Mercer County Circuit Court Clerk
Mercer County court case records are handled through the Kentucky Court of Justice and the Mercer County Circuit Court Clerk. The local KCOJ county page identifies Jennifer Edwards as Circuit Court Clerk and lists the Mercer County Judicial Center as the court location. That office is the practical contact for Circuit Court, Family Court division, and District Court case records, including felony cases, civil cases, divorce and custody matters, misdemeanors, traffic, probate, small claims, juvenile matters, and other District Court files that are public or available to an authorized requester.
The Kentucky Court of Justice Mercer County page should be treated as the controlling source for court case records, court contacts, local judges, payment options, and records routing. The Mercer County government Circuit Clerk page also gives the Judicial Center address, office phone, and fax. KYeCourts public access can help with public case information, but a certified copy or clerk-certified court document must come from the official court record custodian.
Office of Circuit Court Clerk
Clerk: Jennifer Edwards
Mercer County Judicial Center
224 S. Main St.
Harrodsburg, KY 40330
859-734-8452
Fax: 859-734-8454
Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Friday 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Payment options listed by KCOJ: cash, check, money order, and ePay online.
Mercer Clerk Record Boundaries
Kentucky's clerk structure can confuse searchers because the Circuit Court Clerk and County Clerk both hold public records, but they do not hold the same records. The Circuit Court Clerk is the state court case-record clerk. The County Clerk is a separate elected local official. In Mercer County, Chris Horn is the County Clerk, and that office handles legal records, land records, marriage-related county clerk records, voter rolls, election duties, vehicle work, tax-related records, and County Clerk public-record requests.
The Mercer County Clerk about page provides local county context and helps show why Mercer has both court-case records and separate county clerk records.
The image source is useful because the County Clerk site supplies local county context and confirms the separate local clerk channel that should not be confused with court case files.
| Record Need | Correct Mercer Office | Access Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit, Family, and District Court case files | Circuit Court Clerk | KYeCourts, docket portal, in person, phone, certified-copy request |
| Deeds, mortgages, liens, and recorded legal instruments | Mercer County Clerk | Office records room, eCCLIX, original-signature request form |
| Marriage-related county clerk records | Mercer County Clerk | County Clerk counter, mail request, state certificate form where applicable |
| Divorce decrees and family case files | Circuit Court Clerk | Circuit/Family Court record request, KYeCourts or docket search for public case data |
| Probate estate files and guardianship cases | Circuit Court Clerk for District Court probate | District Court probate filing and clerk-copy request |
Search Mercer Clerk Records
Public court case information starts with KYeCourts guest access. The guest page begins with a captcha checkbox and Continue button, and it also links to ePay and official criminal record report ordering. For court dates, the Kentucky docket portal lets a user select county, division, date, courtroom, and subdivision. That portal warns that docket results are not the official docket and must be verified against the court record.
The Kentucky Family Court overview is relevant to Mercer County Circuit Court Clerk records because Mercer family matters are part of Circuit/Family jurisdiction.
Family Court division records can include divorce, custody, support, adoption, dependency, neglect, and abuse matters, with public access limited where children, safety, adoption, or sealed material is involved.
- Identify the case type first: Circuit, Family, District, traffic, probate, criminal, or civil.
- Use KYeCourts guest access for public case information if the case is public and indexed.
- Use the docket portal when the main question is the court date, division, hearing time, or courtroom.
- Contact the Circuit Court Clerk for certified copies, older files, paper records, sealed-file questions, and document copies not visible online.
- Use the County Clerk only when the record is a County Clerk legal record, land record, recorded instrument, or marriage-related clerk record.
Request Mercer Certified Copies
Certified copies are official copies bearing clerk certification or seal. They may be needed for an appeal, name-change proof, divorce decree use, estate authority, agency processing, licensing, or another legal transaction. A public case-search screen can be useful for finding a case number, but it is not the same as a certified copy from the Mercer County Circuit Court Clerk.
- Find the case number, party names, court division, and document name, such as order, judgment, decree, sentence, or probate appointment.
- Call the Mercer County Circuit Court Clerk at 859-734-8452 to confirm whether the document is public, available, older, stored, sealed, or restricted.
- Ask for the current copy and certification fee, accepted payment method, and whether the request should be made in person, by mail, or through another court-approved process.
- Provide enough identifying detail for staff to find the record, including party names, case type, approximate date, and the exact document needed.
- Pick up the certified copy or follow clerk mailing instructions after payment and eligibility are confirmed.
