Search Johnson County Court Records
Johnson County does not publish a county-built court case database. The main public channels are statewide Kentucky Court of Justice tools and the Johnson County Circuit Court Clerk. The Kentucky public docket portal gives hearing-calendar access by county, division, date, courtroom, and subdivision. The KYeCourts guest login gives free public case information after a captcha gate. For official copies, certified copies, old files, sealed-file status, or records that do not show online, the clerk of the court that heard the case is the controlling source.
The manifest screenshot from KYeCourts guest access shows the statewide public entry point used for Johnson County Court records.
KYeCourts is useful for public case information, while the Circuit Court Clerk remains the source for certified Johnson County Court records.
- For a hearing date, open the docket portal, select JOHNSON, choose Circuit or District, enter the date, and submit.
- For public case information, use KYeCourts guest access and complete the checkbox before continuing.
- For eligible fines, fees, and costs, use KYeCourts ePay by case, citation, or party.
- For an official copy, call or visit the Circuit Court Clerk at the Judicial Center.
- For marriage, land, recorded will, deed, and mortgage records, use the County Clerk instead of the trial court clerk.
Johnson County Docket Fields
The public docket portal is a calendar tool, not the official case file. Its result area warns that docket information is not official and is subject to change. That warning is important for Johnson County Court users because hearing dates can move after a docket check. The official record remains with the clerk, and a party should confirm a hearing if the date, courtroom, or case status matters.
The Kentucky public docket portal image below comes from the official search interface listed in the manifest.
The portal supports Johnson County docket checks by date and division, but it does not replace the clerk's file.
| Field | Type | Required | Johnson County use |
|---|---|---|---|
| County | Dropdown | Yes | Select JOHNSON from the Kentucky county list. |
| Division | Radio | Yes | Choose Circuit or District based on the case or citation. |
| Date | Date picker | Yes | Search the hearing date window shown by the portal. |
| Courtroom | Dropdown | No | Leave ALL unless the court notice gives a room. |
| Subdivision | Dropdown | No | Leave ALL unless the court or clerk gives a subdivision. |
Johnson County Court System
Kentucky's court system starts with the Supreme Court of Kentucky and the Kentucky Court of Appeals, then moves to trial courts in the Kentucky Court of Justice. Circuit Court is the general jurisdiction trial court. District Court handles limited-jurisdiction matters, including many misdemeanors, traffic citations, probate, juvenile matters, small civil cases, and preliminary felony stages. Family Court is a Circuit Court division where assigned.
The official Johnson County Court of Justice page from the manifest identifies the local court location, schedules, clerk contact, and payment options.
That state page is the best starting point for Johnson County Court schedules and clerk contact details.
| Court or office | Local role | Record route |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | Felony after indictment, major civil, appeals, family matters where assigned | Circuit Court Clerk and KYeCourts |
| District Court | Misdemeanor, traffic, probate schedule, preliminary felony stage, small civil, juvenile | Circuit Court Clerk, docket portal, ePay |
| Family Court division | Domestic, custody, support, dependency, neglect, abuse, juvenile status | Circuit Court Clerk with restricted-record limits |
| County Clerk | Marriage, land records, recorded instruments, wills in CCLIX, vehicles, elections | County Clerk office, CCLIX/eCCLIX, open-records policy |
Johnson County Court Clerk
The Johnson County Circuit Court Clerk is the court-records counter for Circuit, District, Family, probate, criminal, civil, and traffic case files. Official sources list the clerk as Hillary M. Chafin or Hillary Chafin Collins, with the office at the Johnson County Judicial Center, 908 3rd Street, Suite 109, Paintsville, KY 41240. The main phone number is 606-297-9567, and county sources list Monday-Friday hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The county government Circuit Court Clerk profile in the manifest gives the local clerk office context.
Use that office for court case copies and filing questions, not for land records or marriage-license services.
