Hancock County Case Search
The official online access point for public case information is KYeCourts Public Court Records. The guest login states that Kentucky public court records are available without a paid account for public case information. A user passes the guest access check, chooses a search type, and reviews public fields such as case number, county, case type, case title, parties, next event, charges, and warrant or failure-to-appear indicators when those fields are public.
The online search is not the same as the official court file. The Kentucky Court of Justice record request page says the Administrative Office of the Courts does not maintain court case records for public copy requests. For Hancock County Circuit, Family, and District Court case files, the request goes to Circuit Court Clerk Michael T. Boling at the Hancock County Judicial Center in Hawesville.
- Open the KYeCourts guest login.
- Search by party, case number, citation, or business name.
- Use Hancock County as the county filter when venue is known.
- Review the case-number link for parties, charges, and scheduled events.
- Ask the Circuit Court Clerk for certified copies or complete case documents.
KCOJ search-result help explains the fields and indicators shown in public results.
The result-help source is useful because it distinguishes a searchable case summary from a clerk-held record with pleadings, orders, exhibits, transcripts, and certified documents.
Hancock Court Search Fields
KYeCourts and CourtNet help materials describe several valid search routes. A party search may require first name, last name, and date of birth. A case-number search requires the county of origin and the exact case number, while a citation search uses citation year, control number, and citation type. Business search works through business name and county of origin.
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First Name / Last Name | Party search | Used with birth date for some person searches. |
| County | Dropdown | Select Hancock County for local cases. |
| Case Number | Exact lookup | Must be paired with county of origin. |
| Citation Year / Control Number / Type | Citation lookup | Used for traffic and citation searches. |
| Business Name | Business lookup | Uses starts-with matching. |
Search results may include party name, party type, county, case number, case type, next event, case title, charges, scheduled events, and active warrant, summons, or failure-to-appear flags. Online access can still be limited for sealed, juvenile, adoption, mental-health, or redacted information.
Hancock County Record Types
Circuit Court handles felonies, civil matters over $5,000, divorces, adoptions, termination of parental rights, real-property title disputes, contested probate, injunctions, writs, and appeals from District Court and administrative agencies. Family Court is a division of Circuit Court for domestic relations, custody, support, paternity, adoption, domestic violence, dependency, neglect, abuse, termination, and status-offense matters.
District Court handles misdemeanors, violations, traffic, juvenile matters, probate of wills, felony arraignments, probable-cause hearings, small claims up to $2,500, ordinary civil cases up to $5,000, mental commitments, and emergency protective matters. These court records are separate from County Clerk records such as marriage licenses, deeds, mortgages, tax liens, county orders, recorded wills, and plats.
| Record type | Where it starts | Common contents |
|---|---|---|
| Civil | Circuit or District Court | Complaint, answer, motions, orders, judgment, settlement, appeal notice. |
| Criminal | Circuit or District Court | Citation, complaint, indictment, plea, disposition, sentencing order, fines. |
| Family / divorce | Family Court division | Petitions, orders, support, custody, decrees, confidential filings when restricted. |
| Probate | District Court | Petition, will, appointment, inventory, settlement, final accounting. |
| Traffic | District Court | Citation, charge, court date, plea, disposition, fine, failure-to-appear indicator. |
Official Copies in Hancock County
Certified court copies, older records, recordings, transcripts, and exhibits require clerk contact. The local office is the Hancock County Circuit Court Clerk, 310 Hawesville School Drive, P.O. Box 250, Hawesville, Kentucky 42348-0250. The office phone numbers are 270-927-8144 and 270-927-8145, and the KCOJ-listed hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Hancock County Circuit Court Clerk
Michael T. Boling
310 Hawesville School Drive
Hawesville, KY 42348-0250
270-927-8144 or 270-927-8145
Older stored records may need locator numbers from the clerk before the State Records Center can help. KCOJ notes that State Records Center requests cannot be searched by name or Social Security number, so a caller should first identify the court, case number, party names, and file location if the clerk provides it.
Restricted Hancock Court Records
Kentucky public access is broad, but it is not unlimited. KRS 61.872 gives the general inspection right for public records, and KRS 61.878 lists exemptions. Court-specific access also turns on the kind of case and the order entered by the judge.
Juvenile court records are confidential under KRS 610.340 unless a specific exception applies. Adoption records, sealed cases, expunged criminal records, mental-health details, protected addresses, financial account numbers, and Social Security numbers may be closed or redacted. Expungement under Kentucky law can remove eligible criminal records from ordinary public access, but it does not make private copies disappear.
Note: A public search result can prove that a case exists, but it may not show every document, restriction, or redaction in the clerk's file.
Hancock County Archives Records
Modern KYeCourts access is not the only path for Hancock County court records. Hancock County Archives reports County, Circuit, and District court records dating back to 1829, plus loose case documents for marriage, divorce, lawsuits, deeds, murder cases, and other court-document types. That makes the Archives office important for genealogy, historical land disputes, older divorces, old civil suits, and court records that predate modern online systems.
The Archives office is listed at 200 Main Cross Street in Hawesville, with Mary Gibbs as the contact and 270-927-8095 as the phone number. The Archives path should be used after a person has checked the modern court clerk route or when the research target is clearly historical. Older records may use court names or record categories that do not map neatly to current Circuit, Family, and District Court labels.
| Historical route | Use it for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Hancock County Archives | Older court files, loose case papers, historical marriage or divorce material | Official county source reports court records back to 1829. |
| Circuit Court Clerk | Modern official Circuit, Family, and District Court files | The clerk is the custodian for current court case records. |
| County Clerk | Recorded instruments, marriage indexes, wills recorded as instruments | County Clerk records can support court research but are not the court case file. |
County Clerk Records Difference
Some Hancock County records look court-related but belong to the County Clerk. Trina Ogle's office handles deeds, mortgages, mechanics liens, tax liens, powers of attorney, recorded wills, releases, assignments, marriages, delinquent property taxes, notary bonds, and county orders. Public indices are available in the office free of charge, while online eCCLIX access requires credentials, fees, and special software for images.
This distinction helps avoid the wrong counter. A divorce decree, criminal case, probate file, or traffic disposition belongs with the Circuit Court Clerk. A marriage license, recorded deed, mortgage, county order, recorded will image, or tax lien belongs with the County Clerk. When a single legal issue has both court and land-record pieces, both offices may need to be checked.