Johnson County Circuit Clerk Office
The primary court-records clerk for Johnson County is the Office of Circuit Court Clerk at the Johnson County Judicial Center. The Kentucky Court of Justice Johnson County page identifies Hillary M. Chafin as Circuit Court Clerk, while the county government page uses Hillary Chafin Collins. Both sources point to the same court office. The office is not the County Clerk. It is the Kentucky Court of Justice counter for court case records, hearing schedules, filings, case payments, copy questions, and records held by Circuit, District, Family, probate, traffic, criminal, and civil courts.
Requests for case documents should begin with the court that heard the matter. The Kentucky Court of Justice records page states that only the clerk of the court can advise on the location and availability of a case record. For Johnson County court files, that means the Circuit Court Clerk unless the matter is a County Clerk record, sheriff record, County Attorney record, or county administrative record.
Office of Circuit Court Clerk
Clerk: Hillary M. Chafin / Hillary Chafin Collins
Johnson County Judicial Center
908 3rd Street, Suite 109
Paintsville, KY 41240
606-297-9567
Fax: 606-297-9573
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Johnson County Court Clerk Duties
The Circuit Court Clerk supports the local Kentucky Court of Justice docket rather than county land or vehicle records. Court users contact this office for public case records, certified court copies, case payment questions, filing logistics, and schedule details. Johnson County's official court page lists Circuit Court Motion Hour, District Court scheduling, probate at 9 a.m. Thursday, Family Court Motion Hour on the second and fourth Tuesday, domestic court, juvenile court, payment options, and drive-through limits.
Use the Circuit Court Clerk for these court matters:
- Circuit Court civil, felony, domestic, family, and higher-level case records.
- District Court misdemeanors, traffic citations, probate calendars, preliminary felony stages, and small civil matters.
- Certified copies of public court documents, if the file is available and not sealed.
- Court fees, fines, costs, filings, and questions about ePay or in-person payment channels.
- Case-location questions when KYeCourts or the public docket portal does not show enough detail.
For comparison, the Johnson County County Clerk at county-clerk.html handles marriage licenses, deeds, mortgages, liens, wills indexed in CCLIX, elections, motor vehicles, and that office's open-records policy. A divorce decree is a court record. A marriage license is a County Clerk record. A recorded will may appear in the County Clerk index, while the probate case itself routes through District Court and the Circuit Court Clerk.
Search Johnson County Clerk Records
Online case access is statewide. The Kentucky public docket portal lets users select JOHNSON, choose Circuit or District, pick a date, and submit a docket search. It is a hearing-calendar tool, and the portal warns that the docket is not official and is subject to change. Public case information is also available through the KYeCourts guest login, which requires a checkbox or captcha before the public records search continues.
| Channel | Use it for | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky docket portal | Hearing date checks by county, division, date, courtroom, and subdivision. | Not the official docket and not a full case file. |
| KYeCourts guest access | Public case information throughout Kentucky after captcha. | Some fields are behind the guest gate, and sealed data is not public. |
| KYeCourts ePay | Payment search by case, citation, or party. | Requires captcha and enough identifying data. |
| Circuit Court Clerk counter | Official copies, certification, older files, and availability questions. | Availability depends on the case, court, and access restrictions. |
The Johnson County government Circuit Court Clerk page is a useful local contact source for hours and the Paintsville office address. The Kentucky court personnel directory can also confirm court staff, judges, pretrial services, and local court program contacts.
Request Certified Johnson County Copies
A certified copy is a court copy that carries clerk certification and is used when a plain printout is not enough. Johnson County residents may need certified copies for name changes, divorce decrees, probate orders, criminal dispositions, appeal records, agency proof, or financial and title matters. Because official copy availability depends on the court file, the Circuit Court Clerk is the source to confirm whether the record can be copied, whether it can be certified, and how payment should be made.
- Identify the court type, case number if known, party names, and the document needed. If the case number is unknown, search KYeCourts or ask the clerk what information can be used.
