Find Fayette County Court Records

How to Search Fayette County Court Records

Court case records in Fayette County are controlled by the Office of Circuit Court Clerk. The Administrative Office of the Courts does not keep local case files and cannot give you access to them. That is stated plainly on the Kentucky Court of Justice records request page. So the first move is to figure out which court heard the case. Felony indictments and civil claims above the District Court threshold belong to Circuit Court. Divorce, custody, adoption, and protective orders are Family Court, which is part of the Circuit Court division. Traffic, misdemeanors, small claims, eviction, probate, mental health, and juvenile matters are District Court records. Knowing the right division saves time.

For in-person review, the Circuit Court Appeals and Records Division at 120 North Limestone, Suite C-33, is the public-facing records office. It has public terminals and copiers. Mail requests must include payment. If the clerk says the case is stored offsite, ask for the case and file locator numbers before you try to track it down. Records between 15 and 35 years old are generally at the State Records Center in Frankfort; records 36 years and older are at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.

1. Identify the court: Circuit, Family, or District Court. Felony cases and civil cases above $5,000 go to Circuit. Traffic, misdemeanors, small claims, and eviction go to District.
2. Check the Fayette Circuit Court or Fayette District Court page for the correct division, phone, and suite number.
3. Call or visit the division to ask whether the file is at the courthouse, the State Records Center, or the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
4. Review the record in person at Suite C-33, or send a mail request with payment to the Circuit Court Clerk at 120 North Limestone, Lexington, KY 40507.
5. For electronic access, register at the KYeCourts login page. Note that CourtNet requires an account and does not allow anonymous public search.

The KYeCourts CourtNet portal is the statewide electronic case system. The screenshot below shows what the public sees before logging in.

The login gate is the first screen anyone hits. There is no anonymous search on the public side. You need an account username and password to get past it and into the Fayette County court records system.

Fayette County Court Records Search Fields

The KYeCourts portal is login-gated. The public-facing page exposes only the fields below. Detailed search options for party name, case number, date range, and county are not visible until after authentication. Kentucky Bar Association members who have not previously used KYeCourts should follow the linked registration instructions. Anyone who has used it before can log in with their KBA number and prior password. The Service Desk number is (502) 573-2350 Ext. 50109 for account problems.

Because the party-name, case-number, date-range, and county filters are only available after sign-in, in-person review through the Fayette Circuit Court Clerk remains the primary public route for local Fayette case files. For Kentucky Court of Appeals and Supreme Court matters, the appellate portal at Kentucky Appellate Public Access covers those case types separately.

The appellate public access portal covers Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Kentucky cases. It is a separate system from CourtNet and handles only appellate-level Fayette County court records once they move beyond the trial courts.

Note: CourtNet search-field detail beyond the login screen was not accessible to the public at the time of research; contact the clerk or register for an account to see case-level filters.

Types of Fayette County Court Records

Fayette County produces court records across multiple divisions. Most are open to the public under the Kentucky Open Records Act. Some are confidential by statute. The court that heard the case determines where the file sits and who keeps it. The Fayette Circuit Court Clerk, currently Vincent Riggs, holds Circuit, Family, and District Court records for the 22nd Judicial Circuit and 22nd Judicial District.

Circuit Court is the court of general jurisdiction. It handles felony criminal cases, civil cases above $5,000, and contested matters like foreclosures and complex probate. District Court is the higher-volume lower court and handles traffic, misdemeanors, small claims under $2,500, eviction, probate, mental health, and juvenile cases. Family Court, which is a division of Circuit Court, handles divorce, custody, support, adoption, termination of parental rights, domestic violence, and related family matters. The Fayette District Court weekly schedule published by the Kentucky Court of Justice lists the docket types each judge hears by day and courtroom.

The weekly schedule shows when Fayette District judges hear criminal, traffic, juvenile, drug court, mental health, civil, probate, and eviction dockets. It does not show individual case names, but it tells you which division and day to target when you need to plan a courthouse visit.

• Circuit criminal records - felony grand jury indictments, information filings, pleas, sentences, probation conditions, bond orders, and post-conviction filings.
• Circuit civil records - lawsuits above $5,000, malpractice, contracts, property damage, foreclosures, contested probate, and administrative board appeals.
• Family Court records - dissolution of marriage, child custody, child support, adoption, termination of parental rights, paternity, and domestic violence petitions. Note that adoption, dependency, and some domestic violence materials are restricted.
• District criminal and traffic records - citations, misdemeanor charges, felony preliminary hearings, bond orders, fine payments, failure-to-appear history, and referrals to Circuit Court for felony indictment.
• District civil, small claims, and eviction records - civil complaints up to $5,000, small claims up to $2,500, forcible detainer petitions, garnishments, and judgment enforcement. See the Fayette County court dockets page for weekly schedule details.
• Probate records - wills, estate administration, executors, guardianships, trusts, curatorships, name changes, and settlements for minors, all filed in the District Court Probate Division.

