How to Search Fayette County Court Records
Fayette County court records are organized through the Kentucky Court of Justice and the Fayette Office of Circuit Court Clerk. The statewide court site offers public entry points for finding a case, finding a court date, paying fines or fees, and reaching CourtNet or eFiling services. KYeCourts Easy Pay is useful when a record is tied to a payable citation, fine, fee, or case balance. It is not a full document vault, so pleadings, orders, exhibits, transcripts, and certified copies still route through the clerk.
The first choice is the case type. Felony criminal, circuit civil, family, divorce, appeals, and records matters are Circuit Court records. Misdemeanors, traffic offenses, violations, small claims, evictions, probate, guardianship, mental health, and many preliminary felony events are District Court records. The Fayette county court pages at Fayette Circuit Court and Fayette District Court identify the correct division before a call or visit.
- Identify whether the Fayette County court record is Circuit Court, Family Court, District Court, traffic, probate, eviction, or another case type.
- Use Kentucky Court of Justice public tools for case, court date, and fine or fee lookup when a public online result exists.
- Search Easy Pay by case, citation, or party if the matter may involve a payable obligation or citation.
- Call or visit the proper Fayette Circuit Court Clerk division when the online result does not show the needed document.
- Ask the clerk about plain copies, certified copies, older files, sealed files, and the current copy or certification charge before ordering.
The Kentucky Court of Justice request court records page states that the county Office of Circuit Court Clerk is the starting point for court case records. In Fayette County, that means the Circuit Court Clerk handles both Circuit Court and District Court case files, while the separate County Clerk handles marriage licenses and recorded legal instruments.
Fayette County Court Records Search Fields
Easy Pay has three visible search paths. The case search is best when the case number is known. Citation search is built for traffic and citation-based matters. Party search can help when the case number is unknown, though common names may produce broad results and a birth date can help narrow the search.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| County | Dropdown | Unspecified | Choose Fayette from the Kentucky county list; appellate courts also appear. |
| Case # | Text | Unspecified | Case search field accepts up to 20 characters. |
| Include Trailers | Checkbox | No | Includes trailer or related cases when checked. |
| Year | Text | Unspecified | Citation search uses a 4-digit year. |
| Control # | Text | Unspecified | Citation control number field accepts up to 7 characters. |
| First Name / Last Name | Text | Unspecified | Party search fields accept up to 25 characters each. |
| Birth Date | Date/Text | Unspecified | Party search field accepts up to 10 characters and validates date format. |
The official CourtNet contact page is one of the state sources for deeper case-information access. A screenshot source for Fayette County court records came from the CourtNet media access and subscription page.
CourtNet access can involve registration, subscription, or approval, so ordinary public users should treat it as a separate channel from free case, court date, and Easy Pay searches.
Types of Fayette County Court Records
Fayette County court records cover more than one courthouse counter. Circuit Court keeps felony files, higher-value civil matters, family cases, divorce files, and appeals from District Court. District Court handles misdemeanors, traffic, violations, juvenile matters, small claims, low-value civil cases, forcible detainer evictions, probate, guardianship, mental health cases, domestic violence protective-order access, and felony preliminary proceedings.
The office name also matters. The Circuit Court Clerk, Vincent Riggs according to the Kentucky Court of Justice county page, is the working clerk for court case files. The Fayette County Clerk, Susan Lamb according to the Kentucky County Clerks Association directory, is a separate office for marriage licenses, real estate records, elections, and motor vehicles.
- Civil records include Circuit Civil cases, District Civil cases, small claims, garnishments, executions, and judgments.
- Criminal records include felony Circuit Court files and District Court misdemeanor, violation, and preliminary felony records.
- Family records include divorce, custody, support, paternity, and domestic-relations matters in Family Court.
- Probate records are District Court files for wills, estates, guardianship, curatorship, trusts, minor settlements, and name changes.
- Traffic records are District Criminal/Traffic cases, including payable citations and court appearances.