Certified means official: Do not rely on a docket printout when a court, bank, agency, employer, or title company asks for a certified court copy.
Mercer Records Request Inventory
The court-record request path and the County Clerk record-request path are different. The Kentucky Court of Justice directs court record requests to the local Circuit Court Clerk, especially for official copies and older records. The Mercer County Clerk records page has its own records-request forms and policy links for County Clerk records. Those County Clerk request forms must be mailed or brought in person because they require original signatures and cannot be emailed or faxed.
| Field or Requirement | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number or record identifier | Strongly recommended | Use for Circuit, Family, District, probate, traffic, or civil court records when known. |
| Party names | Yes | Use legal spellings, maiden or prior names if relevant, and the role if known. |
| Document type | Yes | Examples include judgment, order, decree, sentence, appointment, inventory, or recorded instrument. |
| Date range | Recommended | Useful for older files, historical County Clerk indexes, or unknown case numbers. |
| Original signature for County Clerk request forms | Yes for those forms | County Clerk forms cannot be emailed or faxed. |
| Mail or in-person delivery for County Clerk forms | Yes if using that channel | Mail to P.O. Box 426 or bring to 207 West Lexington Street. |
Mercer Clerk Fee Schedule
The official Mercer court source captured for this build did not locate certified court copy fees. For court case records, call the Circuit Court Clerk before sending payment. The County Clerk recording-fee schedule is more specific for deeds, mortgages, liens, recorded instruments, and County Clerk legal records, so those listed amounts are included here only for County Clerk documents.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified court copies from Circuit Court Clerk | Fee not located in captured official Mercer court source |
| Court case records search or copy fee | Confirm with Circuit Court Clerk |
| Deed or affidavit of descent, County Clerk | $50 |
| Agreement, assumed name, assignment of mortgage, declaration of trust, encumbrance, or judgment lien | $46 |
| Certificate of delinquency assignment | $30 |
| Fixture filing | $96 |
| In-state child support lien or inheritance tax lien | $5 |
County Clerk fees come from the Mercer County Clerk recording-fee schedule. The KYeCourts guest login also posts a statewide notice that Circuit and District civil filing fees increase effective July 1, 2026 under Kentucky Supreme Court Orders 2026-15 and 2026-18, so civil, probate, divorce, and small-claims filing amounts should be confirmed before filing.
Mercer Clerk Forms
Kentucky court forms are maintained through the Kentucky Court of Justice, not a Mercer-only form library. The Kentucky legal forms index includes categories such as probate, expungement, family, small claims, and protective-order forms. Local filing requirements, fees, copies, and hearing dates still run through the Mercer County Circuit Court Clerk.
The Kentucky legal forms index supports this part of the Mercer County Circuit Court Clerk workflow.
Forms are a starting point only. A clerk can provide forms and filing access, but clerks cannot give legal advice about which claims to file, what facts to allege, or whether a person qualifies for a remedy.
Mercer Specialty Court Records
Kentucky specialty courts are administered statewide by the Kentucky Court of Justice. The research file did not locate a Mercer-only specialty-court page with local participant counts, graduation rates, presiding judges, or docket dates. Adult Drug Court, mental-health or behavioral-health tracks, veterans treatment court, and family recovery models may affect how a case appears in a court record, but availability and eligibility should be verified through the Mercer Circuit Court Clerk, counsel, prosecutor, pretrial services, or the Kentucky Court of Justice.
The Kentucky Specialty Courts page fits this clerk topic because specialty-court participation can create review hearings, compliance entries, incentives, sanctions, or treatment-related court events.
Those entries remain court records, but public access can vary by case type, court order, juvenile status, treatment information, and expungement or sealing rules.
Mercer County Clerk Online Records
The County Clerk's online legal-record access uses eCCLIX, the internet version of CCLIX, County Clerk Indexing. The Mercer County Clerk site says registered users can view or print online documents from home or office, but an account and password must be assigned by SMI or the website administrator, special software is needed to view document images, and access fees are charged. In-office public record and index viewing is free at the Mercer County Clerk office.
The County Clerk land records page also highlights DOC ALERT, a free deed and mortgage fraud notification tool from Software Management, LLC in partnership with the Mercer County Clerk. Registration requires a name and email address, and the system sends an email alert when a deed or mortgage with that person or business name is recorded. That tool protects land-record users, but it does not search Circuit, Family, District, traffic, criminal, or probate court case files.
Note: Court case copies come from the Circuit Court Clerk, while eCCLIX and DOC ALERT serve County Clerk legal and land records.