Johnson County Circuit Court Clerk
908 3rd Street, Suite 109
Paintsville, KY 41240
606-297-9567
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Johnson County Clerk
230 Court Street, Suite 124
Paintsville, KY 41240
606-789-2557
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; closed Saturday
Johnson County Court Record Types
Court records in Johnson County include civil complaints, petitions, answers, motions, orders, judgments, garnishments, criminal charges, arraignments, bond conditions, pleas, dispositions, sentencing orders, probation terms, traffic citations, family case entries, and probate case filings. Some public information may appear online, but filings with confidential data may be sealed or redacted. Juvenile, adoption, mental health, protected-address, and sensitive family records have stricter limits.
Common Johnson County Court record fields include case number, county, division, filing date, parties, attorney names, charge or case type, hearing date, courtroom, judge, docket-event text, disposition, financial obligations, and final orders. A criminal record report from the Kentucky background-check route is not the same as a full Johnson County criminal case file.
- Disposition
- The current or final result of a case or charge.
- Indictment
- A grand-jury charging document that can move a felony case into Circuit Court.
- Docket entry
- A chronological event in a case, such as a motion, order, hearing, or sentence.
- Redaction
- The removal or hiding of protected personal details from a public record.
Johnson County Court Schedules
The local schedule is one of the most useful Johnson County details. Circuit Court Motion Hour is the first and third Friday. Motions must be filed by the Friday of the week before Motion Hour. Civil motions are scheduled at 9 a.m.; arraignments, motions, and sentences at 10 a.m.; and criminal pretrial conferences at 11 a.m. District Court is scheduled months in advance, so the state page directs users to call the Circuit Court Clerk for motion hours.
Probate appears as a District Court matter at 9 a.m. Thursday. Family Court Motion Hour is the second and fourth Tuesday at 9 a.m., with motions due the Tuesday of the week before. Domestic Court is listed at 9 a.m. Juvenile Court is listed at 9:30 a.m. on the first and third Tuesday. These schedules should be confirmed before travel because docket information can change.
Johnson County Court Fees
Payment options at the Circuit Court Clerk include cash, check, money orders, credit cards, and debit cards, with a fee applied to card payments. Personal checks must show the current address, two phone numbers, and driver's license number of the person writing the check. ePay can be used for eligible court fees, fines, and costs, and the drive-through accepts limited services during its published window.
| Payment or service | Johnson County detail |
|---|---|
| Counter payments | Cash, check, money orders, credit cards, and debit cards accepted by the court clerk. |
| Card payments | A card fee applies. |
| Personal checks | Must show current address, two phone numbers, and driver's license number. |
| ePay | Online route for eligible court fees, fines, and costs. |
| Drive-through | Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., for payments, filings, handicapped parking permits, and driver's license renewals only. |
Note: KYeCourts displayed a notice that Circuit and District civil filing fees increase July 1, 2026 under Supreme Court Orders 2026-15 and 2026-18.
Johnson County Court Public Access
Kentucky open-records law informs access, but court case files also follow court rules, confidentiality statutes, and clerk custody rules. The Kentucky Open Records Act chapter covers public-agency record access. The KRS 61.870 definition section defines public agency. Court administrative records are also covered by the Supreme Court of Kentucky open-records policy, while case records start with the clerk of the court that heard the case.
Key access rules:
KRS 61.870 to 61.884 governs many Kentucky public-records requests.
Kentucky redaction rules protect sensitive data in filed pleadings and exhibits.
KRS 199.570 adoption confidentiality guidance explains why adoption records are not ordinary public records.
Restricted Johnson County Records
Restricted court records can include juvenile files, adoption records, mental health material, sealed or expunged criminal records, confidential family exhibits, protected addresses, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, medical information, and parts of protective-order cases. If a record is sealed, online absence does not prove the case never existed. It may mean the record is restricted, not yet entered, or available only by clerk review.
Expungement is also separate from ordinary lookup. Kentucky State Police explains felony expungement and KRS 431.073, and the court clerk can address case-file status. A background check, a docket search, and a certified copy request may each return different levels of detail.
Johnson County Sheriff and Jail
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office is at 339 Main Street, Paintsville, KY 41240, with phone 606-789-3411, additional number 606-789-3424, fax 606-789-2574, and dispatch at 606-789-4221. Official sources identify Sheriff Scott Hazelette. The county law-enforcement page also lists Paintsville Police and Kentucky State Police channels. No official Johnson County active-warrant database or sheriff mobile app was located in the research.