Land records, marriage licenses, vehicle titles, and deeds are not court case records. Those go through the Fayette County Clerk on East Main Street, a separate office from the Circuit Court Clerk.

What Fayette County Court Records Show

The Kentucky Court of Justice defines a court case record as the official documentation of a court proceeding. It captures what happened in the case, the legal arguments raised, any evidence entered, and how the court ruled. Common documents include criminal citations, pleadings, motions, orders, evidence filings, dockets, video recordings, and transcripts. The exact content depends on the case type, the division, and the age of the file. The table below describes the fields most likely to appear in a Fayette County case file.

Some fields are visible only through an authenticated CourtNet session. For local Fayette case files, the Circuit Court Clerk's office is the most reliable place to confirm what documents exist in a given file. Older Circuit Court appeals and records can be reviewed with clerk staff at Suite C-33.

Public Access Framework for Fayette County Court Records

Kentucky's public-records law is the Kentucky Open Records Act, running from KRS 61.871 through KRS 61.884. Passed in 1976, the Act declares that free and open examination of public records is in the public interest. KRS 61.872 sets the mechanics of inspection and the procedures for written requests. KRS 61.878 lists the categories of records that are exempt from public inspection. The Act covers state and local agencies, including the County Clerk, Sheriff, and Lexington Police. Court case records run on a parallel track. They are governed by court rules and clerk procedures rather than a general open-records request. A person seeking a Fayette case file goes through the Circuit Court Clerk, not LFUCG and not a county open-records officer.

The Commonwealth transparency site hosts a plain overview at Kentucky Open Records. Anyone can inspect public court records in person during business hours at the Circuit Courthouse. Copies by mail must include payment. If a record is sealed, juvenile, or otherwise confidential, the clerk may ask for proof of party status, a photo ID, or a court order. The Fayette Legal Help Center, operated by the Kentucky Court of Justice, provides self-help for people who want to access records or file petitions without an attorney.

The Fayette Legal Help Center provides guided interviews, forms, and staff assistance for self-represented litigants, including petitions related to expungement of court records and other common civil matters.

Records That Are Sealed or Confidential in Fayette County

Not every Fayette County court record is open. Kentucky law closes several categories to protect children, patients, and victims. Fayette District Court states directly that all juvenile cases are confidential by statute. Information is given only in person to a party or an authorized person. No information is released by phone, and photo ID is required at the counter. Mental health cases are also confidential by statute, though orders of appointment, judgments, and orders affecting judgments do stay public. Adoption, termination of parental rights, dependency, neglect, and abuse cases in Family Court are generally sealed and usually require party or attorney status, or a court order, to access. Grand jury proceedings in Circuit Criminal are confidential until an indictment is filed. Law-enforcement investigative records may be denied or redacted under KRS 61.878 or criminal investigation exemptions. For the full list of public-access limits, see the Fayette County public records page.

Expungement removes eligible records from public view under KRS 431.078 for misdemeanor, violation, and traffic infraction convictions. Felony expungements follow a separate track under KRS 431.073 and 431.076. Kentucky requires an expungement certification packet before filing most conviction petitions. The process: register at the Kentucky Court of Justice expungement page, complete the online request, pay the $40 certification fee by credit or debit card, wait for an email with the packet, download it, then file the certification documents plus the correct petition at the Fayette Circuit Court Clerk office where the charge was originally filed. A felony expungement under KRS 431.073 cannot be filed sooner than five years after sentence completion or the end of probation or parole, whichever comes later. KRS 431.076 covers felony charges that went to District Court but were not indicted; that petition may be filed no sooner than six months after the District Court decision, and it carries no filing fee. The Kentucky expungement certification page has the current steps and fees.

The expungement page details the online certification process, the $40 fee, and the timeline rules that apply to Fayette County court records. The Fayette Legal Help Center also offers a guided interview specifically for misdemeanor and traffic infraction expungement petitions.

