Livingston County Clerk Office
The state court records office for Livingston County is the Livingston Circuit/District Court Clerk. The county source identifies Debbie Harp Knoth as Circuit/District Court Clerk. Her office is inside the Livingston County Justice Center in Smithland and handles the practical court-record work for local Circuit Court and District Court files. The same office is tied to court schedules, fees, fines, costs, driver licensing and testing coordination, and case-record questions that cannot be solved through a statewide online search.
This office should not be confused with the Livingston County Clerk led by Sonya Williams. The County Clerk at 335 Court St. handles legal and land records, marriage license records, wills and recorded instruments, eCCLIX access, DOC ALERT, and e-recording vendor contacts. Both offices matter for public records in Livingston County, but the Circuit/District Court Clerk is the office to contact for court case files, court docket copies, criminal case entries, traffic cases, probate case settings, and certified court documents.
Livingston Circuit/District Court Clerk
Clerk: Debbie Harp Knoth
Livingston County Justice Center
122 West Adair Street
P.O. Box 160
Smithland, KY 42081
270-928-2172 Option 1
1-800-928-2172 Option 2
Fax: 270-928-2976
Monday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Tuesday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Federal cases are separate from Livingston County court files; the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky is the district court source for federal matters arising in this part of Kentucky.
Use the local Circuit/District Court Clerk contact details when a Livingston County state court record needs a certified copy, a clerk confirmation, or a schedule check.
Livingston County Clerk Duties
The Livingston Circuit/District Court Clerk maintains official state court records for the county and collects court fees, fines, and costs. The office works with Circuit Court and District Court calendars, including criminal, civil, traffic, probate, eviction, child support, juvenile, and small-claims settings. A court record request may involve a docket entry, a copy of an order, a certified disposition, a traffic case status, a criminal case file, or a civil judgment. The clerk can also explain whether a file is public, sealed, restricted, older, or not available through the free online search path.
Several tasks that sound like "clerk" work actually belong to the County Clerk. Vehicle titles and titling questions are routed away from the court clerk. Marriage licenses, recorded wills, deeds, mortgages, powers of attorney, assignments, releases, tax liens, military discharges, and legal/land record images are County Clerk records. That split is important in Livingston County because both offices are close to the Smithland courthouse area, but they maintain different record systems.
- Maintain Livingston County Circuit Court and District Court case records.
- Collect court fees, fines, costs, and certain payments tied to cases.
- Publish and answer questions about local Circuit Court and District Court schedules.
- Coordinate driver testing details listed on the court clerk page.
- Refer land, marriage, title, and recorded-instrument questions to the County Clerk when needed.
Note: The Livingston County research did not locate a separate court-record request PDF, so requests should start by phone, in person, mail, fax, or the official Kentucky court portals.
Livingston County Clerk Online Records
For public case information, the official statewide route is KYeCourts Public Court Records guest access. The guest page says it provides free access to public case information throughout Kentucky. A user must complete a reCAPTCHA checkbox and continue before the public search interface appears. Because that search form is gated, the visible Livingston research confirms only the guest entry fields, not the full set of downstream search fields. The Kentucky Court of Justice Livingston County page is also an official local court source.
Registered users can also use the KYeCourts registered login, which states that Kentucky Court of Justice applications provide access to criminal and civil cases filed with the Kentucky court system. The registered page includes username and password fields, account recovery links, and a registration path. For a formal statewide criminal record report, the public KYeCourts guest page points users to the Kentucky Court of Justice background-check page, which is a different product from ordinary case lookup.
| Access route | Use it for | Livingston County note |
|---|---|---|
| KYeCourts guest access | Free public case information | CAPTCHA is required before the search interface appears. |
| KYeCourts registered login | Criminal and civil case access for registered users | Username, password, recovery links, and registration are shown. |
| Circuit/District Court Clerk | Certified copies, older files, calendar questions, local file status | Use the Justice Center office, phone, mail, or fax. |
| Kentucky ePay | Eligible court fees, fines, and costs | Payment access is separate from certified copy requests. |
The Western District of Kentucky CM/ECF system is a federal court record source, not the Livingston County court clerk's system.
Federal links help users separate local Livingston County court files from federal cases that are filed outside the county courthouse.
Request Livingston Certified Copies
A certified copy is a court copy issued by the proper clerk with certification that it is an official copy from the record. It is often needed for legal filings, licensing questions, expungement review, employment disclosures where legally allowed, or proof of disposition. Livingston County users should first identify whether the record is a court case document, a County Clerk recorded instrument, a marriage record, or a federal file. Sending the request to the wrong clerk can slow the process.
- Identify the court and case type. Circuit Court handles felony, higher-value civil, contested probate, land dispute, and appeal matters; District Court handles traffic, misdemeanors, probate administration, small claims, evictions, juvenile matters, and domestic violence.