The manifest law-enforcement image comes from Johnson County's official law-enforcement contacts page.
Use the sheriff and dispatch for law-enforcement contact, while court case status still goes through the court clerk or KYeCourts.
Custody lookup uses Big Sandy Regional Detention Center channels, the BSRDC-linked JailTracker roster, Kentucky Online Offender Lookup for state inmates, VINE for custody notifications, and the Kentucky sex offender registry for registry records. For full roster details, use the Johnson County inmate records page.
Johnson County Clerk Records
The Johnson County Clerk is separate from the Circuit Court Clerk. Official sources identify the County Clerk as Sallee Holbrook or Sallee Conley-Holbrook. The office handles marriage licenses, legal records, recorded instruments, elections, vehicles, delinquent-tax links, and county clerk open records. The County Clerk records page states that document images are available in the office, online for most instrument filings from January 2004 to current, and on microfilm.
The County Clerk homepage from the manifest is shown below because many Johnson County record searches start at the wrong clerk office.
The County Clerk is the correct office for marriage and land-record systems, not for Circuit Court case copies.
CCLIX coverage is especially useful for older records. Deeds are indexed and scanned back to 1966. Mortgages are indexed in CCLIX back to 1966. Marriages and wills are indexed and scanned back to 1797. eCCLIX access requires an account/password and special software for image viewing, but free in-office inspection remains available.
Johnson County Marriage Probate Traffic
Marriage records are handled by the County Clerk, while divorce records are court records through Circuit/Family Court. Probate in Johnson County appears on the District Court probate schedule at 9 a.m. Thursday, but recorded wills may also appear in County Clerk CCLIX. That means an estate search can require both the court clerk and the County Clerk depending on whether the user needs a court probate file, a recorded will, or an old index entry.
Traffic court records are District Court or citation matters unless the citation says otherwise. KYeCourts ePay can search by case, citation, or party for payment-eligible items. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet driver history records are separate from court traffic records. A three-year driver history record shows driver status, restrictions, license expiration, and traffic violations reported to licensing, but it is not the full Johnson County traffic case file.
Johnson County Open Records
Open-records requests depend on the custodian. Court case copies start with the court clerk. County Clerk records follow the County Clerk open-records policy. Fiscal Court records use the county open-records request page. County Attorney records in that office's custody require a written signed request with a record description, and the County Attorney page directs court-record requests back to KYCourts.
The Johnson County Fiscal Court open-records page from the manifest shows the county-government request channel.
Use the Fiscal Court channel for county-government records, not for court case files held by the Circuit Court Clerk.
Johnson County Court History
Johnson County was created by the Kentucky legislature on February 24, 1843, from Lawrence, Floyd, and Morgan counties. County business began April 1, 1844, and official county history says a courthouse was soon built in Paintsville. Paintsville was first known as Paint Lick Station, with a Paint Creek post office established in 1824 and the Paintsville name adopted by the post office in 1843.
The official Johnson County history and local context page from the manifest provides the county background behind the court system.
Historical research often crosses between court files, County Clerk indexes, wills, marriages, deeds, and older recorded instruments.
Johnson County Court Questions
Can Johnson County Court records be searched online? Public lookup can begin with KYeCourts guest access and the Kentucky public docket portal. Official copies and file-availability questions go to the Circuit Court Clerk.
Is the County Clerk the court clerk? No. The Circuit Court Clerk handles court case records. The County Clerk handles marriage licenses, land records, recorded instruments, vehicles, elections, and county clerk open records.
Where are Johnson County probate records? Probate is listed as a District Court matter on the Thursday calendar, but wills may also be indexed and scanned in County Clerk CCLIX.
Does Johnson County publish an active warrant list? No official local active-warrant database was found. Use court records, clerk contact, sheriff contact, and counsel when a warrant may exist.
Are online dockets official? No. The docket portal warns that docket information is not official and is subject to change.