LaRue County Circuit Court Clerk
The Kentucky Court of Justice LaRue County page identifies Emily N. Ernst as the Circuit Court Clerk. Kentucky circuit court clerks are elected trial-court clerks who maintain Circuit, Family, District, and Business Court records for their county. In LaRue County, that makes the clerk's office the starting point for court case copies, older case locations, certified records, bonds during clerk hours, fines, court fees, and questions that cannot be resolved through the statewide search tools.
LaRue County uses Kentucky's unified court system. There is no separate LaRue-only court-record portal maintained by the county. Public users can start with CourtNet for case lookup, the court-date search for calendars, the eCourts login route for registered functions, and the clerk's office for copies and local file questions. The clerk also helps distinguish court files from county recordings handled by the County Clerk.
Office of Circuit Court Clerk
Clerk: Emily N. Ernst
LaRue County Courthouse Annex
209 W. High St., P.O. Box 191
Hodgenville, KY 42748
270-358-3421
Fax: 270-358-3731
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Wednesday 8 a.m.-4 p.m. closed noon-1 p.m.; closed weekends
LaRue County Clerk Record Boundaries
The phrase clerk of court can be confusing in Kentucky because LaRue County has a Circuit Court Clerk and a separate County Clerk. The Circuit Court Clerk handles court case records. The County Clerk handles marriage licenses, deeds, mortgages, liens, corporate records, land-record searches, e-recording, DOCALERT, and other county recording services. A court judgment may later create a recorded lien, but the court case file and recorded instrument are still different records.
| Office | Records Handled | Search or Request Path |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court Clerk | Circuit, Family, District, and Business Court case records; dockets; fines; bonds during clerk hours; certified court copies | CourtNet, court-date search, phone, mail, or counter request |
| County Clerk | Marriage licenses, deeds, mortgages, plats, corporate filings, liens, wills recorded as county instruments | County Clerk site, records page, Ecclix, DOCALERT, or clerk request |
For marriage licenses or land records, use the LaRue County Clerk. For court copies and case files, use the Circuit Court Clerk.
Request LaRue County Court Records
The official court-record request guidance says the Office of Circuit Court Clerk in each county is the starting point for case records. The LaRue County page also links users to Find a Case, Find a Court Date, Legal Forms, Pay Fine/Fee, Jury Service, and local court information. If a record is older, the clerk may identify the record facility and provide a case or file locator number if the record is stored elsewhere and available for public access.
- Identify the court record type first: Circuit Court, District Court, divorce, felony, misdemeanor, traffic, probate, small claims, or another case type.
- Search Kentucky CourtNet Find a Case by party name or case number and narrow to LaRue County when possible.
- Use KCOJ court-date search for scheduled hearings, traffic dates, arraignments, and docket checks.
- Call, mail, fax, or visit the Circuit Court Clerk for copies, certified copies, document inspection, or records not available online.
- For older cases, ask whether the file is at the clerk's office, stored at a record facility, or no longer available under retention rules.
Certified Copy Request Steps
A certified court copy is a court record authenticated by the clerk. It may be needed for appeals, agencies, licensing, benefits, name changes, employment screening, immigration, or another legal use. The research did not locate a LaRue-specific downloadable copy-request form, so a request should include enough information for staff to find the case and determine whether the record is public.
- Find the case number through CourtNet or from prior paperwork, if available.
- List party names, case type, approximate filing date, and the exact document needed, such as decree, order, judgment, disposition, or docket sheet.
- Contact the Circuit Court Clerk to confirm copy availability, certification rules, fee amount, and delivery options.
- Submit the request in person, by mail, by fax if accepted, or by the method the clerk instructs.
- Pay required fees using an accepted method, noting that card payments at court include a fee and some court payments require cash.
- Review the certified copy for the correct case number, names, seal or certification, and document date before relying on it.
