Search Lee County Court Records
The official Lee County court records path starts with KYeCourts public records guest access, Kentucky ePay, and the Lee County Circuit Court Clerk. KYeCourts provides free public case information where the case is available. ePay is useful when a case, fine, fee, or citation can be searched for payment. The Circuit Court Clerk is the record custodian for Lee County Circuit Court and District Court case files.
Use online search for a first pass, then use the clerk for anything that must be complete, certified, or verified. Older Lee County court records may not be visible in online systems. KCOJ says older case files may be at the clerk's office, at a record facility, or destroyed under retention schedules. If a file is stored at the State Records Center, the clerk can provide the case and file locator numbers needed for the next request step.
- Open KYeCourts guest access and continue through the public records entry screen.
- Search by the case number or party details if the case information is available online.
- Use ePay for payment-eligible Lee County cases, court costs, fines, and traffic citations.
- For citation lookup, enter the citation year, control number, and type exactly as shown on the citation.
- Call or visit the Circuit Court Clerk for certified copies, older records, sealed-case questions, or records not shown online.
- Use appellate C-Track and appellate clerk contacts for Kentucky Court of Appeals or Supreme Court files.
Lee County Court Records Fields
KYeCourts guest access starts with a checkbox and continue step before the dynamic public-search screens. The most detailed captured field list comes from ePay, which supports case, citation, and party searches. Lee County court records are easier to find when the user has the case number, citation number, exact party spelling, birth date, or county of filing.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guest checkbox | Checkbox | Yes for guest entry | KYeCourts says to click the square checkbox and continue. |
| Case County | Dropdown | Yes for case search | Select Lee County for local case-number lookup in ePay. |
| Case Number | Text | Yes for case search | Use the exact case number from a notice, citation, docket, or clerk letter. |
| Citation Year | Text | Yes for citation search | ePay states the year must be 4 characters. |
| Citation Control # | Text | Yes for citation search | ePay states the control number must be 7 characters. |
| Citation Type | Dropdown / digit | Yes for citation search | Options shown are 0 through 9. |
| First Name | Text | Optional | Used with last name and birth date for party search. |
| Last Name | Text | Yes for party search | Spelling should match the court record or citation. |
| Birth Date | Date | Optional | Helps identify the right person when names repeat. |
Lee County Court Record Types
Lee County court records are not one single file type. A civil case in Circuit Court can produce a complaint, answer, motion, order, judgment, lien, garnishment, and satisfaction entry. A criminal case may begin with a citation, complaint, warrant return, or indictment and later show bond, motions, plea, hearing results, sentence, and disposition. Traffic court records are District Court matters unless they connect to a more serious criminal case, such as DUI.
Family, probate, and juvenile records need extra care. Divorce is heard in Circuit Court, but a certified divorce certificate from June 1958 forward comes from the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics. Routine probate of wills belongs in District Court, while contested probate belongs in Circuit Court. Juvenile, mental-health, domestic-violence, adoption, sealed, and expunged records are restricted or excluded from many public searches.
- Civil records: complaints, motions, orders, judgments, liens, garnishments, and satisfaction entries.
- Criminal records: citations, indictments, pleas, bond orders, docket entries, dispositions, and sentences.
- Traffic records: citations, court dates, fines, costs, payment status, pleas, and dispositions.
- Family records: divorce and related Circuit Court filings, with adoption access limited by law.
- Probate records: will filings, estate petitions, fiduciary appointments, inventories, settlements, and orders.
Lee County Court Records Show
KCOJ describes court case records as official documentation of a proceeding or case. The record may include pleadings, motions, orders, evidence, reports, dockets, video recordings, transcripts, and citations. AOC criminal record reports provide a smaller view and state that the report is not an official court record. The official Lee County court record is held by the Office of Circuit Court Clerk in the filing county.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | The identifier used by KYeCourts, ePay, the clerk, and copy requests. |
| County of origin | Lee County if the case was filed in the local Circuit or District Court. |
| Court level | Circuit Court or District Court, depending on jurisdiction and case type. |
| Filing or charge date | The date a civil filing, criminal charge, or traffic citation entered the system. |
| Party names | Plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, Commonwealth, or business party names. |
| Original charge | The first filed criminal or traffic charge in an AOC report or court file. |
| Amended charge | A changed, reduced, substituted, or corrected charge when entered. |
| Disposition | The current or final outcome, including dismissal, judgment, plea, conviction, or closure. |
| Docket entries | Hearing dates, motions, orders, continuances, judgment entries, and payment events. |
| Financial fields | Fines, court costs, fees, bond money, payment status, or ePay eligibility. |
Lee County Court Records Access
Kentucky's public-record policy starts with KRS 61.871, which favors free and open examination of public records. KRS 61.872 allows requests by hand delivery, mail, fax, or email to the official custodian. For Lee County court case records, KCOJ directs requesters to the clerk of the court that heard the case rather than to AOC.
The access channel depends on the record. Court case records route through KYeCourts, ePay, or the Circuit Court Clerk. Sheriff or jail records route to the sheriff, jailer, or jail facility, with law-enforcement limits under KRS 17.150. County clerk records such as marriage licenses and recorded instruments route to the Lee County Clerk. If an agency denies a public-record request, KRS 61.880 describes response duties and Attorney General review.
Note: Certified Lee County court records come from the clerk, not from a screenshot or background-check report.
Restricted Lee County Records
Lee County court records may be public, partly redacted, sealed, or confidential. Juvenile cases are not included in AOC criminal record reports because they are confidential by law. AOC reports also exclude mental-health and domestic-violence cases. Adoption records are Circuit Court files, but KRS 199.572 limits inspection to the statutory process for adult adoptees or qualifying relatives.
Expunged records are treated differently from ordinary sealed records. Under Kentucky expungement statutes, qualifying records may be removed from court and agency systems so the matter does not appear on official state background checks. When a case is expunged, agencies generally answer that no record exists. Public copies can also redact Social Security numbers, financial account data, minor identifiers, and other private information protected by statute or court order.
Lee County Clerk Requests
In-person Lee County court record requests go to the Office of Circuit Court Clerk on the second floor of the Lee County Courthouse. The clerk is Tyler Phillips. KCOJ lists the courthouse at 256 Main St., P.O. Box E, Beattyville, KY 41311, with phone 606-464-8400 and fax 606-464-0144. Public hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. KCOJ also lists free two-hour parking around the building.
Bring the case number if available. If not, bring exact names, approximate filing dates, court notices, citation numbers, birth dates where appropriate, and a clear statement of whether the request is for inspection, a plain copy, a certified copy, payment information, or older file location. For a broader explanation of local trial-court roles, see Lee County Circuit Court.
Office of Circuit Court Clerk
Lee County Courthouse, 2nd Floor
256 Main St., P.O. Box E
Beattyville, KY 41311
606-464-8400
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.