, traffic, probate, juvenile, domestic, small claims, or another classification. |
| Parties | Plaintiff and defendant, Commonwealth and defendant, petitioner and respondent, estate name, or business party. |
| Event Date | Hearing, motion, arraignment, trial, sentencing, review, or payment event date. |
| Charge or Claim | Offense, statute, citation number, warrant or complaint charge, civil cause, or probate filing type. |
| Disposition | Dismissed, convicted, amended, acquitted, diverted, transferred, sealed, pending, or another current outcome. |
| Financials | Fines, court costs, restitution, payment plans, amount due, or amount paid when public. |
| Redactions | Restricted details such as protected identifiers, sealed content, juvenile material, or safety information. |
Disposition means the result or current outcome of a claim or charge. It is the field that keeps a charge from being mistaken for a conviction. A pending charge, dismissed charge, amended charge, diversion result, conviction, or acquittal can all appear in the same broad record family, but they do not mean the same thing.
Knott County Court Records Access
Kentucky's open-records statutes help frame public access, but Knott County court case files still start with court-record channels. KRS 61.870 defines public records, public agencies, official custodians, and Kentucky-resident request terms. KRS 61.872 gives Kentucky residents the right to inspect nonexempt public records. KRS 61.874 allows copies and permits fees, written requests, advance payment, and postage. KRS 61.878 lists exemptions.
For Knott County court records, the local route is direct: ask the Circuit Court Clerk for the court that heard the case. If a record is older and stored outside the office, the clerk can supply case and file locator numbers for archive or State Records Center handling. For sheriff, KSP, KYTC, fiscal court, or county administrative records, the Kentucky Open Records Act process is the backup route. Requesters should describe the record with enough detail to let the custodian locate it.
Note: The online docket is useful for planning, but the court says the official docket remains subject to change.
Restricted Knott County Court Records
Not every court record is public in the same way. Juvenile case records generated under juvenile-code chapters are confidential under KRS 610.340 unless a specific legal rule allows disclosure. Adoption and termination matters involve minors and family privacy. Mental-health proceedings contain sensitive medical and personal information. Domestic violence and protective-order files can limit public access to addresses, minors, victims, and safety details.
Sealed and expunged criminal records also need care. Kentucky Court of Justice expungement material says the process starts with an expungement certification and then a petition in the county of the original charge. For Knott County charges, that petition is filed with the Knott County Circuit Court Clerk. Eligible felony expungement has a certification cost and filing process, while misdemeanor, violation, and traffic-infraction expungement follows separate statutory rules. Public search results may not show the same information after a court grants an expungement order.
Knott County Court Record Requests
The in-person and mail route is the most reliable path for full files and certified copies. The Office of Circuit Court Clerk is at the Knott County Judicial Center, 53 W. Main St., P.O. Box 1317, Hindman, KY 41822. The office phone is 606-785-5021, fax is 606-785-3994, and posted hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The official county court page lists Lisa Bolen as Circuit Court Clerk and notes that accessibility help should be requested by calling ahead.
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.
Bring the case number if known. If the case number is not known, bring party names, approximate filing or hearing dates, citation data, and the type of record needed. For payment at the court, the local court page lists cash, cashier's check, money order, personal check with address and phone number, phone payment, and ePay for eligible obligations.
The Kentucky ePay portal can help locate payable citations and cases, but it should be treated as a payment path instead of a complete records room.
When ePay does not show a case or payment status is unclear, the Knott County Circuit Court Clerk is the office to confirm the file, amount, deadline, or copy request.