Locate Lee County Circuit Court Clerk

Lee County Circuit Court Clerk

The Kentucky Court of Justice identifies Tyler Phillips as the Lee County Circuit Court Clerk. The Office of Circuit Court Clerk is on the second floor of the Lee County Courthouse at 256 Main St., P.O. Box E, Beattyville, KY 41311. KCOJ lists the court clerk phone as 606-464-8400 and fax as 606-464-0144. Public hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday closed. KCOJ also lists free two-hour parking around the building.

Circuit court clerks in Kentucky are elected in each county. KCOJ describes them as responsible for the custody, control, and state storage of Circuit Court and District Court records. In Lee County, that makes the Circuit Court Clerk the first local office for case records from the Lee County Circuit Court and Lee County District Court. Those records include civil, criminal, traffic, divorce, District Court probate, small claims, misdemeanor, felony preliminary, and other trial-court files unless sealed or restricted.

The Lee County history page was captured for the clerk page image set and places the clerk office in the context of county government in Beattyville.

That county context matters because Lee County has both a court clerk and a separate county clerk, and the office name controls where a record request should go.

Lee County Clerk Record Duties

The Lee County Circuit Court Clerk is the court-record custodian for local trial-court case files. KCOJ says AOC does not maintain court case records, is not the source of those records, and cannot provide access to them. Requests for copies of court case records and access to review a case record start with the clerk of the court that heard the case. For Circuit, Family, District, and Business Court matters, KCOJ directs users to the Office of Circuit Court Clerk in the county where the case was handled.

• Custody and control of Lee County Circuit Court and District Court case records.
• Clerk counter assistance for public access to case records when the file is available and not restricted.
• Certified copy handling for court documents, orders, judgments, decrees, and other clerk-issued copies when available.
• Fine, fee, court cost, and payment assistance for courthouse matters, with ePay available for eligible online payments.
• Older file routing when records are at the clerk's office, the State Records Center, KDLA, or no longer retained.

Lee County court users should not send court case requests to the county clerk just because the word "clerk" appears in both office names. The Lee County Clerk, Kim Noe / Kimberly A. Noe, handles marriage licensing, recorded instruments, motor-vehicle services, elections, and other county records. The Circuit Court Clerk handles court cases.

Request Lee County Certified Copies

Certified copies are requested from the clerk that holds the official court record. For Lee County Circuit Court and District Court files, that means the Office of Circuit Court Clerk. A certified copy may be needed for a divorce decree, judgment, order, disposition, probate order, or other court document where a plain printout is not enough. Online case information is useful for searching, but it is not the same as a certified court copy.

1. Identify the case type, party names, and any case number from KYeCourts, ePay, a docket notice, or prior clerk correspondence.
2. Call or visit the Lee County Circuit Court Clerk to confirm that the record is held locally and is public or otherwise available to the requester.
3. Ask for the exact copy type needed, such as plain copy, certified copy, final order, divorce decree, disposition, or probate order.
4. Confirm the current copy fee, certification fee, payment method, pickup option, mailing option, and whether the file must be retrieved from storage.
5. If the clerk says the file is at the State Records Center, get the case and file locator numbers before contacting state.records@ky.gov or 502-564-3617.

Note: State Records Center files cannot be searched by name or Social Security number through the storage request process.

Lee County Clerk Request Fields

KCOJ does not provide a Lee-specific court records request form in the official county or state sources, but its request guidance makes clear what information the clerk or record facility needs. A good request should identify the case, the court, the county, the document, and the copy type. Older offsite records need case and file locator numbers if the State Records Center is involved.

Lee County Clerk Fees

Official sources give payment guidance for several clerk-related services but do not include a complete Lee County court copy fee table. KCOJ lists courthouse payment options for Lee County as cash, check, money order, and credit/debit cards with a fee. It also says no personal checks are accepted for fines. ePay is available for eligible online payment searches. Because court copy and certification fees can vary by document and date, the safest verified instruction is to ask the Circuit Court Clerk for the current cost before ordering.

Lee County Clerk Online Access

Lee County court records may be searched online through KYeCourts guest public records where public case information is available. ePay is another official route for cases, citations, fines, fees, court costs, and payment-eligible traffic matters. ePay supports case search by county and case number, citation search by year, control number, and type, and party search by name and birth date. Online access helps narrow the request, but the official record stays with the Lee County Circuit Court Clerk when the case was filed locally.

AOC criminal record reports are a separate statewide product. They can include state, not federal, court activity from District Court and Circuit Court across Kentucky's 120 counties, but the report states "Not an Official Court Record." For an official Lee County case document, disposition, certified order, or decree, use the local clerk path. For Court of Appeals or Supreme Court records, KCOJ directs users to the appellate clerks and C-Track rather than the Lee County trial-court clerk.

Lee County Clerk vs Court Clerk

Lee County has two distinct clerk offices that record users often confuse. The Circuit Court Clerk handles trial-court case records for Circuit Court and District Court. The Lee County Clerk handles marriage licenses, recorded instruments, motor-vehicle services, elections, and county records. The county clerk is Kim Noe / Kimberly A. Noe, located at 256 Main Street, Room 11, P.O. Box 556, Beattyville, KY 41311-0556. The county clerk phone is 606-464-4115, fax is 606-464-4102, and email is kimberlya.noe@ky.gov.

Federal Records Are Separate

Lee County court files are Kentucky state trial-court records. Federal cases, federal bankruptcy matters, and federal appeals use separate courts and systems. Lee County is in the Eastern District of Kentucky for federal court purposes under 28 U.S.C. 97. Federal civil and criminal cases are not requested from the Lee County Circuit Court Clerk, and bankruptcy records are not county probate files even when debt, estates, or property are involved.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky is part of the federal record system and was assigned as a clerk page image source.

Use that federal court source for Kentucky Eastern bankruptcy records, while Lee County Circuit and District Court records remain with the local Circuit Court Clerk.

The PACER CM/ECF lookup for Kentucky Eastern Bankruptcy Court shows the federal login and filing-system path.

PACER and CM/ECF are separate from KYeCourts, ePay, and the Lee County Circuit Court Clerk's local copy process.