Find Fayette County Clerk Records

Fayette County Clerk Overview

The Fayette County Clerk is a separate elected county office from the Fayette Circuit Court Clerk. The Kentucky County Clerks Association directory lists Susan Lamb as Fayette County Clerk at 162 East Main Street, Lexington, KY 40507, with phone 859-253-3344 and email info@fayettecountyclerk.com. The office handles marriage licenses, recorded legal records, elections, and motor-vehicle-related services.

The Circuit Court Clerk handles Circuit Court, Family Court, and District Court case files. That includes felony files, misdemeanor and traffic records, divorce case files, probate pleadings, docket records, certified court copies, and older court records not available through public online tools. A user looking for a case number, court date, criminal disposition, or certified decree should start with court systems rather than the County Clerk.

Fayette County Marriage Records

Marriage licenses are one of the clearest Fayette County Clerk record types. Fayette uses an online marriage pre-application at fayettedeeds.com, but the online form does not finish the license by itself. Both applicants must appear at the County Clerk's Office at 162 East Main Street, Room 132, Lexington, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Both parties must bring approved identification under KRS 402.210. The Fayette marriage application lists a driver's license or passport as examples. The published local fee is $60, payable by cash, check, or credit card. After the ceremony, the license must be returned and recorded before certified copies can be issued.

1. Open the Fayette online marriage application and complete the pre-application fields.
2. Both parties appear together at Room 132 of the Fayette County Clerk's Office.
3. Bring approved identification, such as a driver's license or passport listed by the application instructions.
4. Pay the $60 Fayette marriage-license fee by an accepted method.
5. Return the completed license after the ceremony so the County Clerk can record it.

Fayette County Legal Recordings

The County Clerk is the local office for recorded legal records, including land and legal instruments. The research file points users to the County Clerk website and Kentucky County Clerks Association recording-fee reference for legal-record copy and recording fees. Those records are distinct from court pleadings. A deed, lien, release, or recorded instrument may affect a court dispute, but the court file itself remains with the Court of Justice.

For legal recordings, search or request through the County Clerk's office. For a civil judgment, eviction case, garnishment, probate order, divorce decree, or criminal disposition, use the Circuit Court Clerk or District Court division. This split is the main Fayette County clerk issue because the phrase "clerk" can mean two different offices in Kentucky.

The County Clerk access path can include online tools, in-person counter service, mail, phone, and email depending on the record. The Kentucky County Clerks Association directory gives the Fayette office address, phone, email, and tax-lien fax number, while the Fayette marriage form gives a separate room and in-person completion instruction for marriage applicants. When a recorded instrument is needed for a court filing, confirm whether the court requires a certified county copy or whether a plain copy is enough for review before paying for the wrong format.

Fayette Marriage Form Fields

The Fayette marriage form asks for applicant identifying and address information and then directs applicants to complete the process in person. Because the form is a pre-application, the in-person step and identification check are part of the record process. The office should be contacted for current rules before relying on older third-party instructions.

Fayette County Clerk Fees

The research file provides a published Fayette marriage-license fee but does not preserve a complete legal-recording fee table. Copy and recording charges should be checked with the Fayette County Clerk and the Kentucky County Clerks Association reference at the time of filing. Court-copy and certification fees should not be paid to the County Clerk unless the requested item is actually a county clerk record.

When a court case requires a recorded document, obtain the recorded copy from the County Clerk and file it with the court only if court rules or staff require it.

County Clerk and Vital Statistics

The Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics has statewide marriage and divorce records from June 1958 to present. OVS requires a completed application and fee before searching and does not issue photocopies, faxed copies, non-certified copies, or electronic copies. For events before June 1958, OVS directs users back to the county clerk where the marriage license was issued or the circuit court clerk where the divorce decree was granted.

That makes the Fayette County Clerk the local route for older Fayette marriage records and current marriage-license issuance. Divorce records, including old decrees, remain court records. A person who needs both a marriage certificate and a divorce decree may need to contact the County Clerk, the Circuit Court Clerk, and the state vital-records office, depending on the year and the type of certificate needed.

For current Fayette marriage work, the County Clerk office at 162 East Main Street is the local completion point after the online pre-application. For state certificates, the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics in Frankfort is the statewide certificate office. For divorce case files, the Fayette Circuit Court Clerk and Family Court division are the court-record path. Keeping those three channels separate reduces wrong-office trips and helps preserve the difference between a license, a certificate, and a court decree.