- Juvenile and mental health records exist in the court system but are restricted from ordinary public lookup.
What Fayette County Court Records Show
A Fayette County court record can be a docket entry, a case summary, a payment record, or a full file. Kentucky Court of Justice describes court case records as documents that can include criminal citations, pleadings, motions, orders, evidence, reports, dockets, video recordings, and transcripts. Public online tools may show only part of that set.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The unique court identifier used by the clerk and online search tools. |
| County / Court | Whether the matter is in Fayette Circuit Court, Family Court, District Court, or an appellate court. |
| Filing Date | The date the complaint, petition, indictment, citation, or probate filing reached the court. |
| Parties | Names such as plaintiff, defendant, Commonwealth, petitioner, respondent, estate, guardian, or protected person. |
| Docket Events | Filings, notices, motions, orders, hearings, continuances, pleas, sentencing, bond events, warrants, and payments. |
| Disposition | How a case or charge was resolved, if a public disposition has been entered. |
| Financial Data | Fines, fees, court costs, restitution, bail, bond refunds, garnishment amounts, or civil judgments. |
Public Access for Fayette County Court Records
Kentucky open-records law and court-record rules do not work the same way. KRS 61.872 gives Kentucky residents a right to inspect public records unless an exception applies, and agencies may require a written request. Court of Justice records are also governed by KRS 26A.200, which states that records made or received by Court of Justice agencies are property of the Court of Justice and subject to Supreme Court control.
That split is practical in Lexington. Police reports, collision reports, jail administrative records, and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government records can use the LFUCG open-records request path or a department-specific written request. Court case files, certified court copies, transcripts, exhibits, and older files are requested through the Office of Circuit Court Clerk, not the city open-records office.
Note: Court records may be public in part, while documents inside the same file may still be sealed, redacted, or clerk-restricted.
Restricted Fayette County Court Records
Some Fayette County court records are not available through ordinary public search. Juvenile records and juvenile dockets are restricted under KRS 610.320 and KRS 610.340. Mental health proceedings, adoption files, protected personal identifiers, victim safety information, sealed records, and expunged records can also be blocked, redacted, or released only to authorized people.
Expungement is a separate court process. Under KRS 431.079, expungement means removal or deletion from official systems so the matter does not appear on official state-performed background checks. KRS 431.073 covers eligible felony convictions and lists an application fee plus an expungement fee after the order. If a record has been expunged, public pages should not describe it as searchable.
Fayette County Court Record Requests
When online tools do not show the needed Fayette County court records, the local clerk divisions are the fallback. Circuit Criminal is at the Robert F. Stephens Circuit Courthouse, 120 N. Limestone, Suite C-103, Lexington, and the Fayette court page lists public hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday with phone 859-246-2224. District Criminal/Traffic is at 150 N. Limestone, First Floor, and is listed as open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, closed only December 24 and December 25, with phone 859-246-2228.
The District Civil counter, Probate Division, Forcible Detainer Division, and Mental Health Division each have their own routing. A copy request should include the case number if known, party names, approximate filing year, case type, and whether a certified copy is needed. Current copy and certification charges should be confirmed with the clerk because the research file notes statewide court filing fee changes effective July 1, 2026.
Fayette Circuit Court Clerk
Robert F. Stephens Circuit Courthouse
120 N. Limestone
Lexington, KY 40507
859-246-2224
Circuit Criminal public hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday
District Criminal/Traffic
Robert F. Stephens District Courthouse
150 N. Limestone, First Floor
Lexington, KY 40507
859-246-2228
Listed as 24 hours daily except December 24 and 25
The statewide AOC background-check page is a different tool from a full case-file request. A Fayette County criminal history report can be ordered through Kentucky AOC Background Checks, but the report excludes confidential case types and does not replace the clerk's case file.
AOC reports are useful for statewide criminal history screening, while Fayette case documents, certified orders, and older files still require the court-record request path.