- Search KYeCourts or gather known details such as party names, case number, charge, filing date, hearing date, or court calendar.
- Contact the Livingston Circuit/District Court Clerk at 270-928-2172 Option 1 or visit the Justice Center during posted hours.
- Ask whether the file is public, sealed, expunged, juvenile, older, or available only by certified copy from the office.
- Submit the request by the method the clerk provides and confirm the current copy charge before sending payment.
Note: Current court copy fees were not located in the Livingston research, so confirm charges with the clerk before mailing payment.
Livingston Clerk Request Fields
The research did not locate a downloadable Livingston court-record request form, but the same details are still needed for a clear clerk request. A concise request should name the court, identify the case, state the exact document needed, and say whether a certified copy is required. If the case involves a restricted category, the clerk may ask for proof of party status, attorney role, court order, or other authority before releasing anything beyond public information.
| Field | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Best match field when known | Kentucky case format was not visible in static public source. |
| Party names | Required when no case number is known | Use full names and role if known, such as defendant, plaintiff, petitioner, respondent, estate, or decedent. |
| Court and case type | Routes the request | State Circuit Court or District Court, plus criminal, civil, traffic, probate, eviction, child support, or juvenile if known. |
| Document requested | Limits the search | Examples include docket sheet, order, judgment, disposition, sentencing order, probate order, or traffic disposition. |
| Certification needed | Sets copy type | Ask for certified or plain copy and confirm fees. |
| Return method | Controls delivery | Give phone, mailing address, pickup preference, fax request details, or other clerk-approved method. |
Livingston Clerk Fee Context
The Circuit/District Court Clerk page says the office collects fees, fines, and costs, and KYeCourts points users to Kentucky ePay for eligible payments. The Livingston research did not locate a local court copy-fee table for plain or certified court case copies. It did locate detailed County Clerk recording fees for legal and land instruments, which should not be treated as court case copy fees. Use those County Clerk fees only when the request concerns recorded instruments such as deeds, affidavits, bail bonds, disability judgments, guardianship orders, liens, and releases.
| Item | Located amount | Correct office |
|---|---|---|
| Court case certified copy | Not located in Livingston source | Circuit/District Court Clerk |
| Court fines, fees, and costs | Varies by case | Kentucky ePay or Circuit/District Court Clerk |
| Affidavit or affidavit of descent recording | $13 up to 3 pages; $3 each additional | County Clerk |
| Deed, commissioner deed, or contract for deed recording | $17 up to 3 pages; $3 each additional | County Clerk |
| Guardianship order recording | $9 | County Clerk |
| Disability judgment recording | $9 total | County Clerk |
County Clerk Record Split
The Livingston County Clerk's official records page says the Legal Records Department is responsible for legal documents filed as public record. At the courthouse, most documents are maintained from 1795 to the present, indexes are available for most document types back to 1880, and document images are available online for most instrument filings from January 1795 to the current date. Those County Clerk records include deeds, name changes, mechanics liens, mortgages, powers of attorney, wills, corporations, tax liens, military discharges, trademarks, assignments, releases, marriages, and delinquent property taxes.
Online County Clerk legal and land records are through eCCLIX. The Livingston County Clerk contact page gives the office phone, email, hours, map, and form fields. The Livingston County Clerk says an account and password must be assigned by SMI for online access, and access fees are charged for data and images. The local fallback is important: the County Clerk states that all public records, documents, and indices are available for free viewing in the County Clerk's office. DOC ALERT for Livingston County is also available as a free mortgage and deed fraud notification service using a registrant name and email.
The PACER federal case records system is another separate channel for federal dockets and filings.
Keeping county court, County Clerk, and federal court channels separate prevents a Livingston County record search from going to the wrong office.
Livingston Court Clerk Calendars
The Circuit/District Court Clerk page gives the most useful local schedule for people checking court files or hearing dates. District Court meets Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. for civil, domestic violence, small claims, probate, and eviction matters. District Court also meets Thursday at 9:00 a.m. for traffic, misdemeanor, and felony matters, Thursday at 10:30 a.m. for child support, and Thursday at 11:00 a.m. for juvenile matters. Circuit Court child support is listed for the first Wednesday at 1:00 p.m., civil for the third Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., and criminal for the third Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.
Special Circuit Court hearing dates should be requested through Circuit Judge's Administrative Assistant Kathy Wallace at 270.388.5182. The clerk's schedule details are useful when a KYeCourts entry lists a date but not enough local context, when a traffic citation needs a District Court setting, or when a case type may have access restrictions. Driver testing details are also published by the Circuit Clerk: written tests are on the first, third, and fifth Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; road tests are scheduled through the examiner at 270.928.2172 extension 17012 during testing days or 270.444.4745 on non-testing days.