Circuit Court Clerk Request Fields
Even without a located LaRue-specific request form, a complete court-record request should give the clerk enough case facts to search accurately. Use CourtNet first when possible, then send the clerk the matching details instead of a broad name-only request.
| Field | Required | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Recommended | The fastest way to locate a Circuit or District Court file. |
| Party names | Yes | Needed when the case number is unknown or there are similar names. |
| Case type | Recommended | Separates traffic, criminal, civil, divorce, probate, small claims, and other files. |
| Approximate filing or citation date | Recommended | Helps with older files and multiple matches. |
| Document requested | Yes | Plain copy, certified copy, decree, disposition, order, judgment, or docket sheet. |
| Requester contact information | Yes | Allows staff to confirm cost, restrictions, delivery, or file-location issues. |
Circuit Court Clerk Fees and Payments
The research located payment rules from the court page but did not locate a LaRue-specific court-copy fee schedule. The court page states that cash, check, money order, and credit or debit card are accepted at court, card fees apply, and cash is required for bonds, probation, and parole fees. For exact plain-copy, certified-copy, certification, search, or filing amounts, contact the Circuit Court Clerk before submitting a request.
| Item | Amount or Rule Located | Where to Confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Plain court copy | Not located in inspected official sources | Circuit Court Clerk |
| Certified court copy | Not located in inspected official sources | Circuit Court Clerk |
| Certification fee | Not located in inspected official sources | Circuit Court Clerk |
| Court search or file retrieval | Not located in inspected official sources | Circuit Court Clerk |
| Fine or fee payment | Cash, check, money order, card with fee; eligible matters may use ePay | KCOJ LaRue page or clerk |
| Bond, probation, parole fees | Cash required by court payment note | Circuit Court Clerk |
CourtNet, ePay, and Forms
Circuit Court Clerk records work with statewide Kentucky Court of Justice tools. CourtNet is the public case lookup route. Court-date search is the public schedule route. The eCourts login route supports registered access and payment functions. The KCOJ Legal Forms page supplies statewide civil, criminal, domestic, probate, expungement, juvenile, and traffic-related forms.
The LaRue DOCALERT route is an assigned image source for the County Clerk's mortgage and deed fraud notification system.
DOCALERT is useful for county recordings, but it is not a court case search system for Circuit Court Clerk records.
The Ecclix commercial subscription source is assigned to the clerk topic because it shows the separate county-recording search channel.
Commercial Ecclix access is for document research in county recording records, not for court docket copies from the Circuit Court Clerk.
Circuit Clerk vs County Clerk
The LaRue County Clerk records page describes Ecclix, DOCALERT, e-recording vendors, and a recording fee table. Commercial users can pay a subscription fee and add other counties. Private citizens searching for personal reasons with no commercial gain may use a LaRue-only route with a five-search-per-day limit and no charge listed in the research. The clerk page also lists e-recording vendors including Indecomm, Hopdox, CSC, Simplifile, and ePN.
The Ecclix private-citizen LaRue signup source is the assigned image source for the local residential records route.
The private-citizen Ecclix limit is a county-recording detail, so court users still need CourtNet and the Circuit Court Clerk for case files.
Note: Use the Circuit Court Clerk for court files and the County Clerk for marriage, land, and recording records.
LaRue County Court Scheduling
The official county court page publishes remote-court Zoom information for local judges. The research lists Judge McMahan-Miller's District Court meeting ID, Judge Simms' Circuit Court Division I meeting ID and passcode, and Judge Ballard's Circuit Court Division II meeting ID and passcode. Those details are useful for orientation, but a party should confirm permission and current login details before relying on remote appearance.
The same county page links local rules, Court ADA resources, jury service, court personnel directory, request-court-records guidance, and the KCOJ holiday calendar. The clerk's front-lot parking note and Wednesday noon closure are small details that matter when planning an in-person copy request.
Restricted LaRue County Court Records
Not all records held by the Circuit Court Clerk are open public files. Juvenile records are restricted under KRS 610.340. Adoption records are confidential under KRS 199.570. Sealed and expunged cases are restricted by court order and Kentucky expungement statutes. Personal identifiers, financial accounts, minor names, protected addresses, and sensitive victim information may be redacted.
If a public online search does not show a case, ask the clerk whether the case is older, stored elsewhere, indexed differently, restricted, or unavailable under retention rules. Public access to basic docket information does not always mean public access to every document in the file.