- Check whether the file belongs to Circuit Court, District Court, Family Court, probate, traffic, or another custodian. Marriage licenses and recorded instruments go to the County Clerk instead.
- Call or visit the Circuit Court Clerk to confirm copy availability, certification, fee amount, and whether the record is public, sealed, archived, or restricted.
- Submit the request with the required identifying information and payment. The Johnson County court page lists cash, check, money order, credit card, and debit card options, with card fees applied.
- Review the copy when received. For legal use, verify that the certification matches the requested case and document type.
Payments may also be made through KYeCourts ePay when the case, citation, or party search supports the obligation. ePay is for fees, fines, and costs, not a substitute for requesting a certified case document from the clerk.
Johnson County Request Fields
Research did not locate a Johnson County Circuit Court Clerk web form for certified copy requests. A complete written or counter request should give the clerk enough detail to locate the case and document without guessing. The Kentucky Court of Justice records page sends case-record requests to the clerk of the court that heard the proceeding, so the request should be court-specific and document-specific.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Best if available | Kentucky case formats vary; use the exact number from KYeCourts, a notice, or a prior filing. |
| Party names | Yes | Use full names and any prior names known for family, probate, or criminal matters. |
| Court or division | Yes | State whether the matter is Circuit, District, Family, probate, traffic, or another case type. |
| Document type | Yes | Examples include decree, judgment, order, disposition, citation, probate order, or docket sheet. |
| Copy type | Yes | Say whether a plain copy or certified copy is needed. |
| Requester contact | Yes | Provide phone, mailing address, or email so the clerk can answer fee or access questions. |
Johnson County Court Fees
Johnson County local research confirms payment channels but not a local copy-fee table for every court document. Court users should ask the Circuit Court Clerk for the current copy and certification cost before mailing payment. The Kentucky Court of Justice guest login also states that civil filing fees for Circuit and District Courts increase under Supreme Court Orders 2026-15 and 2026-18 effective July 1, 2026, which was one day after the research date.
| Item | Amount or rule |
|---|---|
| Counter payments | Cash, check, money order, credit card, and debit card accepted. |
| Card payments | Card fee applies according to the Johnson County Court of Justice page. |
| Personal checks | Check must show current address, two phone numbers, and driver's license number. |
| Drive-through service | Payments, filings, handicapped parking permits, and driver's license renewals only, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. weekdays. |
| Civil filing fees | Statewide fee increase effective July 1, 2026 under Supreme Court Orders 2026-15 and 2026-18. |
| Certified copy fee | Confirm with the Circuit Court Clerk before sending payment; no Johnson-specific amount was located. |
For County Clerk recording fees, use the separate Johnson County County Clerk page. That office publishes deed, mortgage, release, lien, power-of-attorney, will, and other recording fees, but those fees do not price Circuit Court Clerk case copies.
Johnson County Clerk Sources
The Johnson County Clerk contact page is one of the local sources used to distinguish County Clerk records from court clerk case files.
That office is separate from the Circuit Court Clerk, which is why court files and County Clerk instruments use different request routes.
The county government profile for the Johnson County County Clerk gives local context for the elected county clerk office.
Those details support cross-linking to the County Clerk page when the requested record is a marriage, deed, will index, vehicle, election, or recorded instrument.
The County Clerk records information page documents the CCLIX coverage used for land, marriage, and will index research.
It also explains why a recorded will can be searched through the County Clerk while the probate case remains a court matter.
The County Clerk online land records page points users toward the remote eCCLIX and CCLIX channel.
Remote clerk images require account access, while public in-office viewing remains the no-online-fee fallback described in the research.
The Johnson County recording fee schedule is useful when a court user actually needs a County Clerk instrument rather than a case file.
Those fees are tied to recorded instruments and should not be confused with Circuit Court filing or copy charges.
The County Clerk forms page is the local route for county-clerk transaction forms.
For court case forms and official case copies, the Circuit Court Clerk and Kentucky Court of Justice remain the correct channels.