Fayette County Specialty Court Dockets

Fayette County runs several specialty court programs inside the regular docket schedule. These programs are designed to address the root causes behind repeat cases. Participation can affect a defendant's court record in meaningful ways, including potential dismissal through diversion or conditional discharge through probation. The Kentucky Court of Justice Drug Court certification release from January 29, 2025, confirmed that four Fayette County Drug Court programs earned certification under statewide best-practice standards set by Supreme Court Administrative Order 2022-50.

Fayette Drug Court serves nonviolent defendants whose cases stem from substance use disorder. It provides treatment, intensive supervision, drug testing, and case management at no cost. Completion can lead to dismissal through diversion or conditional discharge through probation. The certification lasts three years and was evaluated in 2024. Fayette Chief Circuit Judge Kimberly Nell Bunnell serves as a Drug Court judge. Family Court Judges Traci Brislin and Libby G. Messer and Vice Chief Regional District Judge Lindsay Hughes Thurston are also listed as Drug Court judges for the program. Kentucky Drug Court started as a pilot in 1996 and now serves all 120 counties. For people whose criminal records involve drug-court participation, the disposition and outcome in the file may reflect diversion or conditional discharge rather than a standard conviction.

The certification release confirms the four Fayette programs and the judges involved. Drug Court, Mental Health Specialty Court, and the AOT Specialty Court all appear on the Fayette District Court weekly schedule and generate court records that the Circuit Court Clerk maintains.

The Fayette District Court weekly schedule also shows a Mental Health Specialty Court on Wednesdays at noon in Division 5, and an AOT Specialty Court on Thursdays at 2:30 p.m. in Division 1. AOT commonly refers to assisted outpatient treatment. These dockets produce court records the same as any other docket, but the confidentiality rules for mental health cases under Kentucky statute mean that much of the underlying case content is not public.

In-Person Fayette County Court Record Requests

The public access point for Fayette court files is the Circuit Court Appeals and Records Division at the Robert F. Stephens Circuit Courthouse. This division handles Circuit Court appeals to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, appeals from District Court, requests for copies of video-recorded proceedings, and in-person viewing of records stored in the division. Public terminals and public copiers are available. Staff can tell you whether a file is in house, at the State Records Center in Frankfort, or at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Mail requests to this office must include payment. For state-archived records 15 to 35 years old, the clerk provides case and file locator numbers; the State Records Center does not search by name. For records 36 years and older, contact the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives directly.

For criminal and traffic records kept in the District Court, call the District Criminal/Traffic Division at (859) 246-2228. That counter is at 150 North Limestone, first floor, and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, closing only on December 24 and December 25. For small claims or civil matters, call (859) 246-2244 for Small Claims or (859) 246-2240 for District Civil. Probate records are held by the Probate Division at (859) 246-2242. More contact details for every division are on the Fayette Circuit Court Clerk page.

Common Legal Terms in Fayette County Court Records

Fayette court files use legal terminology that can be hard to follow without context. An arrest or a charge is not a conviction. A charge is an accusation. The disposition field in a court record tells you the actual outcome. Several key terms appear often in Fayette County court records across all divisions.

Indictment

A grand jury charging document used to formally accuse someone of a felony in Circuit Court.

Citation

A law-enforcement charging document common in traffic and misdemeanor matters filed in District Court.

Arraignment

The first formal court appearance where charges are read and a plea is entered.

Disposition

The final outcome of a case, such as dismissed, guilty, acquitted, or judgment entered.

Bench warrant

A warrant a judge issues, often when a defendant misses a court date.

Forcible detainer

The Kentucky term for an eviction possession case, filed in District Court.

Expungement

A court process that removes eligible records from public access after a set waiting period and eligibility check.

Probation

Court supervision in place of or following a jail or prison term, with conditions the defendant must follow.

If a code or abbreviation in a Fayette file is unclear, the clerk division that keeps the record can explain it. The Fayette County court records FAQ page covers more common questions about reading and requesting records. For deeper coverage of criminal record fields, see the arrest records page. Traffic record fields are covered on the traffic court records page.

Related Fayette County Record Searches

Fayette County court records connect to several related record types. Docket schedules are maintained separately and updated weekly. Arrest records and booking information come from the jail side rather than the court file. Public records beyond court cases include the full range of county agency records. Each area has its own access process.

• Court dockets - the weekly schedule of Fayette District Court hearings by judge, courtroom, and docket type.
• Arrest records - booking information from the Fayette County Detention Center and law enforcement agencies.
• Traffic court records - citation, plea, and disposition records in District Court.
• Public records - open-records requests to LFUCG, the County Clerk, the Sheriff, and Lexington Police.
• Circuit Court Clerk - office details, division contacts, and request procedures for the Fayette Court Clerk office.